Today is my daughter’s birthday.. She turned 24, but she is still my sweet little girl… (and what’s more, she still has me wound around her little finger!!..)
Hala was born while I was working / training / studying in Beirut.. We were living in a tiny flat near the French Embassy in the Ein Mreisseh district, not very far from the American University Hospital where I was working.. She was barely 3-month-old when we had to leave Beirut in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion..
Over the years, I watched her grow up and blossom.. always radiant with happiness, self-confidence and ambitions.. I watched her brighten my life with her first smile.. I watched her anxiously taking her first steps.. I was there to comfort her and help her back to her feet when she stumbled.. In July 2004, Hala graduated from University.. That was, without any doubt, the proudest day of my life.. The sense of pride and fulfilment that I had when I saw her, looking million dollars, in her graduation gown was, simply, beyond description.. She is now a graduate student, doing a PhD in Genetics, and has already published a few papers.. (Did I tell you that I am very proud of her?..)
Since she was born, Hala has managed to fill my whole existence with love and laughter.. She is the most delightful and most beautiful little girl any father would have the good fortune to have.. (If you think there is a possibility that I just might be a little biased, well.. you’re damn right I am!!.. and I think I am entitled to be..)..
To my most delightful and most beautiful little girl I say ‘Happy Birthday, my sweet little girl.. May your life be filled with as much happiness as you have given us over the years.. May your steps be assured and confident, and may your path be bright and clear.. and most of all, may your days be happy and your dreams fulfilled’
Monday, February 27, 2006
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21 comments:
Congrats to Hala for making her old man proud.
Her old man's words, just made Hala cry at the computer screen at work.
If anyone asks, I had something in my eye.......
Love you daddy, you big softie xxxx
Allah yikhalikon la ba3ed 3ala tool. :)
Many happy returns to the birthday girl!
Mabrouk. Very nice post SyrianBrit. But pls keep in mind that since Hala was born in Beirut, we are going to claim her as one of our own even if she left Lebanon when she was three month old.
WOW...you dumb syrian monkeys can actually write! congrats!! moooooooo??!! LOL!
anyways, why would you be this dumb (other than being syrian)to write a WHOLE article about your daughter? did you think we care like you?! "hala graduated from university, bla, bla, bla,..." who gives a rats ass!
listen SYRIAN, do us all a favor and shave your hairy moustache.
GOD BLESS LEBANON
oh and happy b-day to her.
GOD BLESS LEBANON
Sorry to disappoint you, Ms Levantine, but she was actually born in Damascus.. My wife went back home to have her amongst family.. Nevertheless, I guess the short time she spent in Beirut must have left an indelible mark on her...
As for you, anonymous, nobody invited you in, so piss off and don't bother coming back..
Congratulations to Hala and her proud mother and father! Syrian Brit please keep up the good work on your excellent blog.
For an excellent article that is highly recommmended read the following link:
http://www.zaytuna.org/articleDetails.asp?articleID=93#_ednref1
Happy Birthday Hala.
All the best.
Hashem.
A bit late, but a very happy birthday to your little jewel :)
From me, and from Hala, a heartly 'Thank You' to all of you for your kind wishes...
Syrian Brit,
A belated congratulations to your daughter Hala. The second paragraph of your post brought back flashbacks of still vivid memories and I wonder if our paths have crossed. During that fateful summer of 1982, I was a medical student at AUB. Early during the invasion I did what I could helping out in the AUH emergency room. I somehow managed to get out of the city later on but returned in the fall to resume my training.
Abu Kareem,
That, my friend, may well be the case!.. In actual fact, at the time of the invasion, I was not in a 'clinical' role.. I was doing my MSc in Neurosciences with Dr. Suheyl Jabbour at the Neuroscience Lab.. Interestingly, I, too, regularly found myself going to the Emergency Room to help out and do what I can.. an experience as much as I would like to forget, as much as I know I never will!..
My original plan was to do the Neurosurgery Residency with Drs. Haddad, Nassar, and Saba. I did a year as a rotating intern, and a year as a First-Year resident in Neurosurgery, then I took a year out to do my MSc with Dr. Jabbour et al. Sadly, that was interrupted by the Israeli invasion, and eventually I had to leave back to Damascus.. I did manage to return and complete my thesis, and get my MSc a year or so later, before I made my way to the UK..
My God, remembering those dark days still makes the hair at the back of my neck stand on its ends!!..
p.s. Thank you for your kind wishes to Hala.
p.p.s. If you wish to 'compare notes' more privately, please e-mail me on: 'syrianbrit@hotmail.co.uk'.. I would love to hear from you..
Check out savethehijaz.org to see the destruction that has already been done by the wahhabis/najdis/salafis in the name of eradicating 'kufr, shirk and bidah'.
Please tell your friends and family!
Syrian Brit,
Happy b-day to your daughter. I wish her the best.
To the racist Lebanese,
You and alike Lebanese (not all) suffer mental conditions of backwardness, immaturity and false-superiority. My experiences with such people have made reach this conclusion with a solid position. Can you imagine a Lebanese pizza-deliver attemptintg to intellectually challenge a Syrian third-year medical student!
May God help you get over this
SYRIAN
الله يخليلك اياها
وكل سنة وهي وإنت بخير
happy birthday
Ayham and Amr,
Thank you both very much for the kind wishes..
I have read this post long time ago....I didn't leave a comment. Maybe I was jealous cuz I don't have a father to feel the same way you feel toward your kids. I decided to ignore and walk away.
I've been thinking about him more and more lately. I miss him. donno why but i decided to come back, I, once, felt the warmth of a father in the blog, wasn't my father and the warmth wasn't for me. But it reminds me of my father. Anyway, I just came here to wish you and your family the best in life all together, all the time, and for as long as life can give.
و الله يخليك لولادك
Ihsan,
I am truly touched by your comment.. I sincerely hope that the wormth you felt when you read my post gave you some comfort.. I know nothing will even come close to, never mind replace, the bond between a father and a son, but if reading this post gave you even the slightest bit of comfort, then, to my mind, it has achieved an amazing feat.. and I would be immensely satisfied that it did..
Thank you very much for your kind wishes, and for coming back to leave your comment..
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