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...
4 comments:
I am Japanese and I lived all over the world. I spend more than half of my life in forein counties. I don't have "Jimoto" as many Japanese people have, where all your long time friends gathered, sort of homeland where I can belong. Hearing you being lost where to belong is feeling I get sometimes too. But I also know that those people are the ones who can be kind, understanding, and to share feelings with other minorities to bring peace in the moment. I think Human belongs where those spirit or soul belongs, so that way everyone can belong in one place if one desires to.
That's so right, Takashi. I think about that sometimes too. Have you seen a community in Mixi called "Half no Kai" where all the mix blood children exchange their experience living in Japan and how it was hursh sometimes and how they were admired for being mix at sometimes. I thought for them, there is a space where they can belong to by creating a place like that. It is almost the same as them creating a country and lable it "A country only for the people who are mixed and don't feel belong to anywhere" It's interesting that we creat a place where you can share your feeling so that you feel belong to that place or community. Human being always seems to need that sense of belongingness. ( I meant the mix people including people who don't belong to anywhere even they are not mix by blood)
Having no particular place to belong is benefitial in terms of being able to be neutral. They don't have to take a side and therefore they have a potential to understand any part of world with no bias and that is the first and most important step towards peace.
Wonderful hearing from another individual who believes in a borderless world, and who lives the concept in daily life. Thanks so much for your words!!
i love you, will you marry me?
in LA perhaps?? ;-)
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