Slave

I just buy new non-fiction book from Waterstone, Slave: The True Story of a Girl's Lost Childhood and Her Fight for Survival, written by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis. Seems like struggled & sadness story of a young girl. Hope i got chance to read it while fly back to Msia in April. Here i copy and do some alteration of the synopsis of the book from back cover page. Im so eager to know the truth of the story, especially the synopsis sounds unbelievable to me (i noted it in orange). But if it really 'happen', should i said; WTF of 'islam order' or 'muslim culture' they following? Read the synopsis below ...

Slave is a shocking first-person insight into the modern day slave trade. It is also a fascinating memoir of an African childhood and a moving testimony to a young girl's indomitable spirit in the face of adversity and shattered dreams. This book is an extraordinary story of a young Sudanese girl who was kidnapped and sold into slavery, and how, in Sept. 2000, she finally escaped to freedom.

That young girl is Mende Nazer, who grew up in the remote area of nuba Mountains of Sudan. Her happy childhood was cruelly cut short when raiders on horseback swept into her village. The Mujahidin hacked down terrified villagers, raped the women and abducted the children. Twelve-year-old Mende was one of them. (They called themselve as MUJAHIDIN, sounds very islamic, but they terrify and ruin other people life, do raping & abducting children for slavery?)

Mende was sold to an Arab woman in Khartoum. (Hah, so everything is about making money-slavery business by kidnapping children). Mende was stripped of her name and her freedom. She was kept as a domestic slave, an 'abid', without any pay or a single day off. Her food was the scraps left over from the family's plates, eaten with separate cutlery, and her bed was the floor of the garden shed, which was locked up each night. She endured this harsh and lonely existence without knowing whether her family was alive or dead, for seven long years. (So, what can i say. It's all about ARAB people again. The Jahiliyah mentality still 'alive' in their blood-they're, apparently, more ISLAMIC than other non-arab, but in reality, majority of them; fully of anger of me, they're RUBBISH and SHIT - what a shame!. This remind me to the reality of arab people customs and cultures, and islam practices among arabs, as written by Albert Hourani in his book - A History of The Arab Peoples).

In the spring of 2000, Mende was passed on by her master, like a parcel, to a relative in London. Eventually, she managed to make contact with other Nuba exiles who, with British journalist and filmmaker Damien Lewis, helped her escape for freedom. (Again and again, the one that always 'helping & saving' most of 'unfortunate' muslim, children or woman, even man, is always non-muslim, who muslim peoples always claim them as 'killer' and of course kafir. But what we do as a muslim, especially arabs? - fuckin shit hah?).

Sorry guys. I dont know why i cant go with arabs anymore. I really feel like they are the one that giving trouble to islam and othet non-arab muslim people with their 'jahilliyah mentality' that our prophet of Muhammad saw try to banish. Arab is Arab, or can i say Arab is Jahilliyah? or to be more polite, apparently, that Arab is STILL Jahilliyah?

Samira and Samir

Samira & Samir by Siba Shakib is an extraordinary true story of a young girl in the "man's world" in Afghanistan. Siba Shakib presented this trus story as a biography of Samira in novel writing format, so that when you read this book, it seems like you read a novel. Act., i plan to buy this book from amazon.co.uk. However, last week when i went to Waterstone, i saw it in non-fiction section and decided to buy it, although the price is much expensive from amazon.

Whats the story of Samira & Samir then? Samira, originally born as a girl was 'transformed' to be a man, as Samir. Her father, who desperate for boy as his first born, responsible in changing Samira becomes Samir. Samira vs Samir was taught as a boy by his father where she learns to fight, ride a horse, and shoot. She becomes a head of her family when her father is killed.

Problem occurs in her life when she becomes an adult girl. Shes in love with Bashir and want to live as Bashir's wife. Now shes in identity dilemma. Shes already well-known in her tribe as a 'male', but now has to announce her real identity to public. She follows her heart to be a woman, but hate to appear as a woman because her 'experienced' been a man before.

So what happen to her after she becomes a real woman? No more freedom for her anymore. This can be understood because in Afghanistan or maybe in other islamic country in middle-east, woman have no right in most everthings. In the case of Samira, shes living in mountainous area which laeding by tribe leader. If you read little bit more any book about middle-east social life and culture, you will understand why woman have no right in those area especially if you born in tribe group. But again, dont misunderstand between islam order and culture pressure. Its nothing to do with Islam, it just a matter of middle-east culture, i think, that put girl and woman at lowest status-like a slave-or can i say they still have jahilliyah mentality. What a shame! Lucky woman in Malaysia dont have to be 'part' of this kind of discrimination.

So, i would like to suggest you guys out there, read this book. Try to understand the difficulty to be a woman in arab-persian or middle-east diaspora. From here, maybe, you can get some idea why Amnesty always put those country or maybe other islamic country non-arab-persian, as 'slaving a woman', 'discriminating woman right' etc. And probably, you will understand why those woman from arab-persian diaspora who migrated to many western country, US & UK especially, converted to be a christian or maybe change to other religion or just a free-thinker. They just think that they got a 'freedom' from man's world in their homeland which fully with torture, slaving & discrimination. No wonder ISLAM seems such an 'evil religion' in most western eyes or non-muslim eyes because for them ISLAM is ARAB. And when it comes to ARAB...what a shame again.. culture dominating their life.. nothing to do with islam orders. Myself, im lucky that im a Malaysian muslim.

My Own Private Idaho

With Keanu Reeves & River Phoenix as a main actors in this film, My Own Private Idaho, directed by Gus Van Sant, is a nice film to watch. Just before you start to watch it, let me remind you that this film is under 18 category, and the background of the plot is gay drama? Whatever! Watch it first and then you interpret it by your own understanding.

Ok, the story is about two street hustlers, Mike (Phoenix) and Scott (Reeves). Mike is a narcoleptic young lad, fully with lonelines, try to dreams of his mother who abandoned him without love. Scott is a mayor son of Portland, has his own agenda to humiliating his father and abandon his hustler friends with their spiritual leader, Bob. Both of them involve in male prostitute for money. However, for Mike, when his friendship with Scott developed closer, plus with his lonelines, he 'desire' for Scott.

In searching for Mike's mom back to Mike hometown in Idaho, both of them having night-camped in the middle of dry land, and here, Mike expressed his feeling and desire to Scott. So how Scott react to it? "Two guys cant love each other" ... but the most important thing during the campfire scene is the meaning of love as a friend and brother that Scott show to Mike. Watch the 2nd clip below which focus on their conversation which i think touching and full with honesty from Mike and Scott. I like the way Mike had been directed during this scene which i think the used of 'soft and falter' voice to express his feeling was so real.

Back home to Mike brother house in Idaho, he got the true story of his mom 'relationship' with his brother, and now he and Scott plan to fly to Italy to discover his mom. In Italy, we can see the real man of Scott when he falling in love with Carmella, and leaving Mike alone again which already 'fragile & crestfallen'. Scott sent back Mike to Portland, and he enjoy his new life with Carmella in Italy. When Scott back home to Portland, he already change to a rich man and important person. So what will happen to his friendship with Mike who still 'struggling' with his narcoleptic, lonelines and hopelessness? Watch this film... i really recommend it to you... it just a matter of... open your mind when you watch it. For me, i like it very much. imdb=6.9 (2March2007)