#eid 2024

slide 1: A picture of a lit candle in the darkness.

Title: Story of Eid Through the Eyes of Ezzideen Translated from Ezzideen's Facebook page

slide 2: For ten consecutive years, the arrival of Eid brought a lump to my throat, a lump with many meanings for me (exile from my country, being away from my mother, my beloved, and my family and relatives, in a country where no one else knew of Eid's arrival but me). Before coming here, I thought long and hard about what I should do during the Eid days. I imagined thousands of scenarios: How would Eid pass?

slide 3: Which house would we visit first? Should I give out Eidi (gifts to children, like my uncle's grandchildren and my cousin Abu Bilal's children)? Would the first house we visit be my grandmother's? How would my mother react when I give her the Eidi? What would be our first breakfast? Should I go to the Eid prayer in jeans or in traditional clothes? Where would I and the young men of the family spend Eid night? And many, many more details, from where we would spend the first night of Eid to what kind of nuts we would buy for the guests.

slide 4: And today, on Eid day, here I am writing this text without needing to know answers to any questions, because Eid has passed like this: My big uncle's house was destroyed (no need to visit it), my uncle's grandchildren and my cousin's children have died (there is no one to give Eidi to), my grandmother also has died (no reason to visit her house, as it suffers in silence as we do), there is nothing in the markets fitting for the luxury of an Eid breakfast (and if found, no one in the country can afford it),

slide 5: Abboud, Bilal, Ahmed, Mohammed, and Yusuf were killed (the adornment of our family's youth) so there is no need to think about where to spend the first night of Eid, no need to choose what I wear for the Eid prayer (as no prayers are held and no mosques are in this country), and my mother? My beloved, I am ashamed to even mention to you that it is Eid! As for the rituals of Eid, there is no ritual but to cry in imposed silence, for even God wept silently for the martyrs this morning as the rain fell.

slide 6: Screenshot of a post from Ezzideen's Facebook page.