Marah
Twenty-two-year-old Marah started writing during the war, focusing on her experiences of trying not just to survive but also to live with her family. Writing is not a choice to her — it is a way to survive.
Who recognises other people's disasters can bear their own disasters more easily.
Everyone was ready to go with me. Their priority was to stop seeing me suffer.
I wasn't really convinced, but I had to be. The fact was that I didn't want to risk losing someone dear just because of my ears.
How would I even get to this distant hospital? What mode of transportation would we use?
At this moment, we all paused. Gas had been cut off for ages.
Some suggested walking until we find transportation, but this was impossible. The hospital was very far, and the heat would have been far worse than staying in the tent untreated.
Then I told them, "Hey, do not worry. I feel better now. If it starts feeling unbearable again, then we will think of a treatment," and I left.
I imagined myself wounded and suffering just by the thought of it. If imagination alone could cause that much pain, what would reality feel like? Somehow, reflecting on this made the pain easier to bear.
Days passed. As the pain grew, I thought of those truly wounded and prayed for them, hoping never to find myself in their position. Somehow, that perspective became my way of healing.
I kept living, replaying my situation over in my mind, but always reaching the same conclusion: I would not visit a doctor as long as the war continued.
At that time, I realised the meaning of the Arabic idiom "اللي شاف بلاوي غيره هانت عليه بلواه", which translates to "Who recognises other people's disasters can bear their own disasters more easily".
The War Reached a Ceasefire
In September, the war was escalating very wildly; the tents around us were being burned, and shells were raining down. At that point, I truly felt my life was coming to an end. I even forgot about my ears.
At that time, my prayers were simple: "Oh Allah, keep my family and me together in any fate. Please don't leave any of us suffering alone."
In the meantime, there were some rumours about a ceasefire. As usual, I dismissed them because I was used to hearing cruel lies.
But, in October, against all odds and amid such cruelty, the ceasefire was announced. The first thing that came to mind was, "Finally, I can see any doctor I want!"
To be continued…