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Aminah

Firas

Daliyah

By: Ismael S.

I came into this world as Ismal Sultan on May the 18th in the year 1993. Brought up and raised in the ancient city of Upper Egypt called Swenet, known in modern times as simply Aswan. Much like what it was known for during pharaonic times as an agricultural hub the small village within Aswan known as Shailal still remains true to its roots. I grew up with two sisters Aminah who is now 19 years old and Daliyah who is now 22 years old. Along with my two sisters my cousin Firas who is now at age of 17 lived with us as well. Baba (dad) owned a shop in the cultural center where he sold antique carpets; very Aladdin like indeed! While Ummi (mom) taught local children biblical studies. Remembering my early years comes as much of a blur as it comes with irritation as I hated the desert heat as a child. My Jiddo (grandfather) would unclothe Firas as a baby down to his diapers, walk him down to a small river near our village and pour water over his head when ever hed cry over heat exhaustion. At times I would join and swim into the river which was densely populated by camels and their owners whod take their camels there for a quench of thirst :] Firas and I attended the same school which I remember so vividly, it was located along the outskirts of Shailal not much into the Sahara Deseret it had 4 floors. Surrounded by palm trees, a large grand entrance made out of wood decorated and carved with traditional Arabic symbolism and the hallways were filled with antique lamps. There was no air conditioner and our uniforms were meant to keep us cool as we wore white robes with curved collars under the extreme heat. On Sundays the whole family would gather for church following a feast in my house, the house helpers would set up the feast and take part in the dinning as they too were considered a part of the family. The villages in Aswan are segregated by religious groups. My native village Shailah was predominantly Coptic (Egyptian Christian) while some neighboring villages were Muslim. Amongst the villages there was little to no tension; Firas and I attended school with a lot of Muslim kids many who were friends of ours but some clear differences between the Islamic and Coptic culture were visible. Celebrations in my house were on a grand scale as its the Coptic custom to do so. One grand celebration in particular was always Easter Sunday in my house. Ummi and the house helpers would decorate the house plaza which is the open space interior of the house that overlooks the balconies which divide the floors with yellow and white roses. Theres a water fountain in the middle of the plaza which was decorated with red roses and yellow colored candles surfacing the rounded edges. Everyone was to dress up in bright colors wearing their traditional garments after church services and thus the celebration began. The house plaza would be

filled with children dancing around to the beat of the live band whod play Arabic theme music. As the night progressed the children would wear down many which would be escorted home the adults then made their way into the ceremony. One tainted memory during these celebrations was watching my parents belly dance from the 2nd floor balcony view of the plaza. Hearing the crowd cheer listening to the live music, watching my mothers long dark locks dance around my father as her flowy dress lift in spirit and the gold bracelets she wore on her wrist clash in bell sounds while she tilted her wrist gracefully in the air. My family was considered middle class by standards but by the time I had turned 12 years old our financial situation struck a crisis. My fathers antique shop was making no income and my mother had lost a couple of her students due to personal circumstances. Baba began to worry considering a move to Siwah in Lower Egypt where his brother lived or a complete transition out of Africa. The opportunity came by that same year when his childhood friend who moved to Peru as a child extended the olive branch to relocate the family to Peru. The opportunity came with precautions however as there was only room to accommodate four of us and so it was determined Firas would stay behind with Jiddo and Aminah and I were to share a bed together. Our last night in Aswan was special we shared a feast with our family in the outdoor balcony of our house which overlooks the Nile with the sand dunes of the Sahara in the foreseen and the ancient temples that dominate the skyline. We wished our relatives our goodbyes and very emotionally kissed Firas a farewell who we had taken in as an infant. The following morning I boarded a plane for the first time off to an unknown land and I left behind my childhood, my friends, my relatives, Firas along with Egypt in a special place in my heart. Our first couple of months in Cusco, Peru were far from anything luxurious. My siblings and I didnt speak a word of Spanish and neither did Ummi. Baba knew just enough to buy us eggs in the mornings and we heavily relied on his childhood friend who was housing us for assistance. Aminah and Daliyah made friends relatively quickly all from the male variety and one could only suspect why so Baba and I spied on them whenever we seized an opportunity to ;]. Baba and Ummi found employment about a year after our move and by that time my sisters and I were already enrolled into a school and had to adapt and learn Spanish quickly. We were placed into emersion programs for non-Spanish speaking natives set up by the Peruvian government to assist us with Spanish. A couple of months later I started to get a grip over the language besides Spanish took many words from Arabic which made learning a bit less confusing. When I turned 15 and started a new school year I met Ulises who then became my first formal friend since the move to Peru.

Adapting to the changes in Peru posed a great challenge as everything from the language, the customs, and the traditions to the architecture was different. Our lifestyle had also changed after living for a couple of years with Babas childhood friend we were able to move out and buy our own house but it wasnt the same lifestyle as the one we lived in Aswan. There were no house helpers, there was no sense of community unity and we exchanged our Coptic values for Christian ones. There were no longer grand festivities or the unity of a big family like ours, it was lonesome and felt foreign. Ulises helped me mold the cultural differences between his and ours. Hed invite me over to his house for dinner with his family and Id teach them Arabic words in the dinner table. Occasionally theyd ask me to belly dance and I would blush and tell them I couldnt. He became my first best friend and I confide in him for everything, he was the missing void I felt from not having Firas around. Around the age of 18 after my family and I had finally adapted to the Peruvian way of life Ulises encouraged me to confess to my family about my bisexuality. Shortly after I had done so I was kicked out of my house as expected and Ulises took me in. My relationship with my parents was rocky for a few months, there was little to no communication. I would only go home to visit Daliyah who was still living with my parents. Aminah had gotten engaged and moved out with her boyfriend but we to stayed in touch. Daliyah helped me in many ways possible to fix my relationship with my parents by setting up a trip back home with just the three of us. Without a doubt it worked and while we clashed in a lot of ways possible the comfort of being back in Aswan made my parents feel more relaxed and it also provided the privacy and bonding time we needed to understand one another. Following my newly formed relationship with my parents I started Architecture at my University and my oldest sister Aminah wedded. I live on my own now and Im still good friends with Ulises where ever the future will take me is unclear, whether or not I will have to relocate someday and repeat this very same cycle is in the hands of fate now. By: Ismael Sultan