Mariam Bazeed

And I could see there was a clear effort that had been made in the apartment to welcome us home. My dad had dusted. He'd made us our favorite meal that he makes. But there was something that still just felt so still about the inside of our home and something that was just so different about it and unfamiliar. But it was still, you know, it was good to be back together as a family.

And we were sitting down at the dining room table and this was finally a chance for my dad to actually tell us what the war had been like for him that we'd left him in the middle of. Because while the whole time we'd been in Egypt, we'd only been able to speak to him once a week for three minutes. which is not a lot of time. You don't get to tell any stories really in three minutes.

And we were sitting down at the dining room table and this was finally a chance for my dad to actually tell us what the war had been like for him that we'd left him in the middle of. Because while the whole time we'd been in Egypt, we'd only been able to speak to him once a week for three minutes. which is not a lot of time. You don't get to tell any stories really in three minutes.

And we were sitting down at the dining room table and this was finally a chance for my dad to actually tell us what the war had been like for him that we'd left him in the middle of. Because while the whole time we'd been in Egypt, we'd only been able to speak to him once a week for three minutes. which is not a lot of time. You don't get to tell any stories really in three minutes.

And so he's telling us about one day when the rockets had actually gotten too close to our house. And he had been in the shower. He panicked. And with soap suds covering his body, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist and then ran into the desert barefoot to get away from the lights.

And so he's telling us about one day when the rockets had actually gotten too close to our house. And he had been in the shower. He panicked. And with soap suds covering his body, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist and then ran into the desert barefoot to get away from the lights.

And so he's telling us about one day when the rockets had actually gotten too close to our house. And he had been in the shower. He panicked. And with soap suds covering his body, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist and then ran into the desert barefoot to get away from the lights.

And I just remember feeling so ashamed at that moment that these were the stories that my dad had from the war, right? This bullet hole that he never talked to us about. And then this image of my father running naked in the darkness, scared for his life. He had to leave because dining room tables like don't protect you from rockets actually.

And I just remember feeling so ashamed at that moment that these were the stories that my dad had from the war, right? This bullet hole that he never talked to us about. And then this image of my father running naked in the darkness, scared for his life. He had to leave because dining room tables like don't protect you from rockets actually.

And I just remember feeling so ashamed at that moment that these were the stories that my dad had from the war, right? This bullet hole that he never talked to us about. And then this image of my father running naked in the darkness, scared for his life. He had to leave because dining room tables like don't protect you from rockets actually.

It was for me a moment of realizing that I'd been lied to about a lot of things in my life. It was a lie that American imperialism has ever or will ever save anyone. It was a lie that Egypt or Kuwait could be home for me when I needed a visa to stay in one place and when I'd never actually lived in the other. And the wood of that dining room table wouldn't have protected me. Thank you.

It was for me a moment of realizing that I'd been lied to about a lot of things in my life. It was a lie that American imperialism has ever or will ever save anyone. It was a lie that Egypt or Kuwait could be home for me when I needed a visa to stay in one place and when I'd never actually lived in the other. And the wood of that dining room table wouldn't have protected me. Thank you.

It was for me a moment of realizing that I'd been lied to about a lot of things in my life. It was a lie that American imperialism has ever or will ever save anyone. It was a lie that Egypt or Kuwait could be home for me when I needed a visa to stay in one place and when I'd never actually lived in the other. And the wood of that dining room table wouldn't have protected me. Thank you.