Zyphera

Khaled is an important encounter in the congolese chapter of my life. Our friendship, as he liked to say, was an exchange « in order to gain something. » It helped me to rise above, and so he thought winning his “Man stripes. » When I think about him, his voice filtered through a mustache, reasoning in my head: « One and two and three … whatever! «  » I said what! «  » Being a man or acting like a man « , » How come! « …. There are so many expressions. Each of his words resonates beyond the house’s wall we shared for one year. Every day, morning, noon and night, when I got home, he greeted me with a usual « Hi Gamila! ».

Khaled worked in a United Nations peace mission. He repeated that he did not really know what he was doing here. Even if he knew and understood all the political and economic issues that led his country to send him here, he was sad to realize there was nothing really useful. His harsh but realistic words brought him to the conclusion he worked for the « United Nothing »!

Khaled is a rock on which all his friends like to hang in a storm. And he knows it. Without playing, he’s concerned with the human race and so pushed to multiply his strength. Despite his stature and his presence both impressive, I detected fragility, a flaw. K. is stretched in a gap between his almost prehistoric culture of southern Egypt and our extra modern globalization. He adapts with this difference. No mixing, no compromise, he’s keeping himself in every situation. He has those simple but effective ethics that many consider obsolete. I don’t know if they come from his culture, his experience, his character, or both. But they have comforted me. Our long conversations (sometimes or rather monologues) drinking sweet tea at the end of the day made me note we agree on many points, despite the difference in culture, language, age. Most often it took turn to what he called « lessons ». He always began his remarks with: « This is the lesson number thirty: learn for free, without paying. »

In all his attention, I wondered « why? » Why did he need to take care of all people, to push them to be the best of themselves, why did he need to do so every day a human success? Why did he want to be involved in everything? While this is a good thing and rare, I realized that something was missing: his family. But more: what is this hole in his heart? He often spoke of his father lost in his youth. Perhaps he filled the emptiness left by the loss. With all his excitement, he finished each day, sprawled on the couch wearing in his military uniform, boots unlaced, small glasses on the nose top and sighed in a tired and short of breath, « I’m suffering! « . This view of him always made me smile a little … and so him also!