Eid al Ahda Mania
Is it possible to get non alcohol induced hangover? I woke up yesterday with a splitting headache, an empty, growling stomach, aching feet; my body feeling as if I was torn and twisted during the night. Memory of two days ago was filled with horror. I would not want to relive again, but I shall. Just so that I have written evidence and will not commit myself to volunteer at any Islamic held function again in the near future; unless I know my specific duties and have consulted with my lawyer, read all the fine print, and made sure that I actually benefited in some way at least.
I skipped all my classes on Eid day to attend the morning prayers. I don’t regret it one bit, it was a beautiful experience, one felt every year, to be among hundreds of other fellow Muslims. I love coming in and watching people of many different races and cultures, united in the worship of Allah, celebrating the joyous occasion of Eid. I planned on heading home after the prayers and catching up on all my missed assignments and massive reading that I’ve been ignoring when a lady from my local mosque sidestepped my path and handed me a volunteer tag with my name printed in big bold letters. I stared at her, not knowing what to say, as she looked up at me grinning. I smiled back awkwardly thinking back, trying to remember if I promised her anything in the last couple of months. I remembered ignoring the pleas for volunteers in my email inbox, but try as I might I couldn't recall committing to anything. I told her she made a mistake, she shook her head, smiled brightly and said ‘no sister, come, come, you volunteer today, Inshallah. My cousins smirked when I looked at them, pleading to get me out of this situation with my eyes, but they just stepped back hoping that I’d break down, come and keep them company. They were loving it.
I sighed and nodded my answer. Quilt trapped me knowing that I haven’t been going to the Masjid or sisters halaqah for a while now. Besides, how can you refuse a favour to anyone on Eid day? The deal was that there would be a couple of volunteers and we would all swap places in shifts, hour by hour. That sounded good to me. I calculated in my head and I thought that I would be able to volunteer maybe an hour or two and then the rest of the night go to the adult room and partake in the activities and dinner going on in there. How very wrong I was.
I’m beginning to think that its a purely Muslim habit to come late, blatantly ignore instructions, and crash events even though not having a ticket and being told that its already full. I could see the problem as I came in and people were arguing with the coordinators demanding for more adult and children’s tickets. Some ignored the doormen and just went it knowing that they’re shy of physically forcing someone to get out. I shook my head and heading to the children’s room and started to organize some games to keep them occupied. It worked for only 5 percent of the kids, because the rest went nuts, running all over the place, wanting to get out and in every single second, refusing to listen to anyone, yelling, disrupting the place, and totally ignoring the hired animal show people who were trying to tell them a story with each animal they brought out. I was a little sad that they would carry that impression with them of how Muslim children behave. Honestly, it seemed to me that maybe this was the only place they could vent and just run around as children; free from their parents admonitions and orders to sit still and be quite. Children need time to play and let their energy out; they can’t be cooped up, hushed, and imprisoned in their homes. They need fresh air, physical activity, and time with other kids their age or else they would act like savages in pubic settings.
Not only was it difficult to control them, but it was mentally and physically exhausting. Most of the responsibility fell into the shoulders of me and my 4 Somali friends. The other volunteers didn’t seem to care as much but we felt personally responsible for the safety of the little children entrusted to us. Furthermore, we wanted to give some peace and adult time to their parents who might only have this time to meet their friends and converse with other adults; especially the moms.
It was completely unorganized, I realize that this is their first party and its normal to make mistakes, but they could’ve been more tough and strict with their rules. They shouldn’t let the parents bully them to get what they want. Some of the people who purchased the tickets went hungry that day; and since most of us haven’t even spent more than 15 minutes away from the children- it was as if we payed to volunteer. At the end of the day; we just wanted to crawl into bed and never come out.
I skipped all my classes on Eid day to attend the morning prayers. I don’t regret it one bit, it was a beautiful experience, one felt every year, to be among hundreds of other fellow Muslims. I love coming in and watching people of many different races and cultures, united in the worship of Allah, celebrating the joyous occasion of Eid. I planned on heading home after the prayers and catching up on all my missed assignments and massive reading that I’ve been ignoring when a lady from my local mosque sidestepped my path and handed me a volunteer tag with my name printed in big bold letters. I stared at her, not knowing what to say, as she looked up at me grinning. I smiled back awkwardly thinking back, trying to remember if I promised her anything in the last couple of months. I remembered ignoring the pleas for volunteers in my email inbox, but try as I might I couldn't recall committing to anything. I told her she made a mistake, she shook her head, smiled brightly and said ‘no sister, come, come, you volunteer today, Inshallah. My cousins smirked when I looked at them, pleading to get me out of this situation with my eyes, but they just stepped back hoping that I’d break down, come and keep them company. They were loving it.
I sighed and nodded my answer. Quilt trapped me knowing that I haven’t been going to the Masjid or sisters halaqah for a while now. Besides, how can you refuse a favour to anyone on Eid day? The deal was that there would be a couple of volunteers and we would all swap places in shifts, hour by hour. That sounded good to me. I calculated in my head and I thought that I would be able to volunteer maybe an hour or two and then the rest of the night go to the adult room and partake in the activities and dinner going on in there. How very wrong I was.
I’m beginning to think that its a purely Muslim habit to come late, blatantly ignore instructions, and crash events even though not having a ticket and being told that its already full. I could see the problem as I came in and people were arguing with the coordinators demanding for more adult and children’s tickets. Some ignored the doormen and just went it knowing that they’re shy of physically forcing someone to get out. I shook my head and heading to the children’s room and started to organize some games to keep them occupied. It worked for only 5 percent of the kids, because the rest went nuts, running all over the place, wanting to get out and in every single second, refusing to listen to anyone, yelling, disrupting the place, and totally ignoring the hired animal show people who were trying to tell them a story with each animal they brought out. I was a little sad that they would carry that impression with them of how Muslim children behave. Honestly, it seemed to me that maybe this was the only place they could vent and just run around as children; free from their parents admonitions and orders to sit still and be quite. Children need time to play and let their energy out; they can’t be cooped up, hushed, and imprisoned in their homes. They need fresh air, physical activity, and time with other kids their age or else they would act like savages in pubic settings.
Not only was it difficult to control them, but it was mentally and physically exhausting. Most of the responsibility fell into the shoulders of me and my 4 Somali friends. The other volunteers didn’t seem to care as much but we felt personally responsible for the safety of the little children entrusted to us. Furthermore, we wanted to give some peace and adult time to their parents who might only have this time to meet their friends and converse with other adults; especially the moms.
It was completely unorganized, I realize that this is their first party and its normal to make mistakes, but they could’ve been more tough and strict with their rules. They shouldn’t let the parents bully them to get what they want. Some of the people who purchased the tickets went hungry that day; and since most of us haven’t even spent more than 15 minutes away from the children- it was as if we payed to volunteer. At the end of the day; we just wanted to crawl into bed and never come out.
posted by Lonesome Dreamer @ 11:29 a.m.
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