Wednesday, December 14, 2011

كفاية


في فترة ما قبل الثورة وصلت لمرحلة إن الأخبار كلها زي بعضها، وبطلت أقرأ جرايد. كنت بس ببص في الجرنال كنوع من الروتين، وأقف عند مقالة أو اتنين للرأي وبس. أثناء وبعد الثورة بقيت حاسة إني لازم أتابع وأعرف اللي بيحصل حواليا، بس دلوقت اتخنأت من الجرايد. 

كنا زمان أساسي عندنا نجيب الأهرام (عشان الإعلانات والوفيات) والمصري اليوم. أظن يمكن وقت الثورة بابا قرر يقاطع الأهرام، ومن ساعتها واحنا بنجيب المصري اليوم بس، وأحيانًا التحرير. بس حتى وأنا ببص على مواقع الأخبار المصرية حاسة إن كلها زي بعضها، كلها تحريض يمين شمال. يا ناس الرحمة حلوة، احنا هنبني مع بعض إزاي إذا كنا بنشحن بعض على بعض؟ إذا كنا مش طايقين بعض هنسمع كلام بعض أو حتى هنسمّع صوتنا للي قصادنا إزاي؟ 

من كام يوم شوفت موضوع الملحق الانجليزي بتاع المصري اليوم والرقابة الداخلية وموقف فريق عمل ال"ايجبت اندبندنت"، ومتفائلة بيهم. رد المصري اليوم العربي والكلمتين بتوع المقالة تدخل خارجي وتحريض و"إلخ إلخ إلخ"، والكاتب مش عارفة ماله استفزوني. هو إن شاء الله اللي انتوا بتعملوه في النسخة العربي ده مش تحريض ولا تهييج؟ اقرأ الخبر... شوف مش عارفة مين بيعمل ايه. وقد يكون الخبر في حد ذاته مش ببشاعة العنوان، لكن العنوان لازم يعمل فرقعة. لا، أصل دي كتابة صحفية، هي كده، مش مقصود حاجة.

النهاردة جبت آخري لما شفت خبر (أنا قريت الخبر مطبوع، مختلف شوية) في المصري اليوم عن السي دي اللي اتحصلوا عليه اللي بيثبت إن نشطاء خدوا فلوس من برة. احنا حاولنا نكلم الناس نستوضح منهم بس موبايلاتهم مقفولة، وبما إن دي لسه تحقيقات جارية فهننشر الأحرف الأولى من أسمائهم بس. والاقتباسات اللي محطوطة من نوع فلان بيكلم علان عل الشات وبيقوله إنت خدت فلوس من مش عارف فين؟ آه، هو أنا قدمت، بس رجعت ندمت عشان مبقاش بايع نفسي وإلخ. ومش عارفة مين تاني بيسأل علان العلاني عن إن فريدوم هاوس بيمولها واحد صهيوني ومش عارفة ايه.

طيب الكلام ده ليه بقية؟ يعني في سلسلة هتتنشر حولين موضوع التمويل ده؟ مش باين من البتاع المنشور النهاردة. طب في أي كلام عن الفلوس اللي زي ما عنوان كان بيقول إن فرد خد 14 ألف دولار من مبادرة الشرق الأوسط اتصرفت إزاي. هو في ما يمنع إن منظمات المجتمع المدني أو حتى الأفراد ياخدوا فلوس من برة، هو في فلوس جوة وأنا مش واخدة بالي؟ ثم ايه اللي يعيب إن حد يتمول من أي جهة طالما إن يبقى في مراقبة على التمويل ده بيروح فين وبيتعمل فيه ايه؟

وسبحانك يا ربي التحقيقات دي و"الرقابة" بتطلع على ناس وناس. الاتقان والذمة والضمير بيظهروا في أوقات، وأوقات ولا الهوا. أنا ميهمنيش أفراد وماعنديش اللي أحكم بيه على حد، وميخصنيش أحكم على حد أصلاً. لو فيه تحقيقات فعلاً نزيهة ومستقلة، معنديش مشكلة، لكن التحقيقات ال"selective" دي متعجبنيش. يا كله يتحاسب يا تبطلوا تلعبوا بينا.

أنا باشتغل في منظمة أهلية (غير حكومية وغير هادفة للربح)، والحمد لله إن مجالها في الصحة وليها تواجد في المجتمع، فيبقى في داعي إن بعض الشركات تدينا تبرعات نشتغل بيها (يعني آه هيعملوا خير بس هيستفيدوا من حبة دعاية برضه). والتبرعات دي نفسها مش كافية، بنحتاج برضه منح وغالبًا بتبقى من منظمات دولية. عمركوا سمعتوا عن منظمة مصرية معاها فلوس تطلع منح؟

طب منظمات حقوق الإنسان مثلاً تجيب فلوس منين؟ الشركات عندنا ما شاء الله ربنا يزيد ويبارك عندها فائض هائل من الأرباح إنها تتبرع وأنا مش واخدة بالي؟ وفي ظل النظام (اللي مش سابق)؟ آه، إحنا حقوق الإنسان عندنا مفيش أحسن منها، المنظمات دي بتتدلع وتمسك في الهايفة؟

يعني ألوم علينا لما منشغلش مخنا؟ ولا ألوم على اللي علمنا إزاي نستعمله (أو منستعملوش)؟ والإعلام دوره ايه في كل ده؟ هو المفروض ينور وللا يضلم عقولنا؟ هي مش ناقصاكوا، في ناس كتير بيضلموها علينا من غير ماتتعبوا نفسكوا.

الثورة لسا مانتصرتش ولسه ماخلصتش، يمكن متكونش بدأت أصلاً (كل واحد ووجهة نظره)، لكن كفاية عك، وكفاية ضلمة. واللي مش عايز يولع النور، يسيب الفيشة في حالها.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Hold your siege - حاصر حصارك

It's been a long time since I last posted here. It's a combination of not having time or not feeling like writing / translating anything. I hope to get back on track, so will post the translation for one of Hamza Namira's songs.



حاصر حصارك ... انتصارك بكرة جاي
Hold your siege… your victory tomorrow will come
أكيد نهارك يملا قلب الضلمة ضي
Certainly your day will fill the heart of darkness with light
حاصر حصارك ... واصل مسيرك
Hold your siege … keep going
وارسم بقلبك ... خطوط مصيرك
And draw with your heart … the (out)lines of your destiny
اهزم سكوتنا ... واتحدى موتنا
Defeat our silence … and challenge our death
يصبح السجان أسيرك
The jailor then becomes your captive
انتصارك بكرة جي
Your victory tomorrow will come
أكيد نهارك يملى قلب الضلمة ضي
Certainly your day will fill the heart of darkness with light
حاصر خضوعنا ... حاصر دموعنا
Besiege our submission … besiege our tears
والذل فينا ... لما ركعنا
And the humiliation within us … when we knelt
اكشف طريقنا ... ومين صديقنا
Reveal our way … and who is our friend
وإزاي بكل سهولة بعنا
And how so easily we sold out
انتصارك بكرة جاي
Your victory tomorrow will come
طول ما انت فيك النبض حي
As long as you have a living beat in you
انتصارك بكرة جاي
Your victory tomorrow will come

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Book Review: Speak Malay!

Speak Malay!: Course in Simple Malay for English-speaking MalaysiansSpeak Malay!: Course in Simple Malay for English-speaking Malaysians by Edward S. King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I did some research before I bought this book, but maybe not enough research. I chose it mainly because it had a sequel and I thought that would be a good choice to further my Malay.

The book grew out of a series of radio programs meant for English speakers to learn Malay, so it was a bit odd that the book doesn't have accompanying audio. This, however, isn't important to me, as there are plenty of online audio resources.

The lessons are spread out over a period of 12 weeks, with each week containing 5 lessons + a revision lesson. The lessons are divided into 3 sections. The first has sentences to teach certain patterns. Sometimes these sentences form a dialogue in later lessons. The second section has the vocabulary from the previous section (usually limited to vocabulary mentioned in sentences). The third section contains grammar explanation.

The grammar section often refers to the first section of the lesson for examples rather than give more examples. In some cases, the explanation is shortened and the reader is asked to reread the examples in the first section to get the hang of it. I found this a bit disappointing.

The revision lessons include exercises which are mostly translate to/from Malay, make sentences. The few times there is a reading exercise, it's followed by translate into English rather than comprehension questions.

The book has key answers to the exercises, as well as Malay-English & English-Malay vocabulary lists. Words that show up in the grammar section have the grammar point number next to them, but given the format of the book, I found it a bit difficult to actually find them.

My opinion is mostly based on my experience with Minna no Nihongo books, but overall I would say it's a decent book to start learning Malay with.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Heading for Tahrir July 8th

(Disclaimer: I haven't been following the news very closely lately, so I may be misunderstanding something/s. But to me, when all put together, it's just plain fishy, and it stinks.)

July 8th
The Revolution First
We want purification for real, a trial for real, a government for real
Originally, July 8th was going to be for supporting the "Constitution first" movement (as opposed to elections first and then the new constitution). Some saw the call as going against the result of the referendum. However, others saw that as untrue given that the referendum turned out to be a big fat joke. We were asked to say yes or no to 9 articles (or was it 11, forgot, but doesn't matter). Well, after the result came out SCAF (the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces) came out with a constitutional declaration with 63 articles (!).

February 11, 2011 Mubarak stepped down. The regime, however, has yet to be overthrown. With recent events I caught myself thinking that SCAF is worse than Mubarak. Oooops, sorry, he's a great example to follow, that's just it, especially when a lot of his cronies are still in power. So, he still gets the credit for what's happening in Egypt.

Since February 11th what has changed? At first there were calls for patience (as in stop protesting in Tahrir), that change can't happen over night. But the way things are going, waiting will no longer be called patience, but stupidity.

Has the former president been put on trial? Not yet, last I heard they said it'll be in August. o_O Have the big shots from the regime (those of them who have been arrested of course) been put on trial? Hmmm, sort of, but with postponements, not having all charges pressed against them, and recently some of them being cleared of some charges. Have the officers who ordered and/or shot protesters been at least suspended (so they hopefully can't intimidate victims' families or witnesses)? No. Has anyone been put on trial for protesters' deaths? Only a few, but postponement after postponement. (Note these are all civilian trials.)

On the other hand, civilian protesters are being handed over to military police and facing military courts. Police are as brutal as ever (there are decent police out there, but unfortunately, the bad ones overshadow them). Just last week, some of the martyrs' families were beaten up by thugs and then when the police showed up, they arrested, beat up and sent some martyrs' family members to military detention in wait for military trials.

Then there's the government to think about. The vice prime minister had handed in his resignation, the prime minister accepted it, SCAF however didn't. And there's talk that the prime minister would like to get rid of at least 6 or 7 ministers (who were part of the old regime), but SCAF won't let him. And the minister of interior says he's satisfied with the police's performance. It's either he really doesn't know what they're doing, or he really is satisfied, either way he should be changed.

When the prime minister first came, he came to Tahrir to talk to us. He said if he can't do anything, he'll come to Tahrir and tell us. Well, he hasn't come and he hasn't said anything about what's going on.

Some people blame the revolution for the current situation, but come on, the country was in pretty bad shape under Mubarak. You can't possibly think that all these problem mushroomed just because of the revolution (or because our dear father isn't here :S). Not to mention that people who were benefiting from the old regime have everything to lose if the revolution succeeds.

Some people say it's not worth going to Tahrir square anymore, it hasn't been the same since Mubarak stepped down. They mean the type of people there, the atmosphere and such. I felt that as well the last few times I went there, but I'm not there for the people who are there. I'm one upset citizen and want to voice my opinion. So here I come Tahrir square, ohisashiburi desu ne!


Tuesday, June 7, 2011

My Home - عنواني

Something is coming up, so insyAllah I'll have more time on my hands to work on language learning projects. For now, this is a song that was recently released by Zap Tharwat, Sodfa Band, Kazaz & Mohamed Sweid. Songs can sure be tricky when translating, I'm sticking to the Arabic as close as I can for language learning purposes.

The song has English translation in it, but it's either I can't see them all, or some parts are missing. I copied one line from their version because I'm thinking maybe it carries their intention for the meaning. As always, comments & questions are most welcome. ^_^




عنواني
 My Home


قالوا لي في صغري في صِبايا
They told me in my childhood, my youth
فداها شهيد هي الغاية
A martyr’s death is a goal
يا قدس يا ريت تسامحيني
O Jerusalem, please forgive me
ده ظلم سنين عمى عيني
It’s the injustice of so many years that blinded my eyes
وعمي قلبي عن الواقع
And blinded my heart from the reality
وخلّاني أكون بايع
And made me sell (the cause)
نسيت والعمر نسّاني
I forgot and life made me forget
نسيت وضعفي بكّاني
I forgot and my weakness made me cry
وييجي في حلمي يهمسلي
And it comes to me in my dream, whispering to me
مايفزعني، لكن كلامه يوجعني
It doesn’t frighten me, but its words hurt
أموت أنا فدى بلادي
I’ll die for my land
لكن الأصل بينادي
But the origin calls
(In the video it says: But the true source is calling for those willing to keep living)
ده عدّى العمر مش باقي أنا في عمري كتير باقي
Time has passed with not much left, but there’s a lot left of my life (time)
بصوت عالي ومن تاني فلسطين دي عنواني
In a loud voice, once again, Palestine is my home

شايف صلاح الجيل واقف على بابك
I see the righteousness of the generation standing at your door
حاشد جيوش ثوار واقفين على عتابك
Gathering armies of rebels standing at your door step
بيحطموا الأسوار آلاف من الثوار
Thousands of revolutionaries breaking the barriers
خلونا ناخد حقنا خلاص بقينا أحرار
Let us take our right, for at last, we’re free
دخلوا على الأقصى وصلوا ركعتيين
They entered Al-Aqsa and prayed two rak`ahs (prayed a prayer)
مشهد من القصة هنشوفه يوم بالعين
A scene from the story we will see one day with our own eyes
أنا لسة فاكر من سنة واحنا هنا واقفين
I can still remember a year ago when we were standing here
في جيشك واقف أنا جنبي صلاح الدين
Among your army I stood along Salahudin (Saladin)
حالة من عشق لترابك
A state of deep love for your soil
حالفين لهناخد بـتارك
We swear to avenge you
حلفنا منسيبك هنا
We swore we wouldn’t leave you here



Friday, March 25, 2011

I dream ♪

Need to look more at the bright side. The revolution helped us get over our fears, let them not come back and take over our lives. This song is inspired by Egy2020, sung by ZAP Tharwat, Hany Adel (Voice of Freedom) & Cairokee. Naturally it's in Egyptian Arabic. ^_^





مبروك ولادة الجيل
Congratulations the birth of the generation
مبروك بقى اسمي
Congratulations has become my name
مبروك علينا النيل
Congratulations the Nile
يروي شروخ جسمي
Watering the cracks in my body
مبروك أنا فرحان
Congratulations I’m happy
متلخبط أتكلم
I’m confused to talk
بالريشة والألوان
With the brush and colors
للظرف أنا مزين
I decorated the envelope
كاتب لبكرة جواب
I’m writing a letter to tomorrow
وباعته لعنواني
And sending it to my address
واصف في بكرة حاجات
I’m describing things in tomorrow
أتمنى تلقاني
That I hope will find me
واصف شجاعة جيل
I’m describing the bravery of a generation
واصف غنى ومواويل
Describing singing and folk songs
واصف محبة تساع
Describing love that is enough
من الخلق بالملايين
For millions of people
واصف فانوس مكسور من عركة امبارح
Describing a broken lamp from yesterday’s fight
واصف ولد بيثور ع الظلم مش سامح
Describing a boy who revolts against injustice and doesn’t allow it
واصف ودمعي يزيد لما أفتكر أكتر
Describing and my tears increase the more I remember
واصف وفرجه قريب بس احنا نتغير
Describing and His relief is near if we’d just change

بحلم كتير أجري وأطير
I dream a lot of running and flying
في سما واسعة كلها خير
In a vast sky full of good
معايا ناسي وأحبابي
With me are my people and loved ones
وأنسى عذابي
And I forget my suffering

مبروك وبتمنى
Congratulations and I’m wishing
كاتب كتير جوابات
Writing a lot of letters
مبروك وحاستنى
Congratulations and I’ll wait
ده العمر لسه ما فات
Life isn’t over yet
أتمنى أشوف في بلادي
I wish to see in my country
العدل شيء عادي
Justice is the norm
وأتمنى أشوف الحاضر
I wish to see the present
يمحي أسى الماضي
Erase the sorrow of the past
أتمنى أشوف الطالب
I wish to see the student
حاضن لكراسه
Hugging his notebook
وأتمنى أشوف الظابط
I wish to see the (police) officer
رافع لفوق راسه
Holding his head high
أتمنى أشوف عالم
I wish to see a scientist
وأتمنى أشوف فلاح
And wish to see a farmer
أتمنى أشوف الراجل
I wish to see the man
في العيشة بقى مرتاح
Become comfortable in life
ده الصبح هو حياته
Morning is his life
راح تحلم ايه تاني؟
What else would you dream of?
راح تحلم ايه تاني؟

What else would you dream of?
راح تحلم ايه تاني؟

What else would you dream of?



بحلم كتير أجري وأطير
I dream a lot of running and flying
في سما واسعة كلها خير
In a vast sky full of good
معايا ناسي وأحبابي
With me are my people and loved ones
وأنسى عذابي
And I forget my suffering

احلم وقوم حقك
Dream and rise.. it’s your right
أحلم وأنا مصدق
I dream while believing
أحلم وقبل ما أحلم
I dream and before dreaming
الحلم يتحقق
The dream comes true

احلم وقول
Dream and say
اللي جواك
What’s inside you

بحلم كتير أجري وأطير
I dream a lot of running and flying
في سما واسعة كلها خير
In a vast sky full of good
معايا ناسي وأحبابي
With me are my people and loved ones
وأنسى عذابي
And I forget my suffering


I dream of being freeeeeee!!