Arriving at the airport in Amman we found our flight overbooked and it appeared as if the five of us were not going to be getting on the plane to Istanbul. Miraculously, we boarded and I was seated next to someone who looked a lot like Russell Crowe. His name was Ziadt. We began to chat and I learned that he was an Iraqi, from Baghdad. He was traveling without a passport on a tour through Syria, Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon.
He has no passport. It struck me like a blow. He has no one to protect him, no one to speak for him. He has no passport. He belongs to no country. If someone should decide to hold him he has no human rights. He travels on the whim of tolerance.
His smile was so warm and genuine. We exchanged pleasantries in a mixture of charades, Arabic and English. He has a wife and new baby he misses very much. We spoke about my education. He thought it was great that students in the US were encouraged to travel. He shared that he had once been a teacher in Baghdad. When I asked him what he does now he showed me that he washes dishes for people who live in the green zone.
We were both quiet for a moment. What to say about the sadness that rests between us. “It is very difficult,” he acknowledged.
While we ate he taught me Arabic words (this continued for the rest of the flight). After the meal we were brought copies of the Jordanian Times in Arabic and English. On the front page was a picture of US soldiers in Baghdad. He looked at the picture, smoothed his fingers over it and said “I am surprised that you are not like them.” He smiled, “you and your laughter fill…” he gestured to the space around us. The flight was almost over. As we crossed central Turkey some mountains with snow were visible through the window. Ziadt pointed at them “What is this?” he asked.
“Mountain.”
“Mountain and Mountain, they do not see. But person and person,” he gestured to him and me, “then we see.”
We soon arrived in Istanbul. I wished him well, not as well as I should have. I should have made efforts to find him a US sponsor for citizenship or given him my email address and worked to stay in touch. Instead we parted quietly, with a smile and a wave.
I have never been so overwhelmed by kindness. This from someone who should wish me ill for all that we have not done and all that we will never do. For him to wish me well, for him to bless me with smiles, laughter and the gift of friendship …I hope that he is blessed.
Ziadt
Be careful. Be well. Be happy.
And may you find many others who see.