Issue nº 218

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Legends of the desert

I met Yasser Hareb during an encounter in Paris. We had a long discussion about the last bridge standing intact in a world increasingly divided: culture. Despite all that we see in front of us, we still hold on to some common values, and this can help us understand our neighbor. I asked Yasser to write some stories from his region for me, which I transcribe abbreviated below.

Why are you crying?

A man knocked at his friend’s door to ask him a favor:

“I want you to lend me four thousand dinars because I have a debt to pay. Can you do that for me?”

The friend asked his wife to gather together everything they had of value, but even so it was not enough. They had to go out and borrow money from the neighbors until they managed to get the full amount.

When the man left, the woman noticed that her husband was crying.

“Why are you sad? Now that we’ve got ourselves in debt with our neighbors, are you afraid we won’t be able to repay them?”

“Nothing of the sort! I’m crying because he is someone I like so much, but even so I had no idea he was in need. I only remembered him when he had to knock on my door to ask me for a loan.”

The code of hospitality

Two men were crossing the desert when they saw a Bedouin’s tent and asked him for shelter. Even though he did not know them, he welcomed them in the way that the conduct of nomads dictates: a camel was killed and its meat served in a sumptuous dinner.

The next day, as the guests were still there, the Bedouin had another camel killed. Astonished, they protested they had not yet finished eating the one killed the day before.

“It would be a disgrace to serve old meat to my guests,” was the answer.

On the third day, the two strangers woke early and decided to continue on their journey. As the Bedouin was not at home, they gave his wife a hundred dinars, apologizing for not being able to wait, because if they spent any more time there, the sun would become too strong for them to travel.

They had traveled for four hours when they heard a voice calling out to them. They looked back and saw the Bedouin following them. As soon as he caught up with them, he threw the money to the ground.

“I gave you such a warm welcome! Aren’t you ashamed of yourselves?”

In surprise, the strangers said that the camels were surely worth far more than that, but that they did not have much money.

“I am not talking about the amount,” was the answer. “The desert welcomes Bedouins wherever they go, and never asks anything in return. If we had to pay, how could we live? Welcoming you to my tent is like paying back a fraction of what life has given us.”

Generous in death

A man was traveling from one city to another when he heard that a ferocious battle had taken place and that his cousin was among the wounded soldiers. He rushed to the place and saw that his cousin was on death’s door. He offered him a little water from his canteen, but just at that moment another wounded soldier beside him groaned, and the cousin asked him to give the water to his neighbor.

“But if I go over there, you may not survive! All your life you have been always so generous!”

Gathering his last ounce of strength, the wounded man replied:

“That’s another reason to be generous, now that I’m about to die.”