There’s a lot of debate and discussion around what love is. Some say it’s a social construct that we try to live up to. Others say it’s a feeling, so it’s not concrete. The person, living or non-living thing that we love today, we might hate tomorrow.
A few months ago, if someone told me I’d have a cat in my bed, I’d tell them: “Pigs might fly!” In Safaga, I shared my bed with the cats: Gisma, Sunny and Samba. In Giza, I had Aida, Findus, Farida and Saied. Yesterday, I found myself crying knowing that Gisma’s leg will never heal and she has to live with her disability. Maybe she reminded me of my own disability, my hearing loss that I have to live with till I die.
I've been always looking for love but I wasn't lucky finding it in romantic relationships. I found it with members of my family, friends and even in unnamed relationships. I love my niece and nephew to death and I know they love me as much as I do. When I am with them, I feel I won’t need to have my own children one day because I feel they are my children, especially when they mix up and call me Mama, instead of Zeeza. They are my children with a bonus that I don’t have to do all the duties of a mother for them all the time. I’m a part-time mother to them.
Safy is an ex-fellow in my college I didn’t hit it off with. At that time, our chats never exceeded saying Hi. Now, she is my best friend. Over the years, our friendship grew slowly but surely. Our mindsets have been developing bit by bit and we got closer which helped keep our friendship solid and steady despite being far away from each other after she got married and moved to Cairo. Now, we almost speak the same language.
I haven’t celebrated Valentine’s Day before. This year, I decided to break the habit and celebrate it with Pro Bono. I’d like to use this space to express my respect and gratitude for my Pro Bono colleagues.
On my list, Shams Daroueesh comes first. I was lucky to have my very first translation with Pro Bono reviewed by Shams. I had the honor to learn from her and the joy that we kept in contact afterward. During my disappointing trip to Sri Lanka, her letters were such a support for me. Our communication dropped out for a while but we’ve been back to connect sporadically. I look forward to collaborating with her again and having insightful conversations together on the topics we translate and beyond.
Who else? Yasser Naguib has been reviewing many of my recent translations, especially those for Progressive International and I really enjoyed his clear and thoughtful feedback. After his reviews, my translation always looked more elegant and sounded smoother. The most thing I liked was that our comments were in standard Arabic, neither in English nor Egyptian Arabic, which is something I’d like to do more. Hopefully, this will motivate me to write a post in standard Arabic soon.
Mona Shalabi reviewed my translation a couple of times. Her comments were on point and the tips she provided were very instructive. Also, it was nice to work with Ammar Naif, the young, enthusiastic colleague, who used to call me Ms. Zeinab in his emails. We’re all alike so hopefully next time, he’ll be at ease and call me just Zeinab.
I’d like to show my appreciation and consideration to Óscar who used to regularly read and comment on my blog posts.
Happy Valentine’s Day to Subrina, Chinthi and Andrew for all the valuable work you’ve been doing for Pro Bono and keeping it going!
Happy Valentine’s Day to every Pro Bono volunteer! You’re special and loved. Thanks for being part of this great project!
To conclude, let me ask you, do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? With whom will you celebrate it this year? Is there a Pro Bono colleague you would like to message on this day?
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