by rchakaki | Apr 12, 2017 | Recollections, Syria
Saturday afternoon – May 2013, I receive the latest report from my contact in the UN; Ayn al-Tineh has been taken over by radical religious militias who massacred the men of the town, dumping their bodies in a mass grave and took 300 young women and girls as...
by rchakaki | Jan 2, 2013 | Recollections
It is every Arab’s responsibility to document the beautiful and rich history of our people, places and culture.With our cities, towns and architectural landmarks turning to dust, all that remains are the memories of our elders. They stand as our national...
by rchakaki | Aug 20, 2012 | Recollections, Syria
عيد بايه حال عدت يا عيد. اهالي سوريا مهجرين. وأهالي حماه الذين هجروا منذ اول الثمانينات قلوبهم ملتاعه على بلدتهم. كانوا يعيشون على امل العوده. لم يظنوا ان نكبه اخرى ستحل ببلدتهم وتطول هجرتهم وكما قال شاعرهم حماه في شغاف الروح تثوي ودمعي كم سقى فيها الطلولا وياعاصي...
by rchakaki | Jan 10, 2011 | Recollections
Our neighborhood resembled the United Nations. Families from Germany, Holland, England, the USA, Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, and a few other European and American nations lived in homes lining a central paved circular road, and rubble and dirt roads extending off the...
by rchakaki | Jan 9, 2011 | Recollections
The compound backed the sea. At times I heard the waves, smelled the salty water, fish and seaweed. On Thursdays, a skinny, older man named Abu-Issa came carrying a woven basket filled with fish and prawns. He wore a wrap-around long checkered skirt, a wife-beater...
by rchakaki | Jan 8, 2011 | Recollections
Our Saudi home was in a gated community on the outskirts of Dammam, close to Kateef. It must have been built in the early sixties. It housed two larger double story homes, and forty some mid-size homes. It was gated in by a palm tree branches (sa3f) fence. The...