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Samah Abdullah 

- I Became a Creative Writer -

I used to ask myself, how would I be able to create comics? How can I draw and write at the same time? I did not expect to find the answer in this smooth way. I am now more confident in my abilities to depict my surroundings through drawing and writing. I managed to do so very smoothly, which makes me more confident that I can now produce comics so easily.

The program has introduced me to new people whom I can share experiences, moments and thoughts with. We may become a permanent working team, who knows! Yes, this training has added a new Samah to me.

- Sarah -
A Short Story from An Interview

Her skin is the color of her country’s grains. Her face lights up like her country’s sun. She is a beautiful Yemeni girl. Not big, not small, but educated and more. Her clothes are baggy and simple. They show her love for simplicity and comfort. She wraps her head with a scarf whose colors are like random waves that subconsciously mix colors in what feels like a soldier’s helmet before a battle. Sarah is not just a girl; she has a human soul with incredible empathy and emotions as well as very stubborn eyes. Her eyes are neither small nor big. They are deep with words. She dreams like the rest of girls her age in this country. She dreams of a small house on top of a mountain in Haraz where she can live and write. Her dream is a mystery to me. She wants to write about music when she retires one day.

Corresponding Thoughts to the Story Collection Titled “Blouza: The Blouse” by Reem Mohajed

The stories narrate events that we went through, events I may have personally gone through the moment I escaped the war in Taiz to Sana’a on a bus just like that in the story.

Almost the same feelings, you lose sense and you simply do not understand what you should do. The only refuge is silence and indifference.

When I read the “Road”, I sensed reality. I have been there, I know the events and I have experienced the feelings. However, I stopped to ask myself where the “wolf” was? I never saw him.  Next time, I will try to see him! In fact, I stopped caring about what happened. What happened is already done. I feel that I am only a witness to past events. What else could we possibly do?

- On 19 Days of Creative Writing -
Thoughts on the 19th Day of Creative Writing

All praise to God…

I used to think of drawing comics for ages. I just did not know how. Honestly, the past 19 days taught me how to write more clearly and with more courage. I feel that so much has been added to my knowledge and character. I feel this inner comfort for the fact that I have become more capable of expressing myself more smoothly.

One problem is left, though.

I still do not feel so satisfied about the end of “Folanyia and Alaniya”. Maybe I will be more satisfied when we are completely finished with the story. Regardless, I like the idea because it is different and because there is an accomplishment. I am grateful for fate. It always guides me to what I love.

All praise to God.

- Six Images from Memory -
Thoughts that Followed a Walk in the Neighborhood

While I was walking in the neighborhood around 5 pm, I noticed how quiet it was and how people almost did not exist. I love quietness, but I find the complete lack of movement disturbing.  Anyway, I found a public park where I saw two families with children and I also saw two young men in their 20s sitting by themselves practicing oud. The scene took me back to my teenage years. I used to sit with my best friend who shares the same hobby of drawing and writing with me. We used to enjoy our hobbies. I recalled the music lessons that I quit because I was tired of. Oud is a fretted musical instrument with a different note. That was tiring for me especially during the school exams phase.

I stopped thinking of the music lessons when I saw a cafe where my friend works. I decided to walk in. She and I had ice cream and spoke about issues related to her. After that, I went to another bigger cafe. My curiosity took me there. I wanted to see what people were doing and how they spent their time there. The general atmosphere was noisy, yet not noisy. It was nice, but it also wasn’t. What I liked the most was the swimming pool. It reminded me of how much I love to swim.

I noticed how distracted people seemed. It was as if they did not know what they wanted. Perhaps they did. I saw two little girls on the swing. I saw crowded tables with friends who did not seem to be enjoying their time. Perhaps they were busy? I laughed when I realized that, I, myself, was not enjoying my time as well.

On the way back to the training, I saw a cat and a dog. I think cats and dogs became city animals. Rabbits, cows and goats are rural animals. Lions and tigers are wild. I generally do not like animals.

This neighborhood took me back to the past, to memories. I do not care. I felt bored when I was alone. I only enjoy walks when I have company. I went back neither satisfied nor unsatisfied. I felt like that song: “Let the past days go, turning back only brings the end.”