Creative text excerpt. Arabic translation by Mariam Al Dabbagh.
Published as part of online exhibition: Today, Tomorrow (click here to read full text).
Organised by Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project, Curated by Rand Abdul Jabbar, Basil Al-Rawi, and Sajjad Abbas.
Published as part of online exhibition: Today, Tomorrow (click here to read full text).
Organised by Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project, Curated by Rand Abdul Jabbar, Basil Al-Rawi, and Sajjad Abbas.
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palm navigation:
to move on, over, or through (water, air, or land) |
:هَجْر النخل
(أن تمضي قدماً، أو فوق، أو عبر (الماء أو الهواء أو الأرض |
soosa. it is in my language. it is enfolded into my body. i practice its traditions. i cook its recipes. i study its map and trace its topography. i read scientific journals. i listen to stories and look at photographs. i dream of picnics and road trips. i photograph similar landscapes. i hear songs about its beauty. i read poems about its past and news articles about its destruction. i speak to those who miss it and yearn for it, wishing they could return. i speak to those who would never go back and are grateful to have left.
PART ONE: Soosa | السوسة
Soosa is a plot of land located on the south coast of Shatt Al Arab in Abul Khaseeb, Iraq.
It is roughly 20 km south of Basrah, and 550 km south of Baghdad.
It is 800 km south of Baiji, and 90 km north of Al Faw Grand Port on the Arabian Gulf.
It is 1,414 km south-east of Amman.
It is 662 km north of Doha.
It is approximately 13,764 km east of Calgary, and 16,773 km west of Calgary.
According to satellite images, Soosa’s perimeter is 509.9 m.
According to the land title, its area is 6 dawanim + 5 olkat + 50 m2 (1 donem = 2500 m2, 1 olk = 100 m2).
On this plot, if it’s 1950, there are 4 kinds of trees: date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), mango (Mangifera indica), pomegranate (Punica granatum), and orange (Citrus sinensis). If it’s 2023, there are none.
The autumn temperatures average at a high of 38℃, and a low of 21℃, with 10% Humidity, and a daytime UV index of 9. The summer is hotter.
Soosa is a plot of land located on the south coast of Shatt Al Arab in Abul Khaseeb, Iraq.
It is roughly 20 km south of Basrah, and 550 km south of Baghdad.
It is 800 km south of Baiji, and 90 km north of Al Faw Grand Port on the Arabian Gulf.
It is 1,414 km south-east of Amman.
It is 662 km north of Doha.
It is approximately 13,764 km east of Calgary, and 16,773 km west of Calgary.
According to satellite images, Soosa’s perimeter is 509.9 m.
According to the land title, its area is 6 dawanim + 5 olkat + 50 m2 (1 donem = 2500 m2, 1 olk = 100 m2).
On this plot, if it’s 1950, there are 4 kinds of trees: date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), mango (Mangifera indica), pomegranate (Punica granatum), and orange (Citrus sinensis). If it’s 2023, there are none.
The autumn temperatures average at a high of 38℃, and a low of 21℃, with 10% Humidity, and a daytime UV index of 9. The summer is hotter.