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                              In a few days, I’ll have to go up and wash 
                              out the roof or ‘sattih’. Last year, 
                              we’d sleep on top of the roof on the hot nights 
                              without electricity. We lay out thin mattresses 
                              on the clean ground and wet some sheets to cover 
                              ourselves with. It’s not too bad until around 
                              6 a.m. when the sun rises high in the sky and the 
                              flies descend upon the sleepers like... well, like 
                              flies. These last couple of weeks have been somewhat 
                              depressing for most people. You know how sometimes 
                              you look back at the past year and think to yourself, 
                              “What was I doing last year, on this same 
                              day?” Well we’ve been playing that game 
                              constantly lately. What was I doing last year, this 
                              very moment? I was listening for the sirens, listening 
                              for the planes and listening to the bombs fall. 
                              Now we just listen for the explosions - it’s 
                              not the same thing.  |