Oct 6, 2022 Member-only The Peace Helmet It’s a glorious Sunday morning here in Montpellier, South of France. Montpellier is reputed to have the greatest number of sunny days a year in all of France, over 300 days! In the center of this sun-bathed town, lies the Peyrou gardens. And every Sunday, the city organizes “Les Dimanches… Life 3 min read Life 3 min read
Oct 6, 2022 Member-only When My Brother Laughs She sat on the kitchen table, her hands landed on her lap, palms facing the ceiling. Her eyes looked straight ahead, past the kitchen into the entrance hall and peered into the freshly punched hole. The hole seemed to be mocking her with its wide-open mouth and vicious teeth. She… Life 3 min read Life 3 min read
Apr 19, 2022 Member-only Killing a Dog She lay there in drug induced peace while her mama stared at her face tracing the stitches that went from her left ear across her half her jaw and down her neck and up to her right cheek. Her beautiful six years old child is scarred for life, physically and… Life 3 min read Life 3 min read
Apr 15, 2022 Member-only Finding Home We head out of the restaurant towards the tramway and pick up where we left off: “Finding home has been a lifelong preoccupation of mine. As you suggested, it has plenty to do with one’s community, friends, and family. But the reality is, for so many of us, we’re in… Life 3 min read Life 3 min read
Apr 12, 2022 Member-only The Homeless Man Who Offered Me Bread There is rampant homelessness in Montpellier, South of France. Perhaps it’s the clement weather and relatively cheaper life, but maybe also due to the fact that the whole Hérault department of which Montpellier is the epicenter is one of the poorest in France. Not to compare miseries, but to give… Life 4 min read Life 4 min read
Apr 11, 2022 Member-only Encouraging Girls to Major in STEM Fields Using my 20 years career in software engineering, as a girl and woman. — Recently, I joined a local association for “women in science and engineering”, here in France. One of the missions of this group is to encourage young girls to go into these fields, by direct interventions at schools. The idea being to talk face-to-face to the students about the importance of… Life Lessons 4 min read Life Lessons 4 min read
Apr 1, 2022 Member-only Forgive Forgive, while your heart aches in your chest Forgive, while your wounds bleed to your death Forgive, while your rage soars in a daze Forgive, while your tears flood you… Poetry 1 min read Poetry 1 min read Forgive Forgive, while your heart aches in your chest Forgive, while your wounds bleed to your death Forgive, while your rage soars in a daze Forgive, while your tears flood you… -- -- 3
Mar 21, 2022 Member-only Publications With A Different View TMR is an American Publication written by the non-American diaspora within the U.S., giving English readers all over the world a different perspective of the narrative. — The Mission The Markaz Review supports a deeper understanding of the Arab/Muslim world, in the Middle East, Africa and our diasporas in Europe and the Americas, with its publishing activities and public programs. … Publication 2 min read Publication 2 min read
Mar 14, 2022 Member-only The Sins of the New Day Today’s impossible prompt: a poem about spring celebrations and peace — Sunday, March 20th, marks the beginning of Spring in earth’s northern hemisphere. It is that moment in the astronomical cycle when the sun is exactly above the equator making the day and night equal, announcing sunnier times, longer days and shorter nights. In some parts of the world, for some… Spring Equinox 6 min read Spring Equinox 6 min read
Mar 8, 2022 Member-only The Pigeons’ Lair Every day, on the way to school, or when we’re out and about around town, we pass the same homeless persons, at the same locations. They are always at their self-allotted spots. I wondered why they stick to a specific location, so I asked my mom if she knew: “Well… Short Story 6 min read Short Story 6 min read