Friday, May 30, 2008

“A New Dress”by Ruth Dallas

“A New Dress” by Ruth Dallas talks about a little girl who is sacrificing a new dress in order to remain friends with a girl who is less fortunate than she. After this poem was translated from English to Arabic and then back to English again, it lost its charm and deep meaning. The poem went from being deep and metaphorical, to a very literal piece.

Some of the words remained the same, but because of the numerous translations, the words were disarranged. For example, in the original, this was written “I don’t want a new dress, I said”. While in the translated version, this was written, “I said, ‘I don’t want a new dress”. Also the metaphors of this poem were lost among the translators. The author’s word choice in the original poem was perfectly chosen to display metaphorical and symbolic meanings, but when it was translated, it was translated into a literal sense. This is an example of a metaphor in the original, “Snip-snip. Snip-snip. The cold scissors ate quickly as my white rabbit round my arm”. But in the translated version, this is how the metaphor was ruined, “Snip, snip, snip, snip the cold scissors; ate quickly while my white rabbit was around my arms”.
The words used in the translation were very similar or the same as the ones used in the original. But the way in which they were arranged, and the way the words were directed affected the meaning of the poem. For instance, in the original, the girl was talking to herself, while in the translated version the dialogue was directed towards the reader. In conclusion, I would like to say that even though the translator translated the poem word for word, the arrangement of the words affected the meaning of the poem significantly.
Samar Al Ansari 10.3
Sep. 27, 03

Thursday, May 29, 2008

ابن الرومي في رثاء ابنه هبة الله

ابني انك والعزاء معا بالأمس لف عليكما كفن
تالله لا تنفك لي شجنا يمضي الزمان وأنت لي شجن
ما أصبحت دنياي لي وطنا بل حيث دارك عندي الوطن
..................................................................................

أولادنا أنتم لنا فتن وتفارقون فأنتم لنا محن

...............................................................................

شجى أن أروم الصبرعنك فيلتوي علي ، ولؤم أن يساعدني الصبر
فيا حزني ألا سلو يطيعني ويا سوأتي من سلوتي ،انها غدر

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

بكيتك سمر: Samar's Drawings (16),Class 6 A


رسم سمر أحمد الأنصاري-الصف السادس الابتدائي

Sunday, May 25, 2008

On Children by Khalil Gibran

Your Children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's
longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you,yet they
belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your
thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts,
You may house their bodies but not
their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house
of tomorrow,which you can not visit,
not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,but seek
not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries
with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of
the infinite,and He bends you with
His might that His arrows may go
swift and far.
Khalil Gibran
The Prophet

Saturday, May 24, 2008

يا الغالية سمر

يا ملاك يرافقني أينما ذهبت حتى لو إلى القطب
يا الغالية سمر، نغم صباحي وليلي وطربي
يا جوهرة، قيمتها لا تقدر بألماس أو ذهب
يا شمس بددت كثيرا من السحب
يا قمر أنار للكثير من الأحباء الدرب
يا شمعة أضاءت دروبا حتى قضت النحب
يا أجمل وردة عطرت الدفاتر والكتب
يا رفيقة الجميع التي كل أراد إليها أن ينتسب
©رنده ربحي حماده
(أم سمر)
المصدر: سمر شمس لن تغيب 2008
جميع الحقوق محفوظة للمؤلفة

Friday, May 23, 2008

GRIEVING SILENTLY

Why must I grieve silently,
When my heart is so loudly screaming?
The emptiness I feel is consuming me,
Oh God, how I wish I were dreaming.
The silence around me is deafening,
For nobody knows what to say,
To comfort this agony I'm feeling,
Since my son went away.
And each day the sun continues to rise,
And the earth is still turning,
Though my world has come to a screeching halt,
No one can ease my yearning.
For a part of me has vanished,
And a part of my heart has died,
And no one can hear my heartache,
Or feel the turmoil I carry inside.
And I'll go on grieving silently,
And exist on a different plane,
And I'll keep my love for him deep in my heart,
Until we see each other again.
Sandi DeMars

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

No One But You

No One But You- Queens

A hand above the water
An angel reaching for the sky
Is it raining in heaven -
Do you want us to cry?

And everywhere the broken-hearted
On every lonely avenue
No-one could reach them
No-one but you

One by one
Only the good die young
They're only flying too close to the sun
And life goes on -
Without you...

Another tricky situation
A get to drowin' in the blues
And i find myself thinkin'
Well - what would you do?

Yes! - it was such an operation
Forever paying every due
Hell, you made a sensation
You found a way through - and

One by one
Only the good die young
They're only flyin' too close to the sun
We'll remember -
Forever...

And now the party must be over
I guess we'll never understand
The sense of your leaving
Was it the way it was planned?

And so we grace another table
And raise our glasses one more time
There's a face at the window
And i ain't never, never sayin' goodbye...

One by one
Only the good die young
They're only flyin' too close to the sun
Cryin' for nothing
Cryin' for no-one
No-one but you

Click to listen to song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7VlU-9ZUV0

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Theory of Knowledge Assignment (1)

Question: If a community decides that a sentence like “2 + 2 = 5” is true or false , then does that fact make the sentence really true or false?

Unless the meaning of 5 or 6 is changed to 4, then that statement is not true. There is no evidence backing it up. People just believe it because an authority figure said it, ignorance is bliss. People could believe that it’s true, but that wouldn’t make it true. False statements may be acknowledged as true, but never the less, they are still false.

For example, in communist Russia during the pre-world war II period under the communist leader, Joseph Stalin, the Russians were brain washed. They behaved that all art that didn’t glorify Stalin or his communist regime was evil, the same went for literature, and Stalin preached that he was God. The broad statement that art and literature not glorifying communism spread evil, is completely false. This could be proven by testing the behavior of people who viewed lovely paintings, and it would be clear that it is false. Also logically, beautiful paintings that don’t deal with communism don’t spread evil. People actually enjoy art, and viewing a beautiful painting of a red rose will not inspire the viewer to do “evil” things. Finally, if paintings and literature inspired evil behavior, then why is there a large literate and artistic society worldwide who aren’t evil? As for Stalin being God, the only God-like thing about him is his power. He is nothing but a mortal, and that can be proven by DNA testing. Also, if he was God, then how come he doesn’t have any supernatural powers? He can’t be a God; he went through all the stages of human development. Therefore; these statements are generally false but with the use of media and propaganda, people believed them and maybe acknowledged them as true, but they aren’t .Truths have to be proven and have some logic.

People tend to believe false statements as true ones because they have been said by people of high positions. Sometimes people believe something just because an authority figure said it. They might acknowledge it as true, but it most definitely isn’t.

Samar Al Ansari
Grade 11.5
Oct 2, 2004

Sunday, May 18, 2008

ابن الرومي في رثاء ابنه الأوسط محمد

توخى حمام الموت أوسط صبيتي
فلله كيف اختار واسطة العقد
على حين شمت الخير في لمحاته
وآنست من أفعاله آية الرشد

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Freud wrote to his friend Binswanger:

"We find a place for what we lose. Although we know that after such a loss the acute stage of mourning will subside, we also know that we shall remain inconsolable and will never find a substitute. No matter what may fill the gap, even if it be filled completely, it nevertheless remains something else."

Ironside V. You’ll Get Over it. The Rage of Bereavement. Penguin Books 1997,Pp 183.

Friday, May 16, 2008

أخلاقيات تكوين الأطفال من الأنابيب

كلما تمر الأيام وتزيد الاكتشافات وتجتاح التكنولوجيا عصرنا، نجد أنفسنا أمام قرارات عن أخلاقيات هذه الابتكارات العلمية حيث انها لم توجد فى زمن الرسول (صلى الله عليه وسلم) ومن الصعب الرجوع إلى القرآن والسنةّ لاتخاذ قرارات بشأنها
الابتكار العلمي لأطفال الأنابيب أثار كثير من الجدل، والبعض كان مؤيداً والبعض الآخر معارضاً لأسباب أخلاقية. المؤيدون يعتبروا أن ليس هناك أي مساس بأخلاقية الموضوع، بل أنه يجلب السعادة للزوجين اللذان حرما نعمة الأولاد. وهؤلاء الأشخاص لهم الحق بتكوين أسرة طالما أنهما زوجان متحابان وان منحهما هذه الفرصة أخلاقي. كما أن الدين الإسلامي لا يسمح بالتبني، فأطفال الأنابيب هو الاختيار الوحيد لدى الأزواج الذين يواجهون مشاكل فى الإنجاب

إن سوء استخدام العلم فى أغراض غير أخلاقية ينطبق على أطفال الأنابيب أيضاً، حيث يباع الحيوان المنوي ويوضع فى بنوك في بعض البلاد ويباع على سيدات راغبات فى الحصول على طفل حتى لو كنا غير متزوجات. وتتم المتاجرة والمقايضة في هذه البنوك وتختلط الأنساب يتم انتقال الجينات الحاملة أحياناً لبعض الأمراض الوراثية والتأثير الأكبر الأخلاقي هو تأثير هذه العمليات على الأطفال الذين يكتشفون بأنهم تكونوا بتلك الطريقة ويمضون كثيراً من الوقت باحثين عن هوياتهم وهويات أبائهم الحقيقيون. وهؤلاء الأطفال يتعرضون لضغوط نفسية نتيجة عدم معرفة الأب والأم أحياناً خاصةً عندما يرون أقرانهم محاطون بآباء وأمهات حقيقيون

لذا استعمال هذه الوسيلة العلمية لغاية إنجاب أطفال لزوجين يعيشون حياة زوجية مترابطة ويواجهون صعوبات فى الإنجاب مقبول من ناحية أخلاقية وإما إذا استعمل للمتاجرة وخلط الأنساب ولترضية رغبات الغير متزوجات ، فانه من ناحية أخلاقية غير مقبول لنتائجه السلبية على الأطفال فى المستقبل

سمــر احمد الأنصاري
الصف 11

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Why are you not moving on?

I am asked “why are you not moving on?
It is over a year since your daughter had gone?”

These words hurt me and tear me apart
There is no end to the grief in my heart!

"Your tomorrow will soon be filled with joy
When you have a grandchild, a girl or a boy"

It is very hard to feel that you are suddenly alone
As others do not wish to continue hearing you groan

Try to understand me friends and loved ones
As you all have daughters and sons

And try to accept the person I became
Since the one you love will never be the same

I do not see at times when I open my eyes
This is what happens when a daughter dies

I will never be able to spend a single night or day
Without talking about my daughter, or for her pray

I know that for you, she and I are so dear
Be assured that to me this is crystal clear

I am sure that my well being is your concern
But please realize that every minute for her I yearn

Randah R. Hamadeh, 2008, Copyright©
Written in loving memory of my daughter

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Comparative Paragraphs

“The Chameleon” by Anton Chekov and “The Fox and the Woodcutter” by Aesop are very similar pieces of work according to theme and tone. The theme of “The Chameleon” is that social status affects every aspect of life. For instance people will let people with high positions off the hook. Also, that the judicial system does not apply to everyone, such as many other systems. In “The Fox and the Woodcutter”, the main theme is not to trust what you hear; you have to always see it. Also, another theme is that everyone always looks out for himself and only cares about himself. The idea of distrust is evident in both themes. For instance, in “The Chameleon”, the victim learned that he couldn’t trust the officers and the law because they look out for themselves, and look for ways in which they are benefited. This is also evident in “The Fox and the Woodcutter”, because the fox learned that he couldn’t trust the woodcutter. The fox couldn’t trust the woodcutter, because he is a human, and humans are selfish beings who always look out for themselves. The tones of both stories include mocking, criticism, and the authors’ personal views on life matters.

The authors’ use of humor in their work is a way in which they depict and mock the serious problems evident in society today. The use of sarcasm, irony, and criticism are very effective ways in which to interest the reader and show him the importance of the problems we face as a human race. The authors were using very humorous and simple, carefree tones, because they want to portray to the readers, the silliness of these matters, and show them, how corrupted our world has become. Man can no longer trust his brother, because in this deceitful world we live in, it’s every man for himself. In “The Chameleon” the author named the officer ‘Moronoff” to show his readers, that people who treat other people differently according to social status, are indeed morons. In “The Fox and the Woodcutter”, the author used irony as he described the fox as ‘wily’, but it was the woodcutter who was ‘cunning’. This shows us that even the smartest people can be fooled when they trust someone. Even though, both these pieces of work are very similar, they have some differences.

In “The Chameleon” the author depicts the troubles between man and society. He is trying to show us that it isn’t man’s fault, that we play favorites, it is society that makes us think the way we do, no matter how wrong it is. It is society that favors the powerful, not man. But in “The Fox and the Woodcutter” the author depicts the troubles we face between each other, and is focusing on the trust issues we have among each other. He uses an animal, in this case a fox, to symbolize a naïve man who actually believes he can trust a complete stranger. Using an animal is a very effective technique in which to teach the reader a valuable lesson. This is true, because the animal resembles a visitor to our world who is disgusted by the way we treat and view each other. It is like “The Fox and the Woodcutter” is a continuation of “The Chameleon”. “The Chameleon” gives you an introduction to the pathetic world we live in, and “The Fox and the Woodcutter” shows us the disgust of an outsider of our world.
Samar Al Ansari
Grade 10.3
Sept 30,2003

Monday, May 12, 2008

Palestinian Bookmark (7)


This bookmark was made by SAMAR. She sold many from it in school during the money raising charity events for the Palestinians .

Saturday, May 10, 2008

My First Grade Journal Cont...(20)






لسعة الصقيع


لسعة الصقيع هي جرح يحدث عندما يتعرض الجسم لبرد قارس، مما يؤثر على الجلد فيحدث به بلورات ثلجية قد تصل إلى الأنسجة. و أهم الأعضاء التي تتعرض للسعة الصقيع هي الأذن، و الأقدام، و الأيدي. و في معظم الأحيان يكون لون المنطقة المصابة أحمرا، و نادرا ما يكون أبيضا
و أعراض لسعة الصقيع الأولى هي: الشعور بالبرد، و التنميل، و الوخز. تعالج هذه الحالة بإعادة الدفء إلى الجزء المصاب، و الأفضل أن نمسح المنطقة بماء حرارتها تتراوح بين 39 و 41 درجة مئوية. و إعادة التدفئة بطريقة سريعة قد تسبب الألم للمصاب. و إذا لم تعالج اللسعة بسرعة قد ينتج عنها موت النسيج. كما أن النسيج المعافى قد يعاني من مضاعفات منها: اضطراب الحس، و الحساسية المتزايدة نحو البرد، و غيرها

المصدر: الموسوعة العربية العالمية، حرف (ل)، رقم 21، صفحة 112
سمر الأنصاري
الصف السابع

Thursday, May 08, 2008

WHEN A LOVED ONE'S GONE

Those we love remain with
us, for love itself lives on.
And cherished memories
never fade because a
loved one’s gone.

Those we love can never
be more than a thought apart.
For as long as there
is memory they’ll
live on in the
heart

http://www.chrislucastrust.com/Poem.htm

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Dedicated to you Randah‏

To Oum Sammar, for Oum Sammar.

(I only wish I knew how to translate this passage in Arabic. Only in the Arabic language can one find the precise word to express what Alfred de Musset wrote so eloquently and poetically in the passage below. I tried to translate it roughly in English, but much of the beauty of the original words are being lost).
Yasmine Fahim

Quel que soit le souci que ta jeunesse endure,
Laisse-la s’elargir, cette sainte blessure
Que les noirs seraphins t’ont faite au fond du coeur;
Rien ne nous rend si grands qu’une grande douleur.
Mais pour en etre atteint, ne crois pas, o poete,
Que ta voix ici-bas doive rester muette,
Les plus desesperes sont les chants les plus beaux,
Et j’en sais d’immortels qui sont de purs sanglots.

Alfred de Musset

Translation:

Whatever the worry your youth has endured,
Let it grow, this holy wound
That the black seraphins have left in the depth of your heart;
Nothing makes us so grand as an immense pain,
But to be touched by it, don't think, o poet,
That your voice here on earth should remain quiet,
The most desperate are the most beautiful chants,
And I know a few that are pure sobs.

وأتى الرابع من الشهر

وأتى الرابع من الشهر يا ابنتي
كم من رابع سأنتظر حتى نلتقي؟
وإلى متى سأعيش يوما بعد يوم بحسرتي؟
أدرك جيدا بأنك معي بروحك وبرفقتي
ولكنني أريدك كاملة، بجسدك أيضا يا حبيبتي
وأتى الرابع من الشهر الذي يرمز لفرحتي
فهو الذي زين حياتي وجلب ابتسامتي
فقد أتى بك وبأختك إلى الدنيا، هديتي
سبحان الخالق ! أصبح يرمز أيضا لمصيبتي
واليوم الرابع من الشهر آت مصطحبا غصتي
فذكرى رحيلك يجدد حزني ودمعتي
وأبقى كل رابع من الشهرفي حيرتي
أتسأل عما حدث في ذلك اليوم يا صغيرتي
ولماذا خطفت مني بلحظة دون وداعي و قبلتي
ولماذا تلك الأحداث المؤلمة حصلت في روايتي
ربي! ليت هذا الفصل يمحى من قصتي
ويبقى الرابع من الشهر فقط رمزا لسعادتي
عام مضى على اتصالك بي قبل عودتي
إلى البحرين حين قلت " إليك الآن نتيجتي
افرحي أمي، لقد حققت أمنيتك وأمنيتي
الحمد لله لم يضع تعبي وجهدي في دراستي
حصلت على تقدير عال وسأرافق إلى الجامعة شقيقتي"
فهنأتك يا نور عيني وقلت" كم أنا فخورة بك يا بنيتي
ليتني أستطيع الرجوع قبل موعد عودتي
لأقبلك وأضمك ولكن سفري كان من غير إرادتي
"يومان وسأعود يا حبيبة قلبي، ابنتي ورفيقتي
كنت أخشى فراقك يا ابنتي وأنيستي
كيف لا وأنت بكل ما أقوم به شريكتي
لم أكن أدرك عندها أن بعد أيام ستقع مصيبتي
وسيأخذك الرابع من الشهر للأبد يا ابنتي وصديقتي
إنها مشيئة الله وليست يا حبيبتي مشيئتي
سأكثر الدعاء لك كل رابع أن تكوني بالجنة
©رنده ربحي حماده
(أم سمر)
2008المصدر:سمر شمس لن تغيب
جميع الحقوق محفوظة للمؤلفة

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Journal

Why? Why are people so mean? This poor guy Garret Morgan worked day and night to make sure that our safety came first. The traffic light, the gas mask, are all examples of his thoughtfulness.

People wouldn't buy anything from him. Maybe he was almost bankrupt. God gifted him with an imaginative and creative brain. All negros shouldn't be treated this way too. Some of the best singers are negros because God gave them the gift. Look at me I'm not Snow White, people don't treat me different now because they learnt their lesson.

It's not reasonable to do that to a kind man because he's black. Have you heard of Michael Jackson's song "It doesn't matter if you're black or white."
Something that bugs me is Garret A. Morgan died knowing that people treated him very bad because of his color and he wasn't a free man. I mean he worked for the other people and they hated him! He saved people's lives. This is for you Mr. Morgan.

Samar Al Ansari
Grade 5D
May 10,1999