The Great Wilderness

By S.H. Al-Arial

These short stories drawn from the fact of Libyan reality as a part of Arab World , and also portray the reality of human rights in closed societies , also reflected the human tragedy as human being on this vague existence, and accepting fact that our manners are stunned from habit that derived from cultural legacy .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Dec 18, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493132034

Book preview

CONTENTS

Abu Saadia

Bramble

Butterfly

Carnival

Cave Of Oblivion

Darwesh

Farmmonkeys

Great Wilderness

Honor

Hoopoe

The House Behind The Sun

Liberty Or Death

The Man Who Lost Ground From Under His Feet

Metaphysics

Plato’s Cave

Robe With Many Holes

Rolling Stone

Shrine

Swirl

That Day Missed The Moon

Veedo

Wave

Wire

ABU SAADIA

Was known as (Abu Saadia) none of the City of (Benghazi) dwellers how that name came to a black man feet from the jungles of Africa . . . A man who did not know his identity only alias that adjective is not one of the city’s population knows his real name and in fact, nobody want it. That epithet fits his black skin?!! Labels in our country have a western edge of human. Any seduced by the same. Thus epithets. Perhaps people traditionally those labels for abuse of man by man.

There was no identity of the rights in our country calls…?!! The man he is not any relationship to the city (Benghazi) is not born and does not carry an iota of their cultural heritage. A lot of people say that strayed way is coming from Africa to conquer in the arms of the streets (Benghazi). Libya fifties was not limits or entries on arrivals or those who are going. It knew neither passports nor visa not even the so-called customs today. Everybody is coming and always welcome. The country without boundaries for entry. The man does not mean that nicknamed Abu Saadia or by any other name . . . Because it does not belong to this country. The concept of affiliation made him people without identity. It lost citizenship even invited a thousand names. The man was knocking on the streets and fro. He was dressed in fatigues some feathers covering his head and adorns the side to hold bones he had taken from the droppings homes. It was adorned his body with an ornament African dress. He was carrying a small drum hits it when some people were rallying around him, especially young people who rally around him shouting Boo Sadia… Bo Saaday . . . Perhaps the children also want to highlight themselves that icon. The more of the voices around him, chanting his name much hysteria dances of him. He was hitting the ground violently which revolves bowed to drum. Was the beats of drum and dance is a dance violence to chase prey middle of the forest. And was preparing his dancing that there is still. The man wants to decide himself the center of the country does not belong to him; maybe he was looking for that missing left behind. Was dancing and beating on the drum is his main career . . . Never asked of a charity . . . Proud with himself…?!!

Every man wants from dances to announce himself as this?!! He always cowering silence and even though he felt he was uprooted from its roots in his homeland there. But it still felt strongly to be free, you can see his eyes radiated with some sadness that we could not understood that sadness. He gave his body to the population (Benghazi), but without the spirit. What harshest rights to live without a country?!! Or to live in a country does not hold true identity?!! Abu Saadia gave his body Benghazi citizens and absent his soul. Why I love the population of (Benghazi) that character and they joke in their meetings cellular?!! May be contrary to their personalities because they were citizens who do not have citizenship only have to understand the definition of space and time without knowing?!!

I remembered what happened to my father at the time of Italian occupation that the Italian police had poured beat him until he lost consciousness in front of his people, and he should to say (hello ) to every policeman, my father were remained hours lying in the middle of the street without a bystander touching with this case remained lying in the street throughout the day until plucked some people amid the darkness?!! My father was a second-class citizenship or say no classification at all?!! It is noteworthy that parents always was walking side wall at a police watch a grown Italian street for fear of question that could lead to abuse of dignity. The identity not included among the citizen ID card?!! The citizen in his country as a stray animal stood in the street width was disgraced and inspect without permission from a compact in prison without question?!!

One day, the people were missed (Bo Sadia), was no longer seen in the neighborhood and they after residents (Benghazi) deserve to drum man has disappeared completely from the city and no one knows why or how? The tale is over (Bo Sadia) that man remained glued to haunt Libyans until this time.

BRAMBLE

Our land was not kind to its population. It was very harsh to them what leaves the spring, carrying a green cloak even exposed face of the earth on the red carpet had been stripped from the bramble plant life, except that the in calm down to fill the place thorns within the streets and alleyways of the city… spring in my country usually is not without drawbacks many spoil the atmosphere in the net with breezes humid private telecom wind coming from the depth of the desert, which loaded with dirt and dust and also sticks of dry bramble to compromise filling the place of the city of Benghazi in the fifties suffering hardship and moist of live sources are rare, but some business practices and service were simple, which is confined in a private retail trade and some simple crafts have you believe that suffering may bring a smile on the faces of people because of that narrow the besieged in their lives has to do that narrow the cruelty of life in the dig grooves above their faces… Miserable life and cruelty did not leave a space for joy and delight and despite the bitterness and grievances in them bolsters not abandoned the hearts of good passion and also the generosity of growing over the others. They were stuck with each other and if they were one family and the poverty and the severity of life led them to the unity among them. Many of the families were living under one roof called the big house that house had many rooms it was like a motel each family had only one room but the utilities were common between neighborhood. The doors of the houses in the usually free of locks and rarely find the door of any house locked day and night and the neighborhood paints mark the irony in solidarity to those families comprising the wall of one and rarely find the family of isolated alone from the others of the other families of the district, it will be considered case of denunciation when one of them actually did a sin.

The families called the profession of head of the family was the family of the owner of the café shop called ghhwaji and a nurse called a doctor and so the names had, that people had simple ambitions does not go beyond the pursuit of daily loaf, where they are very happy if he had got bread for the his family and was a shame the man unemployed and they call him idle, the family was represented the axis and the main pillar in the life of the Benghazian family and the head of her his absence from the family was a great disaster for the family, because he was only one who did manage the family affairs especially when the loss is the sole provider and there is no existence of the so-called Social Security as it is commonly today, was death the head of household is the big obsession…