Family Interrogation to the Tune of Pink + White

— Hazem Fahmy

The annual family
reunion, two hours before
the New Year, Sawsan asks me
what exactly do I do
there, at that American
college I go to. She means

to ask about the daily
basis. I do not tell her
about the beer-coated dance
floors or the cigarettes right

before class. I don’t mention
white people who mispronounce
my name. That’s the way every-
day goes
. So I tell her that
I write (weekly) for the school
newspaper, even though I

have not sent them a piece
in over a year. She smiles, asks
me if I write about home,
and I say the truth, for once.
I say I would, but there’s just
no demand for it: You know,
how Americans love to

get what they ask for. She frowns.
Says: دى مش حجة. That’s no
excuse.


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