03/05/2022
when Baba first moved to the states, he filled tanks at a gas station.
one day, a white man ordered Baba to clean up the dog s**t on the ground.
“hey, you, boy! clean that s**t up.”
with the little english he had, Baba refused firmly:
“i no clean s**t.”
after hearing some of the commotion, Baba’s boss ran outside: “what’s going on?”
my father repeated, firmly, but in a panic:
“sir. i do good work for you. i work hard. but I no clean s**t.”
his boss put his hand on Baba’s shoulder, assuring him that he wouldn’t be cleaning up anyone’s s**t.
even though Baba is now resting peacefully, i don’t know why my jaws clench when i retell that story.
that young immigrant boy fighting for basic human dignity.
working hard while visualizing an empowered future for generations of children he would never get to meet.
i think this story hurts me because we are still fighting for basic human dignity.
sure, our story reads a little differently today:
we may own the gas station, with no boss to report to, and our homes may be decorated in degrees.
but we’re still cleaning up some s**t that was never ours to clean.
that day, baba could have been fired (or worse), but he still didn’t back down.
so, why should we?
we will NEVER be civilized if we continue to let them define it for us.
my future arab af kids will understand that their power comes from the exact thing they’re trying to make us apologize for.