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Showing posts from March, 2014

White Sneakers

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The Lieutenant “I recognized you from your sneakers” . I wish I remember his name, for he had remained in the back of my mind till this day today. “I remember they were exactly like the ones I saw on that bus the other day. You’re going to Tripoli, right?” That was what one man who had picked me up, over two years ago, while waiting for a mini-bus to take me back home after one long hectic day at work. He pulled over and shouted “Tla3” meaning “hop in”, and to my utter surprise, being shouted at by an army lieutenant behind his driving wheel with his rugged military voice, was enough to obey, well at least until my curiosity was satisfied and I'd figure out what the hell was going on. It wasn't until he threw in those two sentences that I knew what he was talking about. A couple months earlier, it seems, he kind of met me on one of those huge Connexion buses to Tripoli, but – funny enough – he only remembers my white sneakers, the reason why he was more than certain it w

Define: Zambo

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Noun Someone who is half-black, half American Indian. A pedigree of the human race. Excels at friendship, flip cup and being a magnet for women. A jerk. A jackass. Stupidity sometimes due to alcohol or drugs. – source Verb To have your face randomly and/or voluntarily painted by total anonymous strangers To join a mighty local march started by a group of people who proudly paint themselves in colors among which Black, Red or Blue. To have the fun of your life screaming your lungs out shouting the famous Zambo anthem To enjoy the fact that everybody’s happy around you To be able for a day a year at least, to have everybody stare at your pitch black face going back home and having your parents freaked out the first instant they saw you To add another unforgettable day to your life span of unbelievable facts To see the people of Mina drinking, dancing and singing to the tunes of Zambo all while having an outrageous dose of fun painting the faces of bypassers here and th