Bedouin journal

A portrait of Bedouin high school students through articles, short stories, interviews, and poetry written by students and teachers at Multidisciplinary High School in Laqiya, Israel.
Winter 2011 Issue 1

Student Life

English Department Pedagogical Division

The Multidisciplinary High School, Laqiya

Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army. ~Edward Everett

Table of contents
Academics
4-5 6-7
Exams Are For You Dropping Out Reading Rocks A Healthy Choice Teachers Lets Get Physical Music is the Souls Food Youth and Leisure Teens and Smoking Forgiveness

8-9

Friendship
10-11
The Biggest Loss Parting Friends Treasure You Can Keep Mother Forgive Me Dream Angel

Musings
12-13
Soul Child Behind the Walls Angel On-line Hidden Love What is Love? Teens Worry Too Laqiyas Ghosts Library Dreams Lakiyas Youth

14-15

Bedouin Journal ~ PAMELA HUYSER Editor OTRA KHALAILA Senior Editor EMAN NAAMA, SALMA SWEITY Contributing Editors MOHAMMED ALALIMI Assistant Editor WALAA ABO JABER Photo Editor AMER ABO SEAM Photographer DR. RACHEL TAL Consulting Editor

Inspiration
16-17
All My Children 2010 Women to Womens Conference Special Thanks

Vision
18-19
Window into Lakiya

Appreciation
20 Final Notes

Bedouin Journal Student Life

Academics

Dropping Out
Written by Amal Alasad

Exams Are For You

Written by Amani Abo Nadi

I never knew the importance of learning until I became a teaching assistant. When I was a student I did not know what the teacher wanted. Now that I am graduated, I appreciate what the teacher was trying to do for me. When I was a student, I didnt care for learning or what the teacher taught. During the exams, he wasnt helping us and when we asked him Why you dont help us? He said, These exams are for you or I do that for you. I never knew what that meant but I did what he askedI worked on the test using my own skills. Now I help teachers. I am beginning to understand what that teacher did for me and I think that I now know the meaning of the sentence, I do that for you. During the exams, I dont help the students with whom I workI say to them this exam is for you to know what your situation is, meaning that it is an assessment of what they have learned in class. And although we all become sad, in the future, I hope they will understand why I couldnt help them. When I was a student, I didnt care for anything; not for the teacher and not what he taught. Now everything has changed. I think I was wrong. And I want to say to the students who are still in high school, please do your best on your own especially during examsso that the teacher will know how to help you improve before you graduate.

In Lakiya, dropping out of school is an important topic to discuss. Its a very difficult problem, which affects a lot of people. First, it affects pupils; they start skipping classes in school, then they just start to be irresponsible at school, home, and toward their community. As they grow up, the problem also grows and eventually they drop out of school. Second, parents and family are also affected because every parent has big dreams for their children and when they drop out they just destroy their parents dreamsvery easilyits very hard to build dreams, but very easy to destroy them. Third, dropping out negatively affects communities and it is even dangerous for communities to have students like these; because they drop out of school, then they just have no hope and are irresponsible for their behavior within the community. For example: When pupils like these do not find any entertainment or job because they do not have a degree, they just create social problems, like with all their free time, they might make trouble in the community or they might have to live off government money. I interviewed one of the high school counselors, Thuka Khatep. We talked together about this subject and she told me that there could be a lot of reasons for students to drop out of school, like: A physical or psychological ailment that could stop the student from continuing his education, and to look after his or her health. Being weak in some subjects; he or she is embarrassed by his or her friends in the class. Peer pressure from other failing students creates a vacuum pulling everyone down.

Hold yourself responsible for a higher standard than anybody expects of you. Never excuse yourself. ~Henry Ward Beecher 4

The environment of the school, including the pupils and teachers, do not give the student what he or she needs. Economic difficulties; some families stop their children from continuing education so they can support their families by working for money. There are solutions for dropping out of school, including: The counselors and the school being more active and helping students to solve their educational problems and help sort out their problems outside of school. Helping the school (teachers, other students) to behave fairly with all students. Helping the weak students in special ways like giving them more hours in certain subjects. Activating the connection between family and school. I also interviewed my principal, Dr. Khalil Abu Aish, and here is what he said: E In your opinion, why does this problem exist in our community? Please explain. Dropping out of schools exists more among the students in the southern area of Israel and next comes the north. This happens for several reasons; the most important one is the importance of education for parents. When parents care for their childrens education, there will be less dropping out of school. It may never even exist. If parents do not care for their childrens education, the students just drop out of school because they live in an environment that gives no importance to education. You only talked about Arabs dropping out of school, what about the Jewish community? Dropping out of schools exists more among Arab communities in Israel than among the Jewish one. There are few solutions for this problem in the Arab

society, except perhaps opening technological or vocational schools or giving enough answers to the weak pupils about the importance of studying. Traditions in Bedouin communities also have an impact on this problemespecially on girls. Some families never let girls finish school, especially in the case of early marriage. Some families stop their girls, daughters or wives from studying in school. This usually happens during the high school period. What solutions could help prevent dropping out of school? To make people understand the importance of education for the Arab community in Israel. To provide the right solutions and the suitable frames to attract those students. To give both pupils and their parents lectures and do workshops showing the importance of education. Regarding the case of early marriage, it must be made clear to parents that girls could continue going to school after marriage and be educated.

How could dropping out of school affect our community in the future? Dropping out of school causes failure and ignorance. Ignorance affects our society negatively. If you dont have a Bagrut certificate, you cant study at universities. In this case they wont find a respectable job in the future. In addition, an uneducated girl will be an uneducated mother, too, so she will affect the future generations as a mother as well. What advice would you give to parents, pupils and teachers? To parents, I would suggest giving their children the right to finish their high school education. For pupils, I ask them to continue their education, and not quit school. By quitting school they will ruin their future. For teachers, they must encourage the pupils until they finish their high school education. I do expect teachers to be patient with their weak pupils, and not to condemn them to failure. In my opinion, the solutions that the principal and the counselor gave must be more affective to keep students in school. By using their advice, its hopeful that more students will graduate and become valuable members of our community.

Hope can always cope. ~P. K. Thomajan

Bedouin Journal Student Life

Reading Rocks!
Written by Walaa Abo Jaber

Academics

Reading is very important for every person in the world. It helps people to improve their imagination and thinking skills. Nowadays reading has become a rare activity for several reasons, especially in the teens' world. The first reason is the development of technology. The Internet sites (Facebook, chatting, Yahoo, etc.) take all the teens time, and they are left with no time to read books and sometimes they don't even make time to do their homework. Secondly, our lifestyle has changed so much that we rarely see people around us who dedicate some of their time to reading. Finally, the lack of libraries in most of the schools in the Bedouin sector, and lack of good or enough books to read if there is a school or town library. In addition, we live in a community that doesn't appreciate the importance of reading. Dont blame us; yes we are developing but we need help from all the people who can help us develop the love of reading inside our heads and hearts. We did not create the love for the Internet but we found something to love in it. So why don't you help us find the motivation to love reading? At the end, I want to say that now, at the age of 18, I know how much I lost in my life because I didn't read enough. I remember the voice of my mom telling me to read books. I remember also telling her that reading books is very boring! And I wanted to do anything but read. If I could go back in time then I would have read more and listened to my mom. Unfortunately I can't, and because of this I want to advise all the teens to be serious in their lives, to know what to do and not to waste all their time to no avail. After we finish our high school education, we go to university. There, we have to prove ourselves and show that we are educated students. Nevertheless, without reading we can't do that. So start reading today. We can push this community to be educated.

A Healthy Choice
Written by Salam Alasad & Lames Alsana

The food you eat symbolizes the place where you live. For example, when you hear hamburger (oh yummy!), your mind will go straight to the U.S., and so too, if you hear pizza or pasta. Do you like food? Do you want to know about a new type of food? Do you want to know about a different cultures food? Bedouin food? My friend and I will tell you about the food at our school, the Multidisciplinary High School in Lakiya. Of course, we have a lot of snacks and unhealthy drinks, the same as high schools everywhere we suppose, but our school also has a healthy, delicious option. When the bell rings for the break, you will see most of the students and even the teachers congregate around the kiosk buying this meal. This popular meal in our school is the falafel sandwich. Falafel is ground garbanzo beans mixed with spices, formed into balls, and fried quickly in olive oil. The man who cooks and sells them adds what we like inside a pita breadtomato, cabbage, tahini (sauce made with ground sesame seeds), and I must not forget the pickles. With them, it is so tasty. This meal gives us energy to go on with our studies throughout the day but doesnt leave us feeling full or icky, like we might if we eat chips or other junk. We wish you could come and try it some day!

Teachers
Written by Manar Alasewy

What do you think about teachers? Are they all the same? Well, theyre not. There are a lot of kinds that you can find. We have here at school all the kinds of teachers that you can imagine, but that does not mean that we like them all. We have the nice teacher and the bad teacher.

Figuring out who you are is the whole point of the human experience. ~Anna Quindlen 6

And of course, there are some teachers with whom we like and feel comfortable while we learn. Students especially like these cool teachers and feel they can be successful by learning with them. We need to have some fun during our learning in the class and we need to feel that the teacher does care about us and that he or she also does not treat us differently. If a teacher wants us to go forward with him or her, he or she needs to give us every opportunity. However, he or she should not lose control of the classroom. This would allow the students to exploit the situation and lose everything they worked for and that is so difficult on the students. And for the students that are difficult to control? I dont think they like most teachers, however, the teachers have to gain their respect if they want their help. Most of the teachers, well, don't they just lose hope and forget everything about them? They need someone who doesn't give up easily. They need someone who is a real teacher who has specific abilities, like patience and strength. If students want to be successful, they have to suffer all kinds of teachers and sometimes they just cant handle it any more so they explode. If we like the teacher but we hate the subject, there is a chance that we can still be successful but if we hate them both, the chance is slim.

practice. They wish to learn things like basketball, tennis, and other sports. Of course they also need a female teacher. Raising the awareness of the students in my school toward physical education is also important. For example, this lack of knowledge impacts girls lives when they graduate from high school. They are not aware of the importance of exercising and many of them gain weight, which can lead to health problems such as diabetes and high cholesterol. In addition, exercise can help with depression and sleeplessness. In my opinion this is what I feel my high school needs the most at this time. Girls deserve to be able to exercise just as much as boys. It's my dream for all Bedouin schools in the Negev to have physical education for the girls.

Music is the Souls Food

Written by Raya Abu Saad & Nareman Abu Saad.

Lets Get Physical!

Written by Samaher Abu Bader

Did you know that there's no physical education for girls in Bedouin high schools? Thats right. And I think there should be. Most Jewish and Arab high schools in Israel have physical education for the girls. Physical education is important for all students because its keeps their mind and body healthy. The Multidisciplinary High School in Lakiya needs to have physical education classes for girls. A special room should be designated for girls to exercise. This is because girls need privacy as Bedouin women are modest and do not want males see them

Many people around the world listen to music and like itnever mind if they understand the lyrics or not. Music can help you relax and forget your sorrow, pain, and troubles. Music is a universal language, and it is a common thing between people all over the world. In addition, it lets you fly and dream with it. There are many kinds of music such as opera, classical, romantic, and ambient. We like to listen to different kinds of music but the best, we think, is Turkish musicsingers like Gokdan Tepe, who sings Yuru Yuregim, and Ozcan Deniz, who sings Canim HQ because it helps us to feel good, forget everything, and dream. It helps you to fly just like a butterfly in the sky. There are many kinds of musical instruments as well. These instruments (guitar, oud, piano, flute, saxophone, violin and organ) are different and each one adds a different sound or tune. Music and instruments hardly allow you to ignore music. It can also feed the soul and the body together. Our favorite musical instrument is the piano because it is wonderful and attractive with its classical tunes. We have the same dream and it's to play piano like Elias Alrahbani and Beethoven. We wish to be like them and have a successful career doing so.

How beautiful is youth! How bright it gleams with its illusions, aspirations, dreams! ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Bedouin Journal Student Life

We did a survey with a questionnaire at our school to see how teenagers are attached to the music. We concluded that everyone likes to hear music but the difference was what students like to listen to. Girls prefer to hear the romantic and ambient music like Ellisa, who sings songs like You Are On My Mind, and Kazem Alssaher, who sings My Love. Some boys prefer the Turkish music and the rest like to listen to the romantic songs. As for the musical instruments we were surprised. The majority of the pupils at our school would like to play piano, and are dreaming to play it. A few would like to play the guitar. As for a place in Lakiya to teach music, here was the biggest surprise: Every one of the pupils we asked wishes to have a place in Lakiya for music education. This is a dream that we want to achieve.

academics

that makes people addicted and why it is very difficult to quit smoking. In this paper we are interviewing with our family doctorDr. Jamal Egbriyaabout smoking and its dangers. Then we are going to show the results of a school questionnaire. What can you tell us about smoking cigarettes? Smoking damages the human body. Any smoking is dangerous. Smoking is known to harm the body and cause cancer. Some people try to make their smoking habit safer by smoking fewer cigarettes, but most smokers find that hard to do. Smoking causes serious health problems, including an increased risk of heart disease and a greater chance of dying at a younger age. Is cigarette smoking really addictive? Yes. The nicotine in cigarettes causes an addiction to smoking. Nicotine is an addictive drug just like heroin and cocaine. When taken in small amounts, nicotine creates a pleasant feeling that makes the smoker want to smoke more. Nicotine works very much like other addicting drugs. After taking a puff the smoker feels good, but its effects start to wear off within a few minutes. This often leads the smoker to get another cigarette. If the smoker doesn't smoke again soon he will start feeling angry, nervous and restless. He will also suffer from headaches and lack of sleep. The major problem is that although smokers know that smoking is bad for their health they continue smoking. They are simply addicted. What are the health risks a smoker takes? Smoking is like a poison. In the long run, it damages the lungs and causes breathing problems. It also may play a role in increasing smokers' risk of heart disease

Youth and Leisure

Written by Baarah Abo Quaren

Free time is very important, and it has two sides: one is positive and the other is negative. Unfortunately, most young people spend their time at the coffee shop drinking and smoking, away from the control of parents, rather than spending their time doing positive things like reading and sports. I organize my free time in a good way by reading books, studying my lessons, and exercising in sports such as running and playing tennis. The reason I organize my time is that I dream to be a surgeon in the future because I love this profession and I think that I need high marks at school for this. There must be institutions that sponsor youth. Perhaps they can build an entertainment center for the young people in Lakiya so that they spend their leisure time constructively and not according to their whims and emotions.

Teen Smoking
Written by Shahed Alsana

Smoking is a huge problem in this world. We know that smoking damages our body and health, but we dont know how bad smoking is to our health, and we dont know the reasons why people start smoking or what the components of a cigarette are. In addition, we have no idea, what is the substance

The highest result of education is tolerance. ~Helen Keller 8

and stroke. Smoking is also known to cause cancer. Why do people begin to smoke? Most people begin smoking as teens, usually because of curiosity and peer pressure. People with friends and/or parents who smoke are more likely to start smoking than those who don't. Who is most likely to become addicted? Anyone who starts smoking can become addicted. Cigarette smoking is most likely to become a habit during the teen years. The younger a person is when he or she begins to smoke, the more likely he or she is to become addicted to smoking. So it is very important to have prevention programs at schools and among teenagers in order to make these young people aware of the risks they are taking when they start smoking. After interviewing Dr. Egbariya, we wanted to see what the pupils at our school know about smoking and if they know how dangerous it is, so we prepared a questionnaire for the students. Here are the results of the questionnaire: The majority of the pupils do not smoke and there is a minority of smokers, however, the majority of those pupils have smokers in the family and when we asked them who they were they overwhelmingly responded that their father was a smoker, as well as some uncles. We also saw that most of the people who smoke usually start smoking from a young age, beginning from the teenage years. Few of the pupils thought that people start smoking as adults. The majority of the pupils at our school are against smoking and the minority are for smoking. Perhaps this is because the majority responded that they know the damages of smoking and the minority responded that they do not know the damages of smoking. We concluded that the majority of students do not know a person who had any disease from smoking. But those who answered yes said that a close member of the family, like a father or an uncle, had developed problems. Most students said that they do not sit with anyone who tries to convince them to smoke. But those who smoke said that a friend was the one who got them to start smoking. They also said that they know that when they sit next to a smoking person they are also considered passive smokers. The majority of teenagers at our school also said that they do not sit together with family to discuss family matters such as smoking.

The results of the questionnaire were really enlightening for us. We discovered that the pupils at our school know a lot about smoking. We also found out that most of them dont smoke and avoid being around smoking pupils. Even those who do smoke were ashamed to admit it. So, at our school smoking is considered a bad habit and those who smoke are treated with disrespect. In order to maintain this situation, we should have a lot of anti smoking activities, including meetings with doctors like Dr. Egbariya, who could give a lot of information to the pupils about smoking and its dangers.

Think Before You Act

Written by Raya Abu Saad.

In the last years, we have seen a lot of violence around us. We see it at schools, around our neighborhoods, in small towns and all around the country and the world. Someone kills his friend and the reason behind it is stupid. Driven by motives that are not worth the loss of a life and the spilling of blood. When we see these cases of violence we feel helpless and insecure. We are the young generation. We don't want to live in danger and insecurity. We have to do something to stop the violence around us. Why can't adults and teenagers see the solution when it is right in front of their eyes? Forgiveness is the answer, because with forgiveness we have the seeds of love, kindness, friendship, and patience. We know the solution but we have to encourage those around us to go on in the right way, to stop the wrongs that happen without reason. The best solution is forgiveness in every situation or any case. Our sign should be yes for forgiveness, no for violence.

Youth! youth! How buoyant are thy hopes! They turn, like marigolds, toward the sunny side. ~Jean Ingelow

Bedouin Journal Student Life

friendship

Why? Where? How? A lot of questions were on my mind but only one came from my mouth, Who gives the right to someone to take the life of another human? His picture is still printed on my mind, but he is gone. And thats my biggest loss. Not the loss of money, not the loss of love, but the loss of a friend.

The Biggest Loss

Written by Rafat Awaysha

Parting Friends
Written by Manarh Abu Mbark

There are so many kinds of losses that a human may lose. But how can we decide what is the biggest loss? Do you know that some people lose millions a day and never draw a tear? So money is not it. Some kind of losses are the loss of love, or maybe even to lose compassion. You may say that one of those losses may be the biggest lost, but I say no. Can you think of a situation where you see the whole world has stopped? That something is missing from your life? You draw tears until your eyes get dry. That is the biggest loss. Have you ever lost someone? Especially the loss of a brother, sister, your father, mother, someone you love, or the loss of a friend? Can you think of the death of some of these people? Dont think thats my advice for you, to think about such things, but if you have never thought about it, believe me losing someone close to you is hard. I want to tell you my story, the story of a friend; the friend I was happy to see for first time since a long time but the next day I started wishing I had not. Do you want to know why? Because it was meant to be our last time together. That day, we went shopping for a shirt and when he asked me, What color should I wear? I said, Green will look just fine on you. But he did not have the chance to wear it. Next day, I woke up to my mother's rough voice, saying, I am sorry to tell you that your friend got shot and killed last night.

Days pass And the wheels of time go forward. Gathered yesterday and tomorrow, We say goodbye to life. My hope remains in the meeting. Grief destroys our happiness It is a moment not eliminated. I cried a lot but did not benefit from crying. I called a lot and have not heard but an echo of my calls. Separated from friends who left me only with memories Hopes lost among the waves of blue seas The distance made my soul weary It made me die a victim of the black night Calls that got lost among the waves, Got lost and left me alone in the clouds Looking at the ground, Looking at the sky Oh god bless me, bless me With a drop of hope to meet them.

The life given us by nature is short, but the memory of a life well spent is eternal. ~Cicero 10

Mother, Forgive Me
Written by Nareman Abu Saad

Treasure You Can Keep

Written by Nihal Alsana & Yasmeen Alsana

I look behind me. I dont see her. I look in front of me. I dont see her. I look beside me. I see her holding my hand and smiling. Our pen started to write and there is no particular thing to write about. We didn't know how to start and end. We knew one thing though, that we are thinking about a precious person in our life, a person that we start to miss only after being apart from only a few hours. We mean our friends. Friends are really amazing. They are always there when we need them. When we want someone to be beside us, to talk, to spend free time, to spill our hearts out, to consult them in when we need advice. A real friend is always there and brings so much joy to our life. The moment we see a friend, a smile is brought to our face. We really cant imagine life without friends. We cant imagine how any person in the world can manage without having a real friend, especially at our age. We, teenagers, need someone our age to understand us and listen to us and know what goes inside our minds and hearts. Maybe you think that we are exaggerating, but this is how we feel about real friends and how teenagers think about the importance of friends. To end we would like to say, keep your real friends like you would keep a treasure. Just make sure they are real friends, because true friends are a rare thing these days. And, if you are lucky enough to find the treasure of friendship, dont lose it or waste it. Even lucky people may discover a treasure once in a lifetime.

Mother forgive me writing is not enough for me and these words are for you Mother my dream is lost Mother my hopes are lost Mother I stay alone With a short memory of these hopes Mother forgive me If I am ever wrong forgive me And pull me out from my misery Mother open your arms and hold me Like before And play with my hair Hide me from the world Mother pull me out of hatred and fear And give me forgiveness and respect Mother forgive me Because you are behind these writings Mother I always grow but will stay your little girl forever.

Dream Angel
Written by Wasim Abo Siam

I can't stop loving you Every day I love you more And I miss you. You are my everything and that's for sure Missing you so badly, Even the moon feels sad Im your angel that you never knew you had. Every night under the moonlight, Close my eyes and youre with me I wish I could see you, actually Talk to you about what makes me feel pain, Please tell me, where have you been? My heart broken, I miss the sound of your voice, The touch of your skin. Every night I say, Angels east, angels west, north and south, do your best To watch over my girl while she is at rest In Gods name I pray. Amen

You can finish school, and even make it easy but you never finish your education, and it's seldom easy. ~Zig Ziglar

Bedouin Journal Student Life

11

Musings

Soul Child
Written by Laila Abo Obied.

Once upon a timeA legend starts this way. But what I saw on that day wasn't a fairytale. It was an event that made me quiet and feel a hard pain in my heart. This event taught me many things, for instance, childhood is the best stage in our life, but I also learned that there are some people who cannot live their childhood. These people grow up without feeling the beauty of childhood or the childhood innocence. These children become adults early because of the bad circumstances. One day my mother and I went to buy some things and to visit my aunt. We stood by the traffic light. I was surprised to see a child walking in the street with torn clothes and barefoot. His face was as yellow as September tree leaves. His lips as blue as the Jaffa Sea. He was holding a cup and saying, Please, give me some money. I felt pain and felt so sad to see this view. I looked at my little brother sitting beside me. I said Oh my God. Thank God that we don't live under such circumstances. Suddenly, I saw the child smiling at me. I opened the window and I asked him his name. He said, I am Mohammed. What are you doing, Mohammed? I work here. What is your job? I sell candies. Can you buy these candies from me please, please?!!! No thank you. I don't want to eat candies. Please buy it from me please. I felt sorry for him and I agreed to buy a

candy just out of pity. I asked, How much is it honey? He replied, A shekel and half. I gave him two shekels. He smiled after this and asked me if I could wait there for a couple of minutes. I told him I will wait. He went for someone and took something from him. I said in my heart, maybe he wants another shekelI wished that I could give him my shoes. Suddenly, Mohammed came to my window. I said Yes sweetie, what do you want? He said, I had told you that the candy price is shekel and half and you gave me two shekels. Sorry my sister I am not a beggar, I work for my money and you shouldn't look at me in pity. It is true that I don't have any shoes and that I don't have beautiful clothes but I'm not without honor. Pity is just for the weak people not for me. It is true that I am not like all the children playing but be sure I'm a strong man in my soul and I'm a brave child. Take your half shekel. I felt terrible inside, nasty. I felt sorry for him but he felt pity for my ideas. I took the change.

Behind the Walls

Written by Nadin Abo Obied.

At this stage of life, any teenager has some secrets and sadness that he or she doesnt show to other people. Since I said behind the walls of life, this means that there are secrets and undiscovered things in a teenagers life. There are the insecurities, the physical changes, the peer pressure, the parents pressures, and the school pressures. The inside conflicts for a teenager have a beginning but have no end. Dreams of teenagers are mostly built on imagination, no more. They are built from sand. This means that their dreams and imagination can build the world or destroy it without anybodys knowledge. So how can we help teenagers go through this period safely? First, what has to be done is to try and make as much positive use of the teenagers energy and imagination as possible. Next, parents must help their teenage boys and girls to overcome their conflicts wisely and carefully. Additionally, a teenager should know how to

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. ~Aristotle 12

control his or her feelings. And since this is sometimes difficult to do, an adult can help the teenagers learn how to control their reactions. A parent, teacher, or counselor can help teenagers see things in the right proportions. Teenagers tend to live under constant pressure, and go through so many changes and conflicts. Because of that, even teenagers who are basically good human beings may be tempted to fall into violent reactions or extreme withdrawals into a private world. Dont give up on us in either case, because these are signs of us stretching out our hands, asking for help. Be a good friend and not a preacher, and help us to get out from behind the walls.

Angel On-line
Written by Tahani Alasad.

Everyone knows that using the computer had become easier so you can make friendships around the world by using the social groups and chat rooms. But the real world isn't so innocent. Deceiving, lying, and disappointments are up there in chat rooms. To show that, I will tell you a true story about a girl who lost too much when she spent her summer vacation on-line. She refused to travel abroad with her family, preferring instead to stay home being online all the time. This girl was a very cool, honest, innocent, and sensitive girl. This made her an easier victim of chat. There is one name, which is suitable for her; that name is Angel on-line. After her parents left, she felt free with no observing and had nothing to do just being on-line. One time, she got a friend request from a guy who called himself King-Kong from the same town. At first she didn't care about him, but when she began talking with him, she found him to be clever, cute, and amazing with a very attractive personality. Their relationship grew and grew, until she told King-Kong that she had fallen in love with him. Angel was too honest. She was spending more than five hours a day chatting with him and telling him about herself, her family, and every boring detail of her daily life. As result of that, she stopped her social life. She stopped talking with her friends and family. But nothing stays likes that for long. One day, Angel received a call from one of her friends, telling her that King-Kong published every conversation between them. After that her life changed to a disaster, especially when her parents learned about that experience. At first

they punished her, by making her stay at home and letting no one talk to her. However, when they felt that she learned a lesson, they forgave her. Although chatting is a good way to connect with people around the world, we have to be careful about how much information we release and be wary about the peopleboth near and farwhom we meet on-line.

Hidden Love
Written by Sana Abo Siam.

While my close friend and I are chatting on our e mail with our friends some guy called the Prince of Love opened his e-mail. She ran away and closed the door and the windows and started to talk with him. I asked her about him and she answered that he is her true love and that she does not want anyone to know. And she asked me not to tell any one. I asked her why. She told me that her dad would kill her if he knew. I got back home and the question, "Why did she want to hide it from her parents?" was in my head. I went and asked my mom. She said that her father must love her and wants to protect her but I still didnt know why. Many boys and girls in the Arab world keep their "love secret and they dont tell any one even their close friends. The only answer I could get was from my dad. I went to him and asked him, Why dont parents let their teenage kids love as they want? He said that it is an honor thing and if this honor gets dirtyas he saysno one is going to talk to or marry this girl. I understand now it is all about marriage. He says that every man, when he chooses a woman to marry, he chooses the innocent one, the one who has honor. He says to me that the woman in Islam is like a diamondif we dont protect her and arent careful with her, the dia-

Tell me and I'll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I'll understand. ~Native American saying

Bedouin Journal Student Life

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mond is going to fall off and break. So boys and girls dont be sad. Our parents are only trying to protect us, they are not trying to kill us. The teen period was hard for them too. In this period we are changing from little angels into some thing else and they dont want to see their little angels get hurt. So give them a chance.

musings

What is Love?
Written by Reham Alsana

Many people married their high school sweetheart, and also many people fall in love for the first time in high school, so, what happens in high school that allows this kind of emotion to flow? Sometimes a certain look attracts you and you immediately think it is love, while that person was just looking at you! When we love someone we should know that we are putting our ego and pride on the line, because you never know what the other side thinks about you. Love itself is a confusing thing because some people, when they first were in love say that it was a huge torture, some say that they never felt freedom or life at all other than when they were first in love, and still others say that when they were first in love, they were living a lie! But what is love for me? Well, it's about putting your soul between your lovers hands and you don't worry about it; it's about forgiving and lots of it; and it's about trusting wherever he or she was; and the most important, its about supporting each other. Basically, it's putting ourselves in the other's place so that we can understand what it is that person is going through. Pure and strong feelings of love lead to marriage with our sweethearts. As Bedouin teens are we allowed to love? Again we can't control our emotions and nobody can force anything on us. It is a matter of choice and doing what we feel, knowing that we are not going to embarrass ourselves and knowing that we will not regret what we felt in that early moment of love.

Laqiyas Ghosts
Written by Manar Alasewy, Doaa Alfakir, & Samar Alkhorty

Laqiya is rich in weird stories, scary stories, and sometimes funny stories. It seems only natural that most people dont believe in ghost stories .Here, in Laqiya, we hear tales of haunted houses and other dark places. Some of these apparitions have become so familiar that the ghosts have been given recognizable names. Many theories exist about these manifestations. Some say that ghosts are victims of woe, failed lives, or untimely deaths, and are eternally trapped. In this article, we will visit two stories of ghostly activity around the village. Whether you're a believer or skeptic, you may find yourself sleeping with the lights on tonight. The First Story: We have a story about a crying baby whom we can hear crying but we can't see anyone. It seems strange, but many people say it has happened. There is this old place at the bottom of this valley. Its always wet and dangerous. People lived In this place50 years ago. But because of the war, some of them had been killed in a terrible way, and others have moved away to live their lives in different places. The people in Laqiya have concluded that this is a baby ghost who was left alone to die during the war in a wet and dangerous valley. He died while he was crying and he still cries today.

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. ~William Butler Yeats 14

The Second Story: Once there were two lovers. The girlher name was Laylawas so beautiful that the boys were wishing for a look from her. But there was only one boy for her and that was her love Mansor. They loved each other crazily and just wanted to live together and have children and live happily ever after. Unfortunately, one day while the lover was waiting for his love on the side of a desert mountain, there was a rock slide into the valley and he was buried alive. Layla was so sad that she started talking with herself and whispering and laughing alone. When people asked her why, she answered that she was talking with her boyfriend Mansor, the ghost. She was so disturbed and looked like a crazy girl. So, is it her boyfriend ghost? Maybe, but we will probably not believe it until we see it with our own eyes.

Library Dreams
Written by Eatemad Alasad

Teens Worry Too

Written by Reham Alsana

Most people think teens only worry about money, school, friends, dating, and what they will wear that night to the party. I asked some pupils at school what their worries are. Are you ready to hear the result? Well you better be ready for a big shock. Many teens are plagued with concern for their future. What college should I go to?" Will I marry my high school sweetheart? What do I want to do with the rest of my life? Such questions can cause a lot of worry to any teenager. The most surprising thing was that they are worried of failing in their future. In my opinion, success in the future depends on self-esteem and encouragement. My letter to all teens is: Don't worry for a future that has not even come, and have fun in every moment in your life, because life is too short to worry about it.

In the future I wish to build a big library in our village. Reading books is very important, because the books will improve and develop our language and widen our horizons. The books give us information about any topic. We can spend our free time in the library, reading stories which attract us. It's so interesting to know more information about any subject especially when we want to travel around the world. We need more words to use while traveling, and to enable us to understand the people around us without being dependent on others to explain to us. We could also use a library to help us with our studies and to do research for projects. In our days people don't read books, because they don't know the significance of books. Instead they use the Internet pointlessly or watch television soap operas. My advice to our society in Lakiya is to know more about the importance and significance of books. This will only be possible if we have a library in our small town.

Laqiyas Youth
Written by Marim Talb Abo Aiysh

The youth of Laqiya are the bright and beautiful hope of the future generation. They go to school every day asking for their intelligence and extensive knowledge to be able to realize their dreams and desires. Young people are diligent in their studies and discuss with their teachers important matters concerning education. When the school day ends, they return home, change the clothes, eat, and then replace their household and review the lessons. After sitting with their parents and laughing together and watching television at eight o'clock, they read books, and sleep. In the morning, they wake up and repeat the same thing every day. Parents are proud of their childrens achievements and wish them good luck and a happy life. The young people will turn the wishes and desires of their parents and, god willing, will become right in this life with their weapons of knowledge.

What sculpture is to a block of marble, education is to the human soul. ~Joseph Addison

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Inspiration

All My Children
Written by Otra Khalailamother, teacher, English coordinator

Once I said that I am glad I teach teenagers. The teachers sitting with me asked if I was crazy. I laughed and told them that there is a secret behind my drive to teach teenagers. With half a smile they asked me to reveal the secret. I said that in the future, when I have children, they will grow up and become teenagers, and since this is the most difficult and problematic age any person can go through, I want to be there. I want to be living what teenagers, my future children, might go through and I want to know how to help my children without being outdated or unexposed to their issues. Click. I saw the flicker of understanding lighting the eyes of the mothers and fathers, that is, the teachers sitting with me. They smiled at the young crazy teacher, asking themselves if this is worth the trouble. One of them remarked that we all were teenagers, and we know all the nonsense and rebellious thoughts going through their minds. Now it was my turn to smile and think, crazy old teachers. I decided to help them widen their horizons, to enlighten them. The problems of teenagers always seem alike, but they are never the same. Were the problems of our grandparents or parents as teenagers the same? Were our crazy rebellious thoughts as teenagers the same as our parents'? Will our children or grandchildren go through the exact same dilemmas as ours? Who is crazy now? Today I look back at that discussion and smile widely. I was crazy, but glad to have been so. At this age, teenagers still hate school, forget to do their

homework, fall in and out of love, think that nobody understands them. They disrespect their elders, and think that they know the best and because of that they rebel and challenge the dangers of life. But in addition, nowadays, teenagers are daily exposed, unprotected, to every temptation or danger that the globalization lays at their feet. This generation of teenagers must work harder because a simple Bagrut Certificate, or even a B.A. Degree is no longer enough to have a decent job. So who is right and who is wrong? Is it worth the trouble or it's just an act of craziness? It all depends on your perspective. My daughter is a teenager now, and I am glad that I almost know every worry and thought she might undergo, and so approach it with the confidence of the experienced mother teacher. So did I achieve my goal? I achieved that and more. I have the satisfaction of helping my daughter, along with all my teenage pupils, my children, go through the storms of adolescence to the shores of the adult world safe and ready. I have the privilege of growing and learning from them how to survive.

Teaching Teens
Written by Eman Naama, English teacher

As an English teacher at Lakiya Multidisciplinary High School, I enjoy teaching teenagers since adolescence is characterized by a number of issues such as emotional, physical, and cognitive changes, making teens sometimes behave like kids and sometimes like adults. Adolescence is an interesting period in life, and most students are very sensitive to a teachers behavior. In my English classes, I give my students the freedom to express their feelings. I give them their space and I try to understand how emotional, physical, and cognitive changes affect them. Every day, I learn more about their world, which includes environmental challenges, competition, doubts, stress, love, and friendship. I enjoy the challenges and I always manage to integrate fun into most English classes.

Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. ~Nelson Mandela 16

2010 Women to Women Conference

Written by Samaher Abu Bader

Bedouin Journal

My name is Samaher Abu Bader, I'm 17 years old, and I study at Lakiya Multidisciplinary High School. I was invited to the Women to Womens Empowerment Conference at Lesley University in Boston. At this conference, we discussed women's issues all over the world. It was amazing to meet girls from so many places, and to make friends. It is nice to have friends from other countries and other cultures, which allows you to know more about their life and their tradition. I found we are more similar than different from the other cultures. That conference was the best adventure in my life so far. The conference made me think about what the girls in Lakiya need. I think it is of great importance for girls to have physical education in school; this is what I wrote about in the Bedouin Journal, my schools newsmagazine. Girls need exercise as much as the boys, but when the boys have gym, the girls usually take a break, go to the shop, and buy food and snacks because there is no female teacher or private class for them. Getting back to my experience at the conference, I would like to thank Dr. Rachel Tal for being my chaperone and for showing me the subway in Boston, and for taking me to dinner with Mr. Todd Patkin and his family. I feel like she is a true friend. I am still in contact on Facebook with many girls who were with me at the conference and I hope that some could come visit me here in Israel. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of my work on women's issues in Lakiya to help make the community better.

Special Thanks
Reham AlsanaI want to thank the magazine for thinking about teens this year. I also want to thank my English teacher Eman Naama for being patient with us and for her remarkable job. I also want to thank the great teacher Otra Khalaila for balancing her own job with working on the magazine. I am so honored to have the chance to write in this well-known magazine. I hope our voice will be heard, through you, the readers. Salam AlasadI have so much ambition, dreams and lots of hopes that maybe one day will come true. So, I want to thank all the people who supported me, especially my great teacher Otra Khalaila

and Pamela Huyser; I can't thank you both enough for giving us the opportunity to write and express ourselves. Walaa Abo JaberI want to thank the people who supported us, including Pamela, who worked hard with us. Last but not least, I want to thank my teacher Otra Khalaila who gave us so much of her time, and encouraged us all the way. Eatemad AlasadI want to thank my favorite teacher Otra Khalaila for helping us to write in the magazine, and so helped us improve our writing in English. It was so important for her to see her students write in the magazine. Manar Alasewy, Doa'a Alfakir, Samar AlkhortyWe want to give our special thanks to our friend Hanan Alasad and our favorite teacher Otra Khalaila for encouraging us to write again in the magazine. We want to thank Pamela Huyser; whose efforts made it possible to get our words published in the magazine. Amal AlasadI want to thank Pamela Huyser, my teacher Otra Khalaila and of course Dr. Rachel Tal for giving me the chance to write for the magazine. I won't forget to say a big thanks to the principal Dr. Khalil Abo Ayesh and the school counselor Thuka Khatib. I am glad that I was able to talk about an important subject like dropping out of school. Otra KhalailaI would like to thank Dr. Rachel Tal and Dr. Khalil Abo Ayesh for giving our students a stage to let their voices be heard. A huge thanks to my colleague and friend Pamela Huyser who put so many hours into this newsmagazine. Without her this beautiful work wouldn't have seen the light. Shahed AlsanaI would like to thank my teacher Otra Khalaila for believing in my work, when I didn't believe in it. Pamela HuyserThanks to Otra Khalaila for all her work and her friendship through this process, Eman Naama and Salma Sweity for encouraging and working with their students on the articles, all of the students who participated in any way, the other teachers at the school for allowing me to use the teachers room (and for being so kind), and the administration at the school. Yasmeen Alsana and Nihal AlsanaThere are so many words to say about this year. It was an amazing year because it gave us a big chance to write in the magazine about our life as Bedouin Arab students. So we thank Pamela and Miss Otra very much for their help to make the magazine look perfect.

It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength. ~Maya Angelou Bedouin Journal Student Life 17

Window into lakiya

Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another. ~Gilbert K. Chesterton 18

Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. ~George Washington Carver

Bedouin Journal Student Life

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Winter 2011

Editors Note
As a 2nd-year English Language Fellow who is sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv, I have enjoyed working with teachers and students on English lessons, presentations, and projects in many Bedouin schools located in the south of Israel. But this particular project is close to my heart. I was able to take many of my favorite things English, teaching, writing, photography, cross-cultural communications, critical thinking, aspirationsand combine them to help facilitate the creation of a magazine to be shared both here in Israel and in the United States so that others may learn a bit about the thoughts and dreams of Bedouin teens in the Negev. Working on a magazine with the students from Laqiya for a second year, I encouraged them to dig deep and find that voice within themselvesthe voice that allowed them to show their identities and express their similarities, as well as their differences, with other teens around the world. I hope that readers enjoy and share this magazine so that we can continue to create bridges across cultures, and that all of the students who participated will feel inspired to continue using their voices to create and motivate others to do the same. I give you all my sincerest thanks.

Pamela Huyser

Issue 1

AMAL English Department AMAL Director of English Studies, Rachel Tal, PhD This is the second newsmagazine published by students, mostly young Bedouin women, from the Multidisciplinary High School in Laqiya. The newsmagazine reflects the high level of written expression and social awareness of these students. The wide range of subjects reflects the diverse interests of the students and changes in Bedouin society. It shows that teens in Lakiya are no different than teens all over the world. They have the same needs, hopes, and dreams. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pamela Huyser, the English Language Fellow and Otra Khaliala, the English Coordinator. I would also like to thank Samaher Abu Bader who served as student editor, and with whom I attended the 2010 Women to Women Conferencean event that inspires the empowerment of women around the worldorganized by Rick Rendon and Tricia Raynard from Empower Peace. Special thanks to the Public Affairs Office at the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv for their ongoing involvement and support of education in the Bedouin sector. And last but not least, to our Boston connections, Todd Patkin and Dr. Prudence Steiner. Rina AkotonasHead of the English Access Microscholarship Program in the Bedouin Sector Ahuva DotanCounselor for English, AMAL Group Mali DescalloCounselor

Rachel Tal, Ph.D.

Head of English Studies and Projects Tel: 972-3-6450840 Mobile: 054-9933008 Fax: 972-3-7650423

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