Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 18:17:41 -0700 From: David Morgan <•••@••.•••> Subject: Iraq, Albright, Rafeedie, and the UC Berkeley Graduation. This is so good. It is inspirational. I have a huge lump in my throat from reading this. What a courageous young women!!! I'd like to shake her hand. linda Return-path: <•••@••.•••> >From: •••@••.••• >Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 13:35:48 EDT >Subject: Iraq, Albright, Rafeedie, and the UC Berkeley Graduation. >To: •••@••.••• > >Some of you may have heard about Fadia Rafeedie, a young Palestinian woman >who, as something like the valedictorian of her class, spoke at UC Berkeley's >graduation last week. You may also have heard that the keynote speaker for >the convocation was Madaleine Albright. Albright's speech was interupted by >many different flavors of protests on everything from Columbia to Iraq. >Below is Fadia's explanation of what happened, and the transcript of her >impromtu speech. > >I think her bravery and poise are inspiring. >Sonia >----------------------------------------------------------------------- > >---------- >From: Fadia Rafeedie >Subject: Transcription of convocation address > > >Dear Friends, > >I've been wanting to extend my thanks to everyone (Sawsan, Ali, Rania, Wael, >Nader, Zahi, Randa, Nabella, Kathy, Sherry, Rima, and everyone else) for >supporting me before and after Berkeley's convocation last Wednesday >"featuring" the so-called "Keynote Speaker of the Millennium, Madeleine >Albright." Things have been so crazy, though! I've been on a mission to >respond to every single email that pops into my inbox about what happened, >but the task is so exciting and overwhelming at once, that I decided to leave >it alone for a while so that I could submit a more impersonal but >comprehensive 'report.' > >Below I've included my meandering address, which, when transcribed, sounds >superficial and poorly organized. (It was.) I'll narrate the succession of >events, which I think reads like a drama, and within it I outline some of >the reasons why I think that Wednesday was a collective victory for the >forces of opposition against the Iraqi sanctions in particular, and the Arab >community - in solidarity with the Left in this country - more generally. > >First, even for the people who were at the Greek Theatre that afternoon in >the blinding sun, you cannot *imagine* what the audience looked like from our >vantage point on stage. It was like fireworks! The images are imprinted in my >head forever. > >At the moment when the administrators announced, after we were all sitting on >stage, that they'd change the schedule around so that Albright spoke first >and not last, I knew that the "powers that be" were frightened of what was to >come - embarrassment and exposure to a woman whose >administration and policies deserve it. > >As soon as she stood up on the thick block at the foot of the podium to reach >the microphone, a 15-foot bright red and black banner - signature of the >International Socialist Organization -- unfurled itself in the distance, >directly across from her in the center of the theatre, with the clearly >written slogan, "Madeleine Albright is a War criminal." > >Then, in unison, hundreds of voices (or at least they sounded like it), >interrupted her before she could begin, with chants of "end the sanctions >now! end the sanctions now!" > >The 'security' forces, dressed in loud yellow jackets, were quick to rip down >every poster that surfaced in the crowd and escort the protesters outside of >the theatre, but there was NO WAY to get at all of them. As I said, it was >like fireworks! > >When the red banner went down, another one to the left of the crowd flew up >about the situation in Columbia. Then the officers tore that one down, >dragged out the audience, and scanned the crowd for the sources of the >consistent cries of protest. > >Albright was stumbling and bumbling through her speech there was no way that >anyone was listening to her babble about stopping war criminals in Kosovo, >preventing the "buying and selling of human beings" in Latin America, >achieving so much as a Secretary of State wearing a skirt, etc. etc. etc. >There were just too many people screaming out that she >was a war criminal, that she was occluding any mention of Iraq, and that she >was a liar. The hypocrisy laden in every sentence she uttered was truly >unbearable to have to endure, especially since I was caught off guard about >having to speak after and not before her, as is tradition at Berkeley. > >She tried - successfully, unfortunately - to win the audience to her side, >but I'm convinced that they supported her more out of nationalistic fervor in >response to a group of what they perceived as disruptive and 'foreign' >objectors than because she was actually convincing or inspiring. Anyone, >even a Nazi, I would argue, would have garnered support from the audience, >because it was incredible how successful the protesters were in silencing >her! > >So after the Columbia banner went down, another one spread itself out in a >different part of the theatre about how she's supporting imperialism. There >was still more chanting, heckling, and booing. > >From the distance, one protester wearing a conspicuous red shirt completely >shut off all movement in his body, forcing the officers to drag him - slowly, >awkwardly, and painfully - down a long, long isle of stairs to the left of >the theatre. No one at that point was even looking at Albright. They were >watching this poor guy's body slouch in the distance, his head buried in his >chest and his shoulders extending over his ears as his arms were flailing. > >Right from the start, two of my friends from ADC-SF, Eyad and Senan, were >'escorted' out. They both looked at me from the distance as they left, and I >was fuming. Part of me wanted to just get up and leave with them so as not to >dignify what this woman was saying while I was sharing the stage with her. >But I knew that a spoken statement would have more effect. I decided then >that the best thing to do, despite the fact that she was going to flee on her >broomstick before she had a chance to hear me speak, >was to deliver an impromptu address since my original speech was now >obsolete. In any case, after seeing all that, there was no way I was going to >rattle off about how much I loved my brother Ramiz, how grateful I was to my >parents, how I wished my grandmothers a happy mother's day, how we were >leaders of the future, etc. etc even though all of that would have been, and >was intended to be, appropriately delivered under the expected circumstances. > >It was a true pleasure to hear (or actually, not) the rest of Albright's >speech, because just when I thought all the protesters were ejected, another >group would whip out their own banner, unfurl it, and start chanting. Their >resources seemed inexhaustible. By no means was her address uninterrupted at >any stage of the game. > >I know that Berkeley had a Madeleine Albright Unwelcoming Committee website >and meeting the week before the event, but my understanding was that it was >disorganized and a bit splintered. The activists there decided to just work >independently of each other, and I think that was - in some >ways - their strength. The message of opposition was the same, but the faces, >slogans, posters, and styles were all different. It worked out to be a >symphony of voices of dissent, and in some ways, I was happy to see the >disgruntled audience members exasperated at what they saw as another >"Berkeley spectacle." As I said before, the support they gave to Albright >came more out of sympathy for her and respect for a national symbol than out >of any true understanding of what she stood for. > >The loud condemnation continued to the very end of her hackneyed speech, but >she received a standing ovation nonetheless. Happy with her victory (which >was in some ways a great PR stunt for her), she descended from the block at >the foot of the podium, turned to the students and faculty >sitting (actually, now standing) most near her, and smiled as she shook each >of their hands in self-congratulation. She was going in a row until she got >to me. I stayed sitting, my hands clasped in my lap, and gave her a serious, >angry look. Her smile turned into the frown of scorn which she >wears more naturally, then she withdrew her hand, and turned around to walk >away. "Insirfi," I thought to myself. > >[I had been asked by university administrators a day earlier to meet with her >for a half hour before the ceremony. I told them that I'd prefer not to, and >I told them that if I was in any photo opportunity with her, it would be a >result of the fact that we were merely sharing a stage together as mutual >honorees. I was not intending on shaking her hand, only to be captured and >coopted by a photographer. They didn't press me to comply either way.] > >Okay, then she left abruptly, briskly, and riding a wave of glee from INSIDE >the theatre. Outside, with the well-mobilized protesters who'd been there for >hours before her clandestine arrival - and here's the greatest victory of all >- she had to leave sprawled across the back seat of her car >like the criminal that she is, ducking for her life, and dashing off into the >distance. > >Things quieted down a bit after that. We heard two more speeches - one of >which was especially light and funny - but I enjoyed neither. Three of my >friends were gone, and my family was looking painfully at me in the distance. >It's true that my moment was hijacked by the university administration and >the secret service. I had worked so, so hard on my speech You wouldn't >believe how much help and support I got. It was a true learning experience, >but at the same time, I was ambushed. > >Rania Masri was emailing me articles and tips nearly every day towards the >end; my friends with the ADC-SF chapter had a special meeting where they all >contributed their thoughts and opinions about style, content, tone, etc. in a >roundtable discussion; and Eyad and Emily Kishawi - to whom I am most >grateful and indebted - stayed up very late nights with me figuring out the >best approach that got my political AND personal message across in a way that >reflected my personality without compromising the more important and broad >political message. (We used Iraq Under Seige as a >great resource, so thanks Rania and Ali!) My poor parents, brothers, and >sisters watched me flip-flop and agonize for weeks - just as I had been >finishing up my senior thesis, too - about the right way to frame what I >wanted to say so that I would achieve a three-point goal that would: 1. >Address my class honorably, not just as a way to earn legitimacy before I >launched into a myopic discussion about politics, but because I truly was >grateful to Berkeley and held (hold) affection for my class. My speech was >certainly not going to be a reaction to Albright, and in it I had >included the story of my uncle's imprisonment in the Zionist jails, and how >we were graduating together this summer, etc. etc. 2. Educate my class and >the general public about what's happening in Iraq, hopefully with the ripple >effect that the media's presence would provide; and 3. Confront Albright as a >symbol of power and try to emulate, though the circumstances were much >different, the sensational and inspiring event at Ohio State where she was >caught off-guard and humiliated for being, again, the criminal that she >really is. > >I had wanted to ask for help from this list and another one, but I honestly >think that the flood of opinions would have confused me even more. Besides, I >was a bit paranoid that I was going to somehow be prevented from speaking. >The university, also unlike custom, never released a public statement about >my speaking at commencement. They kept saying that I was going to "share the >stage" with her. Only a sensationalist journalist at a local paper seemed to >make public that the University Medalist was really the antithesis of what >Albright stood for. > >However, he was just after a news story. What he did was talk about me, then >talk about her, and then quote some law professor at Berkeley who said that >you couldn't have chosen more polar forces than this even if you were casting >a play. He said that the lineup was the kind of thing to make "officialdom >shudder" and that I was a "rebel with a cause." This was all without my >mentioning a word about the plans I had for my speech. I myself didn't have >a clear idea of what my speech was going to be, particularly since I was >working on it literally until the last minute. > >I should say that Ibrahim Alloush gave me a piece of advice that proved >prophetic for what was going to ensue later. He said, "you don't have to rant >and rave to be a good revolutionary, even though that is absolutely necessary >sometimes." > >I don't - by any stretch of the imagination - take credit for the turn of >events at convocation on Wednesday. They probably wanted her out of there as >quick as possible to circumvent the flurry of stunts that audience members >had planned. (The longer she stayed, the more protracted the >embarrassment, I think.) That the movement of resistance was successful in >subverting an entire program and turning it on its head is in itself a >victory. > >Still, it's significant to note that the materials I had submitted to the >Committee on Prizes when I was competing for the medal were unequivocally >pro-Palestinian, anti-sanctions, anti-Oslo, etc. etc. They chose Albright to >be our commencement speaker precisely the day before they chose me to be the >Medalist. I'm not even sure the 8-person committee, which was composed of >professors, knew of the senior class council's decision. They are definitely >more concerned with choosing the person who most fits the description of >University Medal than worrying about the lineup at graduation. Or, it would >be that the professors really DID want someone to counter Albright and they >thought a Palestinian would be perfect. I don't know there are too many >theories. Maybe she and I were both chosen >independently of each other and the lineup was random. > >In any case, what I think made the university a bit wary of me was that I >refused to submit my speech to them. (That decision was also one that >agonized me for weeks, because there was ramifications for each option, and I >had no way of predicting which would be the most effective to achieve the >goal of saying what I wanted the way I wanted.) I shared the >beginning and end with them, but didn't elaborate on the middle part. It >wasn't because I was hiding anything from them, necessarily. It's just that >they didn't have a right to read it in the first place, and I wasn't finished >composing it anyways. Of all universities to check freedom of speech, >Berkeley should never be one of them. More than that, I think I threw up a >red flag when I declined the opportunity to meet with Albright beforehand. >The coordinator of student activities was also well aware >that I had no respect for Albright or her policies. > >I should say that Eyad predicted precisely what happened: that once the >university really knew what I felt about her, they wouldn't have the audacity >to remove me as a speaker, but they'd just change the schedule so that I >spoke last, just as the reporters were packing up to leave > >Albright's speech-writers had access to all the information I had submitted >to the Committee on Prizes because she was ostensibly interested in my >"story" (didn't you know? all Palestinians have "stories" because we're like >performers in a circus), and she even said she wanted to include me in her >speech. That, I think, was an unsuccessful attempt to preempt me and force me >to be nice and gloating in her presence. > >Okay, for whatever reason, it turned out that gave a speech as the "p.s." of >the program, since in my hands was an obsolete message which would have had >bad timing and a stiff delivery if I delivered it in its present state. > >That's one big long introduction to explain why the heck what I've included >below is so discursive and anti-climactic given what you might have been >expecting. I'm embarrassed, almost, to share it with you. There are >grammatical errors (lots of sentences that end in prepositions!), a couple >factual errors, no organization, many examples of poor diction, and in >general unintelligent-sounding. Still, I think what was important was the >delivery, since I was trembling, angry, and calm when I spoke. I disagree >with one reporter's assessment of it as "rousing and militant." It was more >of a sad, serious, sincere, half-exasperated, >half-informative address that I gave completely off the cuff. After working >all those weeks with my awesome friends on solidifying a message, though, it >wouldn't be completely accurate to say it was an extemporaneous delivery. I >learned so much from the people who helped me with my speech, and in many >ways, I was saying their words but with my voice. Thanks to everyone. > >The support I received afterward vindicated the injustice (almost) of having >the rug swept from under my feet. Many, many people lined up to extend their >congratulations. Most of them were strangers. "Courage" is the word I heard >most often. Some Iraqi women came to me crying afterwards, happy that I was >able to speak (some of) the truth. Even the >chancellor of the university, who really, really legitimized what I had to >say before I opened my mouth because of the astounding and exaggerated >introduction he included when he awarded me the medal, said that he agrees >the sanctions should be lifted, that he was proud of me, and that he wanted >to meet my parents. All of today and yesterday, I've been receiving so many, >many emails of support from Arabs, non-Arabs, Muslims, non-Muslims, friends, >strangers, university administrators, professors, >etc. etc. If you're interested, I could post some of the highlights of the >mail I've gotten. The best part of what happened was that everyone who went >home that night had no choice but to mention the protesters, Iraq, the >sanctions, etc., and many of them had no idea what was happening in >the first place. I only received 3 letters of intense criticism of what some >graduating seniors saw to be my "lack of tact" in politicizing their >convocation and giving legitimacy to people whom they thought were disruptive >and disrespectful protesters. One of the letters appeared in >our campus newspaper and was especially biting. She basically said that I >had an outstanding academic record but that I lacked a key social technique: >"tact." Yikes. (Whatever.) > >My friend Nadine lined up a radio interview with me, which I think went well. >I have a reporter with another local newspaper for Tuesday. And the coverage >has been pretty good at the local level. I'm extremely inexperienced when it >comes to media stuff, but Emily's helping a lot with that! > >The ADC-SF crew has been really outstanding. They were calling, writing, >supporting, and standing with me in solidarity through every single aspect of >this. Poor Maad recorded the speech but was so nervous and excited >that it's a bumpy viewing! :) My favorite graduation card was the one that >they all signed for me. It had snoopy on the cover and read, "2, 4, 6, 8, >You're Someone to Congratulate" but they had scribbled in, "Fadia's >graduation day anthem: 1,2,3,4 end the sanctions, end the war, 5, 6, 7, 8 end >the sanctions, end the hate!" My friends were so courageous on Wednesday >truly a reflection of their spirit and dedication to this struggle. I love >each of them dearly. > >We're totally hoping to use the momentum from Wednesday to continue forward >with our huge anti-sanctions campaign, which is supposed to culminate in a >series of outdoor advertisements on billboards and buses in San Francisco >commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the imposition of >the sanctions. > >Here's where you can find some stories: > >1. Berkeley's website has a press release with pictures and a sugar-coated >summary. I think it summarizes my position pretty well albeit briefly. It's >at http://www.berkeley.edu/news/features/2000/05/11_convoc.html > >2. The local press in Southern California interviewed me the day before the >convocation, so the writer - a sympathetic Egyptian by pure coincidence - >wrote a glowing report without knowing what actually happened that day. >Still, it's a good article and it's at >http://www.inlandempireonline.com/news/stories/051200/grad.shtml > >3. My school newspaper had a report of it all, but I think the protesters >were trashed throughout. It's at >http://www.dailycal.org/article.asp?id=2561&ref=news I can't believe that I >said she's the perpetrator of horrible "things"! What terrible word choice > >4. Then there was the Oakland Tribune, which said that I was the "main >course" (sensationalism!) and included lots and lots of information about the >sanctions, which was nice. > >5. I think many of you have already seen the SF Chronicle's report. > >Okay, here's the text of my speech. Forgive it, please, for all of its >mistakes!!! And forgive me - even though I haven't yet forgiven myself - for >talking about U.S. policy as though it's "our" policy, or the government as >though it's "my" government, or the people of Iraq as "them" >instead of "us." That was just the more effective route. There are many more >errors ! > >Chancellor Berdahl: Please join me in congratulating our 2000 University >Medalist, Fadia Rafeedie: > >Fadia: Thank you, that was way too generous, Chancellor Berdahl. It makes me >sound, you know, a lot better than I am. > >And uh you know I just feel.. I had a speech and it's right here. It took me >so long to draft it and I kept re-drafting it, and this morning I changed it >again, but I'm just going to put it to the side and I'm going to talk from my >heart because what I witnessed here today, I have mixed feelings about. > >I don't know why I'm up here articulating the viewpoints of a lot of my >comrades out there who were arrested, and not them. It's not because I got, >you know, straight A's or maybe it is. Maybe that's the way the power >structure works, but I'm very fortunate to be able to give them a voice. I >think that's what I'm going to do, so if you give me your >attention, I'd really appreciate it. > >I was hoping to speak before Secretary Albright, but that was also a >reflection of the power structure, I think, to sort of change things around >and make it difficult for people who are ready to articulate their voice in >ways they don't usually get a chance to. > >So I'm going to improvise, and I'm going to mention some things that she >didn't mention at all in her speech but which most of the protesters were >actually talking about. You know, I think it's really easy for us to feel >sorry for her, and I was looking at my grandmothers who are actually in the >audience - my grandmother and her sister - who weren't really happy with all >the protesters, and I think they thought that wasn't really respectful of >them, and a lot of you didn't, I don't think, because you came to hear her >speak. > >But I think what the protesters did was not embarrass our university. I think >they dignified it. > >Because secretary Albright didn't even mention Iraq, and that's what they >were here to listen to. And I think sometimes NOT saying things - not >mentioning things - is actually lying about them. [Applause] > >And what I was going to tell her while she was sitting on the stage with me, >I was going to remind her and I was going to remind you that four years ago >from this Friday when we were freshmen, I heard her on 60 Minutes talking to >a reporter who had just returned from Iraq. > >The reporter was describing that a million children were dying [died] due to >the sanctions that this country was imposing on the people of Iraq. And she >told her, listen, "that's more.. children than have died in Hiroshima >and Nagasaki. Do you think the price is worth it?" [Albright] looked into the >camera and she said, "the price is worth it." > >And I was going to tell her, "do you really think the price is worth it??!" >Since that time, 3 times that number of people have died in Iraq. > >I mean, we're about 5,000 here today. Next month by the time we graduate, >that's as many people who are going to die in Iraq because of the sanctions. >This is what House Minority Whip David Boniors calls 'infanticide >masquerading as policy.' > >Now, I don't want to make the mood somber here because this is our >commencement, but commencement means beginning, and I think it's important >for us to begin where civilization itself began, and where it's now being >destroyed. [applause] > >Let me talk to you a little bit a little bit more about the sanctions, >because I think it's very important. Now, I'm a Palestinian, I would really >love to talk about the struggle for the liberation of my country, and to talk >about a whole bunch of other things and I see some people maybe rolling their >eyes, and other people nodding these are controversial >issues, but I need to speak about Iraq because I think what's happening there >is a genocide. It's another holocaust. > >And I'm a history major, and sometimes I look back at history and I see >things like the slave trade, the Holocaust you know, I see I see people >dropping atomic bombs and not thinking what the ramifications are, and I >don't want us to think about Iraq that way. It's already a little too late >because 2.5 million people have died and yet these sanctions continue. > >For the last 10 years, you wouldn't imagine the kinds of things that aren't >being let into this country: heart machines, lung machines, needles, um >infrastructural parts to build the economy. Even cancer patients sometimes >some of the medicine will be let in, but not ALL of the medicine. > >It's very strategic what's let in at what time, because what it does is it >prolongs life, but it doesn't save it. > >In Iraq, the hospitals they clean the floors with gasoline because detergent >isn't even allowed in because of the sanctions. > >These are all United States policies. > > >And Secretary Albright - I have no conflict with HER, you know, as an >individual.. I don't happen to RESPECT her, but she belongs to a larger power >structure. She's a symbol. > >And when the protesters are protesting, it's not because they, you know, want >to pick a fight with the.. with the woman who you guys all happen - well, >many of you - happen to love. > >In fact, she was.. she was introduced as the 'greatest woman of our times.' >Now see, to me that's an insult. [applause] This woman is doing HORRIBLE >things. > >She's allowing innocent people to suffer and to die. > >Iraq used to be the country in the Arab World that had the best medical >services and social services for its people, and NOW look at it. It's, it's >being OBLITERATED. > >And a lot of times you might hear it's because of Saddam Hussein and I'd >like to talk a little bit about that. He's a brutal dictator - I agree with >her, and I agree with many of you. But again, I'm a history major, and >history means origins. It means beginnings. We need to see who's responsible >for how strong Saddam Hussein has gotten. > >When he when he was gassing the Kurds, he was gassing them using chemical >weapons that were manufactured in Rochester, New York. > >And when he was fighting a long and protracted war with Iran, where 1 million >people died, it was the CIA that was funding him. It was U.S. policy that >built this dictator. When they didn't NEED him, they started imposing >sanctions on his people. Sanctions - or any kind of policy - should be >directed at people's governments, not at the people. > >The cancer rate in Iraq has risen by over 70 percent since the Gulf War. The >children who are dying from these malicious cancers [and here the front row >walked out of the theatre so I was blabbering incoherently] um.. and >diseases, they weren't born when the Gulf War happened. > >The reason that the cancer rate is so high is because every other day our >country is bombing Iraq STILL. We're still at war with them. They have no >nuclear capabilities. In fact, just last week, the United Nations inspectors >found [again] that Iraq has no nuclear capabilities and yet WE are BOMBING >them every other day with depleted uranium. And what this >does is it releases a gas that the people breathe. It's making them ill, and >they're dying and they don't have medicine. > >I saw some of my friends, even, being arrested here today. One of them was >Lillian. Her aunt did a documentary about this depleted uranium, and it >showed that it's being MINED by Native American populations in the United >States. THEY'RE getting sick. Their children are getting sick. And that >depleted uranium is going from HERE, to our MILITARY, to Iraq, and it's >decimating populations. This is a big deal. > >And I'm embarrassed that I don't even get to talk about Columbia, because I >saw a few signs about that, too. And my colleague here, Darren Noy, who's >also a Finalist, is very interested in these issues. We don't stand alone. >I'm on stage with allies, I'm looking out at allies, we need allies, my >allies have been taken away [today]. > >But in general, I mean, I'm speaking to a crowd that gave a standing ovation >to the woman who typifies everything against which I stand, and I'm still >telling you this because I think it's important to understand. > >And I think, that if I achieve nothing else, if this makes you think a little >bit about Iraq, think a little bit about U.S. foreign policy, I've succeeded. > >I don't want to take too much of your time, but I want to end my speech with >a slogan that hangs over my bed in Arabic. It says, "La tastaw7ishu tareeq >el-7aq, min qilit es-sa'ireen fihi" and that translates into, "Fear >not the path of truth for the lack of people walking on it." I think our >future is going to be the future of truth, and we're going to walk on that >path, and we're going to fill it with travelers. > >Thank you very much. [Standing ovation from the stage, with the faculty >members, the senior class council, and the student award-winners. And, of >course, standing ovation from my cheering section in the crowd.] :) > >----- > >Two sweet examples of poetic justice came out of this, too: > > >1. The quote at the end of my speech about the path of truth was really >inspiring to some people. Many of the emails ask me to quote it for them >again. The funny thing is, I actually took it from the bottom of the PFLP's >1999 calendar reprint of the unamended PLO charter which hangs over my bed! > >2. While Albright had to leave the way she did sprawled stomach-down in her >car, my family and friends went to San Francisco later that evening to have a >little graduation celebration at the Ramallah Club's Hall. We danced to the >music of the shababeh and tableh, in a room decorated with >a Palestinian flag. One of our theme songs, taken from a poster given to me >as a precious gift at the party, was "Im-ma Filasteenu wa im-ma annara jeelan >ba3da jeelin"!! ("Either Palestine, or the fire generation after >generation.") Remember?? Ha! We had a blast, and it was the happiest day of >my life in spite of and because of everything that happened. > >All the best, >Fadia Rafeedie > > > ************************************ William J. (Bill) Thomson, Ph.D. (•••@••.•••) ************************************
