You can find all Ryan’s posts from his trip to Israel here.
So last night I went out for a very late dinner (I was still stuffed from the lunch with the Druze people). I went downstairs and went out to Ben Yehuda Street, I was sitting at a hole in the wall restaurant eating hummus and some pita and I started talking to a girl sitting and reading a book beside me. It turns out she is an Israeli Arab, I would never have guessed as she had blondish hair and very light skin but she was very beautiful. She told me her family had moved to Tel Aviv in the 1980’s from one of the camps after her mother got a job as a doctor in a hospital. She said her family was actually from Lebanon on her mother’s side, and from Yemen on her fathers side, I told her that one of my best friends is from Lebanon and another is from Yemen, and we laughed. It was funny, she was a non-practicing Christian but she laughed at my Catholic joke when I said all the standing up and sitting down was reminding me of church.
We talked about various things, mostly about how beautiful Israel is. I noticed she kept smiling whenever I spoke about the stuff I’ve already seen. I asked her what was so funny and she said “You talk exactly how you write.” This caught me off guard and I asked where she saw my writing. She said that she followed me on Twitter and read my blog and that she disagreed with me about some of the things I write about indigenous status. She asked me where I got the name Fenris from.
I was taken aback by the fact that in a city as large as Tel Aviv, I met someone who has read things I write. I hold no illusions about grandeur, I always assume a few people read what I write, but to meet someone who actually knew the gist of much of what I write was a pretty cool experience. It really drove home for me, that I really don’t know how many people read what I write.
I asked her if we could take a picture but she said her sister still lives in the PA and she was worried that it could put her in danger. This again reminds me of how different our worlds are. In my world, in Canada, I can speak freely without fear of being harmed, but more importantly without fear of my friends and family being harmed. It really drove the point home for me, while here, people often have to choose their words carefully for fear of loved ones bearing the brunt.
I gave her my Israeli and Canadian cell numbers and told her that I would be here for a few more days after my regular trip and told her to add me on Facebook (which seems to be the modern way to do things) I then realized it was getting late and time to go to bed. We said goodbye and I went back around the corner to my hotel.
I don’t write stuff to get famous, I don’t speak up because of any idea that I might get compensated,the compensation is when things I do not accept, start to change. I speak up because its the right thing to do, Its not heroic to do the right thing either, I believe that if more people simply did what they should do the world would be a better place, all I can control is what I do and how I do it and thats gotta be enough for me. I see many things I want to change, and many things I need to change, and god willing I will work towards making those changes. I have a great support system, good friends and comrades and I believe we make a difference.
You can find all Ryan’s posts from his trip to Israel here.
