Just Us Girls

This blog consists of little snippets of my friendship with a Syrian refugee family. We learn by experience

We are made to feel so separate from each other. There are differences such as language and religion, even cultural differences but some things are universal. I don’t know why I was so afraid to tell Safaa about my impending divorce. Maybe I do know why; there is still that lingering belief that we are somehow very different and one wrong move on my part would end the friendship. I felt that the wrong move could be something that I had no control over rather than some betrayal of our friendship.

It’s funny yet sad to think that even I am susceptible to the “othering” we hear so much in this culture. I was not sure how Islam thinks of divorce. I had this fear that being divorced would somehow make me unacceptable. I couldn't bear to lose this family, My family. I love them so much . Yesterday, we sat on the floor, Safaa, her three daughters and me, singing. They don’t wear hijab in their own home so there was nothing in appearance to identify Muslim or non Muslim. That afternoon we were just five women sitting on the floor of the living room eating apples. They asked me to sing the “Hawaiian song”. That meant the Israel Kamakawiwoʻole version. I sang it and they tried to sing along. Then Farah chose an Arabic song from her iPod. it was a song about a broken heart and moving on without a habibi (love). So there we sat listening to the Arabic version of I will survive; just a group of women understanding each other.

It was just a typical girl time with support and friendship. yet there was nothing typical about it.