When slogans are hungry and pockets are bankrupt – Ahmed Jassim Al-Zubaidi
In this planet crowded with slogans, from east to west, whenever wars erupt and crises intensify, the first thing that becomes dizzy is not politics or statements, but rather the stomach of the poor citizen… the one that does not understand the language of resonant speeches and does not digest deferred promises.
As for my small city, which was surrounded by villages like green bracelets on the wrist of the earth, every village had a story and every story had a harvest:
Al-Bou Mustafa flaunted her oranges, Batta Wahbi displayed her vegetables as if she were a bride on a wedding day, and Al-Walwan and Al-Sabaghiya generously distributed citrus fruits… And not only the land was generous, but even men had a harvest of courage and dignity.
In the sixties of the last century, during the days when enthusiasm burned like an oven, especially after the June 7 War, the streets were filled with national anthems, and young people rushed towards the fronts. This was a guerrilla, that was a soldier, and everyone carried the homeland in his left pocket… or so we thought.
Schools, universities, cafes, even restaurants—they have all been turned into speech platforms, and signs everywhere scream phrases like:
“Dignity is more valuable than a loaf of bread.”
Limited income
And here the story begins…
Someone entered a restaurant, read the sign, scratched his head a little, then called to the waiter in a voice not devoid of the philosophy of hunger: “Come quickly… I want half of a group of people of dignity… I will see you dead from hunger!” Since that day, it seems that “Dignity” has entered the menu, but it has remained without a clear price… nor a satisfying taste. Today, after all these years, some are still searching for “Text Nafar Karama”… but the problem is that the list has changed: a gas crisis, delayed salaries, a retiree waiting for relief as he waits for rain in August, and people with limited income are counting their days like a prisoner counting the bars on his window. In the midst of all this, someone comes out and says with confidence: “Everything is made easy for the sake of dignity!” Well… very nice… but allow us a simple question, and perhaps a little rude: What kind of dignity is this that does not find a loaf of bread to rely on? What kind of dignity is there that stands helpless in the face of a thief or a murderer because the law is in limbo? It seems that our dignity has become like fast food in advertisements:
Beautiful picture… large size… but when you open the box, you find “half a dozen”… and maybe less.
Gentlemen, before we raise a new sign, let us ask the waiter first: Is “Nasf Nafar Al Karama” still available…or is it also late with the salaries?
