Category: Humanities

Dear Rifdah,

My name is Shabanu Abassi. I am a nomad and I live in the Cholistan Desert, Pakistan. I am eleven years old and have an older sister, Phulan. I live with my mom, dad, sister, aunt, two cousins, and grandfather. We own many camels, of which many people say are the finest at the Sibi Fair.

I recently have seen the competition you have competed in. It inspired me that someone our age could memorize something that long. We are good muslims, but I couldn’t imagine reading something that long. And I can’t believe you got secong out of one hundred and ten people!

My parents made plans for my sister to marry our cousin, Hamir, but then he got killed. It was horrible. We didn’t know what to do. Who would she marry now? I was supposed to marry our other cousin Murad, but now Phulan will marry Murad because she is of marrying age. And now I have to marry a fifty five year old! Mama said that he thought I was pretty, but I can’t trust him. His brother was the one who killed Hamir. His brother also tried to kidnap Phulan, take her for money and give her back when he’s done with her. It is such a horrible thing to do. Sadly, some people actually agree to do it. If I hadn’t left Phulan near the water, none of this would have happened. I now feel like it’s my fault, even though I am so angry.

I feel bad for Phulan, she was so happy. We were so prepared for the wedding, we had sold some of our best camels, like Guluband. I was so sad when dadi sold him, but I know we needed to for the money. They bought him and some other camels for a very high price. One hundred and fifty thousand rupees! Or, about thirty six thousand Maldivian rufiyaa.

I can’t believe who I am going to marry, it’s so unfair. I never get any say in what I do. Now I wish I was like Fatima, she is my second cousin and good friend. She hasn’t gotten married yet and she is already sixteen. Her mother Sharma, mama’s cousin left her old husband. He was treating her horribly. Dadi would never do something like that, and when he is strict to us, I know it is for our own safety. Is your father strict?

I love to take care of and be with camels. When I am with them I calm down. I have learned to control my sadness about Guluband. I have learned to love them because as a child I would always go about playing with dadi and the camels. My sister was always different, she stayed more inside.

Even though where I live there is no easy way for me to get an education, you inspired me with your Koran reciting.

The Medieval guild night was very fun. I was Martin Luther and I had my 95 theses. I was in the Monks, Nuns, and Imams Guild. I was nervous but still very excited. The highlight for me was showing people my 95 theses that I hand wrote. On the spot, I completely changed the monologue I had written and memorized to make it more interesting and explanatory. The top of my quill pen fell into an ink jar so I had to quickly think of an explanation and cut the part where people try to write. People asked many more questions than I expected so I had to think of really quick answers. It was hard not to get out of character when family members kept on calling me by my real name. It was also hard not to get out of character when visitors asked me about things in Martin Luther’s future. Overall It was a exciting and learning experience.

Green means Hope and Joy, I picked this color because it is one of my favorite colors and I think that It repersents my family well. Blue means truth and loyalty, I chose this color because it goes well with green and It also is very simmilar to green’s meanings. Red means warrior or military strength, I chose this because my great grandfather and great uncle fought in World War 2. The apple means liberality, felicity and peace. The oak tree means Great age and strengh, I chose this because my great grandfather and great uncle fought in World War 2. The panther mens Fierce but tender and loving to children. I chose this because we are always worried about eachother, and we have a black cat that is a big part of ou family.

Becoming A Knight

I am hungry. I am tired. But here I am becoming a knight. I am scared. What if I fail the rest of the process? What if they don’t want me to become a knight? I have not eaten in 15 hours, still praying. I hear my armor clank together as I move over. I am worried that I will fail one of my missions. Soon at dawn I will admit all my sins. But I have to do this. I need to become a knight. I will be able to save people, I will bring justice. I feel scared, but still excited.

I want to speak in the ceremony but I’m not allowed. What would I say? Perhaps this: Thank You, I promise to bring justice, and save all in my path. Something like that. Another hour passes, or at least that’s what it felt like. My stomach grumbles. My eyelids heavy from sleepless hours. I keep on praying, I have to. I am determined.

I keep on praying. I am on the third step of becoming a knight. My throat is dry, and parched, I am very thirsty. I keep going, keep praying, keep trying. I’m restless, I move over, another clank.  Please God, help me become a knight. I can not wait for that moment when the king strikes me with the flat of his sword. The second he lifts it from my shoulder, I will be a knight. I think of that moment, it keeps me motivated to keep on going.

One of my favorite things I did at Ashokan was canoeing. We got to go with  one or two other people. There was room for someone to sit in the front, back, and middle. I went with Noelle and Polly. I sat in the middle once and the front twice. We got to canoe under a bridge and if you were sitting in the back or front you had to duck. If you sat in the middle you got splashed a lot by other people’s  paddles. We passed by clumps of seaweed where it was harder to paddle. It was very fun to canoe with other people because you really had to communicate to go in the right direction. I think that made us work together more and become closer friends. I think it was also very interesting to see the rocks and plants along the edge of the water. Out of all the activities at Ashokan, canoeing is one that I will remember most and do again in another setting.