What Was It like to Grow Up in a Big Family - Essay Example

What was it like to grow in a big family? Growing up in a big family always has its advantages, and in my case I had six brothers who had been my companions when I was growing up. What was the first kind of sport you practiced when you were a kid? I think, it was soccer. I would watch my elder brothers play and always wanted to go to the field and kick a ball. Which sport is your favorite and why? I tried many sports, and I really love them all, but nothing can replace soccer in my life. There is something about the sport that I love even now! The exhilaration I felt in chasing and kicking the ball or the happiness I experienced when I made a goal is completely out of this world. Did you believe that sports are changing through time? Yes, sports has changed a lot, because in my times, most people had no time and interest in sports. Sports were not encouraged and in the country where I spent my childhood years, sports were not that common. Maybe, because most Arab countries were disturbed with the constant wars. Did you play in any professional team through your life? Professional is a big word for me. No, but in my teen years, I played for the club in which my father was a member and we won too. I was very athletic (spoke proudly). I know you used to play soccer, why did you stop? Soccer in Jordan is popular, but we were never encouraged to make it our livelihood. My father was really strict about studies. When I grew up, I became too engrossed in earning a living. Now, I see young people earn so much through sports, I now wish I was born now (laughs). What’s one thing you like about sports in your time, and at the present time? In my times Sports brought us together, I might not know the boy playing in my team but sports could help you grow a friendship. Even now sports have the ability to bring people and nations close. Do you have any memorable moment of practicing or watching your favorite sports? Yes, when I was young, I would watch my elder brothers play. Later on when I became good at sports I used to watch all kinds of sports in the television. Where did you play most of the times? We had a small deserted place in our neighborhood and all of the boys played there. Since, my father was a member of a sporting club, we went for swimming there. I played a lot of field games there too. Did everyone love sports when you were a child and supported it? We did! My brother, my friends and I loved sports; we wanted to play even when the army was firing guns and dropping bombs! But, sadly, the grownups were dead against it of course. Now, that I have children I understand why, but then I loathed them. They did not let us play outside for long, especially during the Black September period. So, the schools in Jordan did not support sports that well? No, the times were not right. My school did though. We had these sporting events where we ran, jumped and played our hearts out to win a copy of the Holy Quran or get a new water bottle and sweets. What sports were you taught at school? Besides physical education, doing exercises and all, we were allowed to sign up for private sports like volleyball, basketball etc. My father paid extra for all of us to make sure we get enough of sports and recreation, so we had access to school supplies of balls and I remember even lying to my parents to stay back after school and practice with friends. Did you want to pursue sports and if yes, were you supported? I knew I was good, my family knew it too but getting into a national team would not have been easy. I did get a lot of time to play and practice but I was never encouraged to take it up as a career. But, Jordan had a National Football Team, why did you not try out? Yes, before I was born the team was good; I have heard my father say so. But then they never qualified for any league cups for the next 3 or 4 decades. So, no one really took the team seriously. Well of course now they play much better, not like Brazil or Argentina, but much better than what they played in the 1960’s. Jordan achieved full freedom post World War II, a new constitution was formed and the official name was changed to the –Hashemite kingdom of Jordan1. The Hashemite kingdom of Jordan was engulfed in decades of political unrest and military ventures. Owing to the constant problems life was not normal for the civilians and only a fortunate few were protected against the results of this political turmoil. And one of such families was that of the Alazzawi. Little Wameed loved playing with his siblings and he was really lucky to have six brothers. They had two sisters too. Wameed loved his sisters and wanted to play with them, but since in the Arab countries girls were not really allowed to play with boys, Wameed could not recollect playing with his sisters. He however with much embarrassment recalls how he would play dolls with his sisters, but once he grew up a little more, he grew more close to his brothers. Together the Alazzawi brothers had loads of fun at home. Wameed was always eager to go to school because at school he could play games that he really loved. He said that he would often cry if his parents forbid him from attending school on a particular day. The Jordanian education system was more bent towards studies; however, Wameed and his brothers went to a school that encouraged a better-rounded education. The school not only encouraged studies but believed that children should be engaged in recreational activities such as sports to be able to concentrate on their studies. School always started with religious morning prayers, followed by Quran teachings and other subjects, but the time Wameed most eagerly waited for each day was the 45 minute recess that his school allowed. He would play with his class mates in the school field. He recalled that the field was very big and he loved playing tennis, volley ball and soccer with his friends. A 1 hour period for physical education took place on Wednesdays only and Wameed made it a point never to skip school on that “sports day”. Yes, every Wednesday to him, was his sports day, and his mother was sure that on Wednesday all of the Alazzawi boys would return with dirty clothes that would require additional washing efforts to get rid of the dirt, but the every “Wednesday-scolding” (as the boys called it) from their parents did not deter the boys from playing at school. On all other days, Wameed had some extra classes after school and returned home late. This was in fact a lie, a white lie that allowed Wameed and his peers to play after school for some time. However, his elder brothers saw through the lie and caught him red-handed but they never told on him. Wameed however, wished that they did tell on him, because like all siblings they started blackmailing him and made him do errands at home. He would clean their room sometimes, bring food etc for them. He did not like doing the things that his brothers asked him too but he was more afraid of his father’s wrath. Since Wameed and his brothers were in different grades they did not play with each at school, however, once they returned home, they played with each other. Most of their interests were common and hence no matter game they played, everyone had a good time. Their favorite day was Friday, simply because they had no school on Fridays and would stay at home. They utilized the entire morning to play tennis. Scores of Palestinian refugees came to the neighborhood where the Alazzawi family lived, and started a whole new life. They had to leave their homeland because the Israeli forces destroyed thousands of houses in response to the “fedayeen” attack. The villages of Imwas, Yalo, Bayt Yoba, Bayt Awwa etc were destroyed. The uprooted Palestinian fled to the neighboring countries like Syria, Jordan and Egypt.2 It is said that almost 300,000 Palestinians became refugees and came to Jordan and most of them lived in camps. According to official records, the Palestinians made up almost 34% of the total Jordanian population and almost 18% lived in camps set up especially for them. Wameed’s father was a very helpful man. Some Palestinian refugee families were really poor because they had lost everything during the Israeli attacks. Wameed’s father had provided help to many people who were in need of some support in the new country, even amongst protests from fellow Jordanians who did not like the refugees much. He understood their plight and never backed out whenever someone approached him for help. In fact since he was involved in the private sector, he gave jobs to many. The Alazzawi brothers too inherited this particular trait of being helpful to the needy. They noticed that many of the young Palestinian boys who had moved in worked really hard to help their family. 3According to UNRWA 40% of the Palestinian refugees were below the age of 18 and did not receive education owing to the constant problems in their home country.4 Most of them were uneducated and were engaged in child labor. The Alazzawi felt bad for the young boys because they knew that their own family was among the privileged few who were not much affected economically during the unrest in Jordan and they sympathized with the young Palestinians. There was an economical gap between them and the Palestinian refugees.But, there was something that brought them together and it was sports. The Alazzawi brothers often played at a deserted place near their house and the place was very much visible from the refugee camps nearby. Few boys, after a long days work approached the brothers and wanted to play along and the brother’s obviously obliges. Wameed was overwhelmed when he had new friends to play with. The Palestinian boys too found some recreation time after their long working hours. Wameed and his brothers made it a point to finish their homework fast and then went off to play with their new found friends. They played soccer and tennis. They made teams, played a few sets and quarreled, but at the end everyone would go home, wanting to return the next day. The boys grew close and the Alazzawi brothers often share their food with their neighborhood friends. They would sneak out plates of Mansaf, kibbeh and Mezze which all of them would eat together before starting. They would often invite them over during festival. There was an established partnership between the Palestinians and the king of Jordan, but this fell apart because the Palestinian guerillas, popularly known as the fedayeen attacked Israel through the Jordan border and this led to civil wars. During the Jordanian civil war period (1970-1971) which is known in history as the Black September5, most school were shut down and for Wameed Alazzawi, it was one of worst phases of his life. There was a conflict between the Palestinian guerillas and the king of Jordan, King Hussein. No, one was allowed to venture out, no matter what the reason was. Supplies of food and water were stocked at home because no one was sure how long the civil war would last. Young Wameed wanted to go to their playground, fix the net, kick a goal and cheer himself but even he knew that he could not. His brothers and he were bored at home. It is said that necessity is the mother of Invention, and the words are appropriate in little Wameed’s situation too, because out of sheer boredom he and his brothers came up with an idea to play hand soccer with a small pen cap. The fore-fingers and middle fingers were the players who would kick the pen cap (their imaginative ball) into a small box. But they longed to play with their friends. Wameed missed his school a lot. Wameed recalls, that one day his father taught the boys to play a game after seeing how scared and bored they were. They prepared a paper ball by crushing lots of paper together and holding them together with a rubber band. They used this ball to play quietly at home without making much noise. Sometimes, to the delight and amazement of the boys even their father joined them. But, there was nothing they wanted more than peace to come so that they could revert back to their normal life. Study and play like growing boys. After a few months, peace finally did come to Jordan and everything was ready to return to normal. However, after this low period Jordan faced an “oil-boom” and the country progressed rapidly. Jordan witnessed rapid growth in a number of sectors both private and public. Everything seemed to get better. During this time, Wameed was in his teens and he was really athletic. He would often accompany his father to the Jordan Homenetnum sporting club. Most of the members were Jordanians while some were Armenian. Wameed and his brothers often played at the club and Wameed was particularly noticed because of his athletic built and good play. Eventually he was absorbed into the club’s soccer team. Wameed played a number of tournaments and represented the team a number of times. His family was really proud of him, especially his father. Wameed recalls how much he loved football. At first he would listen to the radios about soccer leagues around the world, and he would jump up every time a goal was made. At first he was not very sure of the teams and did not support either, soon he learnt about different teams and picked out his favorite ones. However, very soon when things returned to normal his family bought a television. Wameed would spend a lot of time watching sports, no matter he understood them or not. Many of the sports were new to him, since the official rules of games such tennis, badminton etc was not known to him, yet he enjoyed each and every single second of watching. He, also remembers, how he would often sneak in his Palestinian friends, who had never seen a television in their life and watched sports with them. Wameed was specially hooked to the television when he saw soccer matches in the television. He carefully watched each and every move of the players and tried to copy them. He practiced them in his room and tried out the moves when he was playing outside. He sometimes wished that his country would have a national soccer team for which he would play and earn fame just like the players that he saw and lauded. To sum it all up, Wameed Alazzawi had a wonderful childhood in his own little way. Apart from the war period and the intermittent turmoil in his country he was engaged in sports which according to him made him a strong, more dependable and reliable human. REFERENCES Ashton, Nigel J. King Hussein of Jordan: A Political Life. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. Print. Faour, B., et al. "Comparative, regional analysis of ECCE in four Arab countries (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, and Sudan)." Education for All Global Monitoring Report 1 (2006): 4-40. Print. Hussein. Uneasy Lies the Head: The Autobiography of His Majesty King Hussein I of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. New York: B. Geis Associates; distributed by Random House, 1962. Print. Robbins, P. A history of Jordan. USA, USA: N.p., 2004. Print. Sharp, J. "Jordan:Background and U.S relations." Congressional Research Service 1 (2012): 3- 19. Print. Read More