rumouz (symbols) رموز T-Shirt

The checkered, black and white, or red and white, headdress
with its tussled, tubular black crown
has long been a symbol of Arab pride.
More recently, particularly in the West, it has come to represent
whatever fears and prejudices conjured by current world events.

It seems like as long as Arabs have existed, the “kafiyah” was part of them.
Protecting head from harsh desert sun.
Warming neck against evening chill.
Shielding nose and mouth from sand storms.

That is how I remember grandfather Abu Sami.
His generation, the last of the Al-Jundi’s to wear this traditional garb.
My father and uncles, his college-educated children,
opted for the Western suit.
It was their symbol of progress.

My generation, did not want to lose the kafiyah.
Although we wore the uniform of pants, shirts and jackets in high school,
we used the kafiyah as a scarf.
Folding the expansive square into a triangle, and draping it across the shoulders. Or loosely rolling it and wrapping it around the neck.
It was the cool thing to do.
It was also our way of saying: We are Arabs, and we are proud of it.

It was our attempt to hold on to an identity
in a world increasingly turbulent
and very much unkind
to our sense
of humanity.