Discussion

I find it meaningless having discussion or debate among homogenius people. Especially when you talk about issues or insults that happen among certain type of ethnicity , culture, or religion, we need to make sure those people who are perceived to be from the issue maker side or insulting group. Otherwise the discussion is nothing more than licking each other's wounds (Japanese proverb).

Where are you from? (in a sense of where do you belong to?)

I am wondering... I am wondering so much about what is so important to talk about or to be so conscious about where you are from.

I am from Jerusalem, Palestine and from Sapporo, Japan. But does that mean I know so much about those two, or does that mean I am the same as people from Jerusalem and from Sapporo? what does that mean to say I am from here or there. I am Palestinian in what sense? I am Japanese in what sense? Am I different from an Israeli from Jerusalem? Could I have same ideology as Israeli from Jerusalem does? Palestinians are so different from Palestinians?

I have a frined who is an Israeli from Jerusalem. We talked about the protest that I had gone about two weeks ago (protest against fundraising for Israeli Occupation Force). I asked him if he would be offended to know that I join that kind of protest against the cause. He said "You do your job and I do my job". It's reasonable, but I felt very sad.

I have a frind who is an Israeli-Japanese (her father is Iraqi Jew and the mother is Japanese) and was born and raised in Jerusalem. We talked about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We found that we have very similar pacifistic idea. By talking to her, I had to wonder why is coexisting so difficult...

I have a Palestinian friend who does not accept the existence of Israel. There are Israelis who don't accept that Palestine ever existed. I have a Palestinian friend who wants to say he is an Israeli and not Palestinian. I know some Palestinians and Israelis who don't even care about the cause.

We, Palestinians and Israelis, share a lot of culture already. What is so important about finding out hummus is whether Israeli cuisine or Arabic cuisine? Some people complaint about Greeks claiming baklavah to be Greek while it is Turkish to them. Some other people claim that belly dance and hookah are Egyptian while others say they are from Turky.

Saying where you are from is just for an estimate for the other person to imagine what kind of life you have had or what kind of bahavior and attitude you would have. People have all kinds of stereotypes for all kinds of people. I don't deny the fact that many Palestinians often say 'what's his name?" even when he knows what's his name, or the fact that Japanese people vow to aplogyze and to thank in the same way. But there are many exceptions, and you probably see the people who don't follow those stereotypes nowadays than before. Because in our generation, people travel everywhere, immigrate to one another and get married to different cultures. Then what is the point of expressing where you are from or asking where he/she is originated from?

People may say, "you are just in the stage of identity crisis." Is that only so? Is that a part of human nature that we all want the sense of belonging? "I belong to here and belong to there, and so I am comfortable." Am I questioning myself because I don't have that sense of belonging?

I wonder where is the importance of that sense of belonging coming from. All I know is that if anyone ask me tomorrow where I am from, I will still say " I am from Japan and Palestine" wondering what is the point...