My Pride

I have this photo of my family in Cameron Highlands as the wallpaper for my Sony Ericsson P1i. I showed it my Iranian friends with great pride. At the age of 35 (36 this August)..... my life is complete.....I have a great family.....a lovely wife, 2 beautiful daughters and a handsome "li'l man" for a son. Soon, they'll be joining me in Dubai.

I wanted to bring my family to Dubai to give them the taste of living abroad......I had the experience more than 10 years ago in the US....... but that was different.....I had no other responsibilities but myself and my studies. I guess, after almost 12 years of marriage, this would be a great present to my wife..... And I want my kids to have something to tell to their friends when they go home upon the completion of my assignment.... a Malay proverb says "jauh perjalanan, banyak pengalaman".... precisely.... I have been in places like the US, Japan, Dubai and Iran..... I have seen and met a lot variaties of people....It kinda opens my eyes to the world.....I honestly think that I am not living under that crystal glass. And I want my family to do the same thing to....to open their minds......to broaden their horizons.....

Casualties of War

Today at the prayer room, during Zuhur, I met with this Iranian guy. He's maybe in his early or mid-fifties..... I didn't notice anything strange at first....but then I realized that his leg, just under the right knee, was amputated. I asked him about it.....he said with pride (in sign language + plus a very limited English)....I got this during the war with Saddam.....obviously he was hit during the Iran-Iraq war.....he pointed at two pictures flanking the Ayatollah Khomeini picture.....located on a wall..... apparently, the 2 gentlemen on the the wall were his friends who died during the War.....While inter-locking his index fingers and pointing at the pictures, "Syahid" he said.....don't wanna comment about that, though. But I know.....he's very proud of losing his leg on something that he really believed in.....(but I don't actually condone wars....especially when you're fighting against your Muslim brothers)....I wanted to take his picture but had a second thought.....I was afraid that he might be offended....maybe next time.....(I also forgot to ask him his name)

For the first time in my life......I held in my hand the prosthetic leg of a war veteran.....felt creepy a bit..... but I realized that....we should be proud of sacrificing for something that we really believe in.....You don't have to lose a leg or anything so that you could call it sacrifice......just think deeply, and you will know....