Mariam Bazeed

And I began every single morning just wailing. And when I say every single morning, I mean that literally. Like every day for the time that I was at that school, every single day. I cried. I'd have to get, like, peeled away from my mother. So, like, I was famous for it at the school that I went to. Because at six years old, it actually takes a lot of stamina to make a huge scene every morning.

And I began every single morning just wailing. And when I say every single morning, I mean that literally. Like every day for the time that I was at that school, every single day. I cried. I'd have to get, like, peeled away from my mother. So, like, I was famous for it at the school that I went to. Because at six years old, it actually takes a lot of stamina to make a huge scene every morning.

So, like... I was that kid. And then it actually got to the point where this woman who ran the canteen thing that you could buy snacks in the playground and stuff, she would take pity on me. And every morning would sort of wait until I'd been peeled away from my mother and was still weeping in the corner.

So, like... I was that kid. And then it actually got to the point where this woman who ran the canteen thing that you could buy snacks in the playground and stuff, she would take pity on me. And every morning would sort of wait until I'd been peeled away from my mother and was still weeping in the corner.

So, like... I was that kid. And then it actually got to the point where this woman who ran the canteen thing that you could buy snacks in the playground and stuff, she would take pity on me. And every morning would sort of wait until I'd been peeled away from my mother and was still weeping in the corner.

And she would come to me and bring me to sit next to her at the canteen and give me an enormous bag of salted popcorn and a huge glass bottle of Coca-Cola, second breakfast. And I would sit there and just eat the whole thing and drink the whole thing and then start to feel a little bit all right. And one day she actually met my mom.

And she would come to me and bring me to sit next to her at the canteen and give me an enormous bag of salted popcorn and a huge glass bottle of Coca-Cola, second breakfast. And I would sit there and just eat the whole thing and drink the whole thing and then start to feel a little bit all right. And one day she actually met my mom.

And she would come to me and bring me to sit next to her at the canteen and give me an enormous bag of salted popcorn and a huge glass bottle of Coca-Cola, second breakfast. And I would sit there and just eat the whole thing and drink the whole thing and then start to feel a little bit all right. And one day she actually met my mom.

She came and met her and said, hi, your daughter has been eating my food all term and hasn't paid me for it. And she just told her an arbitrary number of what my mother owed her, and I was in a lot of trouble. And I know she was a poor person in a poor country, but I was still hurt. And it wasn't just me who was having a hard time, right?

She came and met her and said, hi, your daughter has been eating my food all term and hasn't paid me for it. And she just told her an arbitrary number of what my mother owed her, and I was in a lot of trouble. And I know she was a poor person in a poor country, but I was still hurt. And it wasn't just me who was having a hard time, right?

She came and met her and said, hi, your daughter has been eating my food all term and hasn't paid me for it. And she just told her an arbitrary number of what my mother owed her, and I was in a lot of trouble. And I know she was a poor person in a poor country, but I was still hurt. And it wasn't just me who was having a hard time, right?

So I was crying in the morning, and my mother was crying at night. The Bazide family. And I didn't understand that. I was like, what's wrong with you? You're from here. Right? You were born here. This is where you're from. This is what's familiar to you. This is where you've been telling me we're going to come back to eventually. Why are you so upset? Like, you're home, supposedly. But...

So I was crying in the morning, and my mother was crying at night. The Bazide family. And I didn't understand that. I was like, what's wrong with you? You're from here. Right? You were born here. This is where you're from. This is what's familiar to you. This is where you've been telling me we're going to come back to eventually. Why are you so upset? Like, you're home, supposedly. But...

So I was crying in the morning, and my mother was crying at night. The Bazide family. And I didn't understand that. I was like, what's wrong with you? You're from here. Right? You were born here. This is where you're from. This is what's familiar to you. This is where you've been telling me we're going to come back to eventually. Why are you so upset? Like, you're home, supposedly. But...

Yeah, the adults in my life didn't seem any less dislocated than I was. But while I could generate all the energy I needed just internally, my mother needed a visual aid. Her visual aid was this concert that had been composed about the war very hastily and that aired on the local channel every single night.

Yeah, the adults in my life didn't seem any less dislocated than I was. But while I could generate all the energy I needed just internally, my mother needed a visual aid. Her visual aid was this concert that had been composed about the war very hastily and that aired on the local channel every single night.

Yeah, the adults in my life didn't seem any less dislocated than I was. But while I could generate all the energy I needed just internally, my mother needed a visual aid. Her visual aid was this concert that had been composed about the war very hastily and that aired on the local channel every single night.

And so she would listen to this and just like be sobbing and I would be watching her listening to this and be sobbing. And the lyrics went something like this.

And so she would listen to this and just like be sobbing and I would be watching her listening to this and be sobbing. And the lyrics went something like this.

And so she would listen to this and just like be sobbing and I would be watching her listening to this and be sobbing. And the lyrics went something like this.