Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Getting to Know the Birawees

So what do you know about Ramallah's twin city, Al-Bireh? More importantly, what do you know about the Birawiya or as they're known in the Arabgaleez (Arabic + Ingleezi) language, Birawees?

First of all, make sure you refer to Al-Bireh as a city, not as a town or a village despite its colloquial rural patois. Birawees are touchy about that. They've got an immense load of pride which gives off the impression that they're full of themselves, which is absolutely true. And before we go on, we must give off the disclaimer that the rest of this post will be full of stereotypes and generalizations to further enrich that Orientalist mind and make the enlightened liberal one shake its head sanctimoniously.

One thing that is quite obvious from the start is that Birawees are a bunch of stuck-up racists. We're both half-Birawees, and our non-Birawee mother and father have always been referred to as ghareeba/ghareeb i.e. strangers. The offspring are then looked at in a condescending manner. Those poor urchins...suffering from the demise of being a half-blood. Jesus Christ we're reminded of Harry Potter, Mudbloods, Purebloods, and Half-bloods. Every year Muntaza Al-Bireh, a public park with a huge fountain in the middle and a building with wedding halls in it host a dinner for all of the Birawee graduates of high school. We weren't invited. We didn't lose any sleep over it of course. That's just their screwball mentality. The women wail when their daughter gets married to someone outside Al-Bireh, and say "gharrabna bintna!" which means we have foreignified (or alienated, to use proper English) our daughter.

Long ago, the Birawees were known for being rich mother-heifers because they owned so much land. This lead to some back-stabbing, double-dealing, and subterfuge as the males in the family swindled the inheritance papers so that their six sisters (and if the male was a real asshole, his four brothers also) wouldn't get a share. The father would die, thinking that even in death his words will be final, not suspecting the craftiness of his youngest son or his good for nothing firstborn who change the will barely after the earth settled on the father's grave. Of course, this birthed very strained family ties and relationships for the future generations, who know no God when it comes to land and money. Til this day, there are grandchildren who do not know their second or third cousins because their grandfathers were at each other's throats over this issue. Nevertheless, it has not lessened the supercilious attitude. That's because the next generation immigrated to the United States, made their money in grocery stores, liquor stores, gas stations, various 7/11's, etc. So they were still filthy rich. Some dragged their families years later back to Al-Bireh, where their children would moan about how boring the "blad" is and how the Palestinians living here are such boaters. The money earned would be showing its class in monstrous architecture that pass for villas. The men who worked for 35 years behind the cashier would die in the States from diabetes, lung cancer, high blood pressure, kidney failure, osteoporosis, rheumatism all rolled up into one package. The smarter ones sell their stores after 30 years and come back to their hometown to open up a pizzeria or some other quaint project, and spend the rest of their lives holed up in the dirty coffee shops right next to the Omari mosque.

The sons of these old men marry American women, have a kid, and then get a divorce. They go back to Al-Bireh to marry a proper Muslim bint il-balad, then return to the States and have five more kids. The kid from the American woman is discarded somewhere. When the five children reach their teens, the parents move the daughters back to Al-Bireh in order for them to remain chaste virgins and not the hoochie mama sluts who dress in short shorts and tank tops, have boyfriends and go to school with. The sons remain in America, finish high school and start working at the respective grocery store/liquor store/gas station etc. They make a little money, grow even more thick-headed, and believe that they are God's gift to everything. They wear jerseys and jeans that can fit a whale, have about five custom made Nike shoes, and shop at Rocawear. "Education, who needs university when I'm making money already. No Ma, I don't want to get married. I tried banging the local stripper and all I got out of it was two freakin kids." They do end up getting married, well into their thirties, and they will not settle for a bride unless she's a 17 year old virgin that lived all her life in Al-Bireh, and who gets sold off by her father because his future son-in-law has US citizenship which automatically means moolah. Those who immigrated to America and breed generations there come back with the same damn mentality of everything is haram and everything is 3eib.

The daughters who are "lucky" enough to be trusted by their parents not to turn into hoochie mama sluts and so continue living unabated in the US come every summer to Al-Bireh, pretending that they hate the chaotic backward lifestyle but secretly kill themselves over finding a husband. These girls take the Ramallah perverts too seriously, curse the taxi drivers because he can't understand their chopped up Arabic, and think that if they wear a knee length skirt they will be branded as Americanized Britney Sbears and so consider it a sacrifice on their part to dress in longer sleeves and not wear capris. They are also the same ones who dress to the nines at every single wedding in the summer, even the ones that they're not invited to, all in the hopes of finding a suitable husband, one that comes from the same mold as they do. The girls are essentially all clones of each other. Sometimes you see them walking in large packs either late afternoon or at night, their Snooki poofs visible from a mile away, their straightened hair lying dead on their shoulders, dressed in the same skinny jeans (Seven if you please) and that inevitable purse swinging from their arms. These girls have devalued what a Coach bag is. The savvier ones are moving on to Michael Kors and Louis Vuitton, but the Coach bag is a staple of the masses' wardrobe. Despite coming here every summer they still don't have the wits to figure out that speaking English (especially their lightning speed nasalized tone) in public will cause store owners to triple their prices and get chased by a greasy haired bunch.

It's a whole Little America in Al-Bireh during summertime. The streets are suddenly flocked with jersey-wearing Amrikan with their sagging jeans and silver chains bouncing off their chests, and the weddings are full of pencil skirt wearing girls who size each other up based on whose got the biggest flash factor.

Now let's get in the clan divisions. I believe there are five in total: Karakra, Tawil, Hamayel, Quran, and Abed. Even within Al-Bireh the stereotypes attached to each clan are well known and well made fun of.

Karakra: Not much is known about this small clan other than that they are an arrogant bunch. The joke is that they put on airs when they number a total of 14 members as everyone else is in the US or dead.

Tawil: This clan is known for its superior, haughty vainglorious nature. It is so true. They point their chins forward, flare their nostrils, and look down their noses at everything and everyone. They can only have nothing but the best. The best houses, the best cars, the designer clothes, the best looking wives and daughters, etc. They make others want to smack the shit out of them.

Hamayel: In Arabic we say "Hamayel are habayel" i.e. Hamayel are stupid. The mean people go a step further and say "Hamayel are hamayel". The "h" in the first word pronounced like the numeric transliteration of "7", as in Hmar/7mar (donkey.) The second "h" is is regular English sounding H. The second word means degenerates, lowlifes, ruffians, etc. Rumors (and overwhelming evidence) has it that some families are into the drug trade. We are so gonna get quartered for this post.

Quran: This clan is one of the largest. It is huge. They are known for being hilariously cheapskates. Like, really cheap. They give the most extravagant weddings, the only time where they will actually spend money, but they sleep on cardboard because they don't want to invest in mattresses, never mind beds. The girls with braces get married early so that their husbands will pay the orthodontist bills. The women have a whole closet full of gold jewelry but whatever happens they will never ever ever sell their stash, even if their nephew back in Louisiana faces up to 5 years in prison if he's unable to pay the 5000 dollar bail.

Abed: Another large clan. Dar Abed are known for being essentially astoundingly stupid. They're, quite simply, airheads. They love the color red, like their Arabic coffee too sweet, and can't mentally add up beyond the number ten. When it comes to another round of "Whose the Best" they are always at loggerheads with Dar Quran, as Dar Tawil are sooo above those trivial matters, Dar Hamayel are busy getting caught with crack stashed behind the embroidered pillows, and Dar Karakra are too busy weeping over their infinitesimal lot.

The Birawee women are a peculiar bunch. They know exactly who your parents are from the first look, even if you've never ever met each other before. One time I was walking home from somewhere. The sun had just set, my crap music was blaring through my headphones, and the lovely breeze put me in a good mood. A bunch of old women were walking slowly in front of me. I passed by them, made the mistake of mumbling good evening-damn my good upbringing-, and a conversation started.

"Inti bint meen? Whose daughter are you?"
"Uh..my grandma is-" I hate that question. It goes without saying that they automatically assume you're from Al-Bireh. It makes me spill out my whole life story, and my parents' too. It's unheard of that a young woman from Al-Bireh would marry a young man from Gaza (a refugee no less).
"Ahhh, I knew you were Manal's daughter! Look, its the blood my dear. It's in your face."
"I'm..I'm kinda in a rush now.."
"We know your aunts too! Didn't they all get married into Dar Tawil? Of course they did! Good for them."

These women find brides for their sons by flicking through high school yearbooks. They start from the seniors' page, then go down to the sophomores'. Their sons can be the most idiotic shithead in the world, with no degree to his name who lives off his parents' money, but the girl must be an angel. She must be young so she can be raised up by her husband and his family. She must be well brought up. She must be docile, doe-eyed, and pure. She must be tall and slender. She must be white with fair hair and blue eyes. The guy can work in a bar, have a few girlfriends back in America, and maybe a kid or two that no one is supposed to find out about. He can drink, he can be abusive, he can do whatever the hell he wants but the girl must fit the upper criterion. A perfect match.

The white skin..dear oh dear. A bride was found for a cousin. She was perfect, had all of the excellent qualities, was educated, demure, religious, had American citizenship. But she was...samra. Too dark for their taste. And by dark I mean cafe au lait dark. Sorry, fsh naseeb!

Weddings are simply an occasion to show off the most expensive embroidered thobe and the heavy weight of gold around their necks, heads, and wrists. When we were younger, we enjoyed going just for the dabke and dancing. Then we quickly found out that we were simply prey for the old wizened vultures. One time when I was 15, a veiny hand shot out and snaked itself around my waist, pulling me from my friends and the dance floor.

"Inti bint meen habibti?"

That time I had figured out the magic word. I felt so smart. I played on their racism.

I shouted, "My dad's from GAZA!"

The veiny hand shot back. "Gaza?!?" She gave me the most disgusted putrefying look.
I was still young enough to feel insulted so I muttered "bitch", a big word for my innocent soul, and went back out on the dance floor.

Heba's had her own share of matchmakers knocking on her house. She's the baby of the family, with three older sisters who at that time were unmarried. The matchmaker wasn't having any of it, reiterating that 16 was a perfect age. The matchmaker finally left, feeling thoroughly insulted.

It gets worse when they find out you have American citizenship, which they call "ceetizen". They will literally HOUND you. Back when I had a heart I actually burst into tears because this woman and her crone of a friend were so fucking relentless. Never mind I was still in high school and had my own plans for the future. What the hell was I waiting for? He's a really good guy, he has his own grocery store here next to Masjid Ali and wants a ceetizen wife. No, of course he's not gonna dump your ass after he gets ceetizen. And if he does, well that's your fault since during the green card months you ran out of ways to entertain him.

What's your father's name?
Please fuck off.
What's his name? Your family's name? Come on.
Ignoring you right now.
Look, write it down, don't be shy now.
[My eyes blur.]
You-you're her friend right? Write down her father's name.

Despite all of this, despite this mountain load of shit, we are privy enough to know that other cities and villages and towns hold the same stereotypical view. The Birawees are loaded, their mother in laws are complete busybody hyenas, the women are known for their sharp tongue and forceful attitudes (she's a kawiya!) and the men are a spiritless lot behind their walls of cash. This may be true in some cases, God knows everyone knows each other's life stories, but again you must dismiss everything that's been said here as a fat generalization. Wait, why the apologetic tone? It's all true man.

PS It's wildly known among the older folk that Elizabeth Taylor, she of the violet eyes Sophia Loren, is originally from Al-Bireh. Her parents died when she was a toddler and so she was sent to some orphanage school in Bethlehem where she got adopted by an American family. True story.

UPDATE: For those spitting at me because "your families aren't like that at all" I wasn't aware I was writing about them specifically. For those who are digging on my mother (one of your own!) stop it immediately. For those who analyzed that I must be an angry jealous bitch because not one single rich Birawee asked for my hand, how the hell did you know that! Best explanation there is. Shucks.

145 comments:

  1. It's not enough to visit Al-Bireh a couple of weeks every year, or even live here for a couple of years and socialize only with family and friends in Al-Bireh and think you can describe AlBireh. I'm a Birawee young woman, lived all my life here, married from a "ghareeb" whom I met at work and fell in love with, my other 3 sisters are married to "ghareeb" also. We all have children and all our children are loved by our Birawee families. I have socialized with people from the North to the South of Palestine; and all cities, towns and villages can be described in the above article. Your article insulted me

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  2. Hi anonymous,

    I think you missed the sarcasm and satire in the article. Linah is describing HER town-she does say that this isn't unique to Albireh, but she's talking about the town she knows best, the one she's lived in for many years. It's a bit tongue in cheek, don't take it too seriously:)

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  3. Listen, this was meant as a humorous post. Of course it doesn't reflect the true social issues of Al-Bireh, but as is mentioned at least twice above, is a rehash of all the stereotypes and generalizations. Good lord, don't take it so personally.

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  4. For the person's mother who wasn't Invited or included in Birawee Gathering's well...it must be your mother's personality (not nice) because Mart Kalee isn't from the bireh and she gets invited to all the gathering's and is quite popular....:) Jealousy is a disease! Get well soon! And for the one that called an older woman a "Bitch"....I guess we can see what respect your mother and father taught you!!

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  5. Anonymous, i think you need to relax, and re-read. she didn't say her mother wasn't invited. just calm down.

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  6. "Every year Muntaza Al-Bireh, a public park with a huge fountain in the middle and a building with wedding halls in it host a dinner for all of the Birawee graduates of high school. We weren't invited."

    Oh yes she did. And I'm calm :) see that smiley face? :)) Here is another to show my calmness...I'm just telling you how I see it from the article. Don't take it so personally :)

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  7. not taking it seriously, but you said her mother wasn't invited because her mother must not have a nice personality. that's not what she said, as you quoted above. she said SHE (and her friend) wasn't invited. You insulted her mother based on your misread assumptions.

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  8. She insulted all of Al-Bireh and all the 5 families! And to correct myself (btw the article didn't say specifically her and her friend)...if she did mean her and her friend then it still stands....from reading the article I find it to be true. Her and her friend must not have nice personalities. Mart Kalee and my cousins have no problems. :)

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  9. Even though I am a birawiya but I Must say this is a very true article!
    when I read this part i was lmao
    "The white skin..dear oh dear. A bride was found for a cousin. She was perfect, had all of the excellent qualities, was educated, demure, religious, had American citizenship. But she was...samra. Too dark for their taste. And by dark I mean cafe au lait dark. Sorry, fsh naseeb!"----> So True
    P.s MashAllah you are a very brave and an excellent writer!Keep it up!

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  10. I thought I already left a cpmment, but I don't see it.. so here's try #2

    HAHHAHAHA this is hilarious! I don't know anyone from Al-Bireh and I've never been, but the parts about Palestinians in the US is 100% accurate! I live in the U.S. and almost everyone I know is exactly how you describe! Illegitimate children and all..

    I loved this! So funny!

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  11. From which family did elizabeth taylor hail?

    I think many of your comments may have some validity; others are just outrageous. Y3ani cocaine maybe, but habayel come on.

    You're giving ammunition on a platter to so many non-biraweeya.

    Any nice things to say about a7el al bireh?

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  12. I agree and this is not just abirawi thing it's in all the American villages ( der dbwan, tormos3aya ...) my  favorite part was the year book lmao ohhh ya and the white skin lol I'm white skin and I had around head ya sometimes they thought I'm a brwiya or dibwania so they assumed I'm rich and in the stores they wanted to rib me off anyway good luck omg I have a brawia friend I think u have her too linah like a month ago her facebook states was about a weeding in al bira and something wrong happen in the weeding she wanted to know what happen so all the brwiat were on that they were ashamed of the girl coz she married someone not birawi that was surprising for me that educated girls would think like that.       

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  13. This is all true. Most of ya'll know that ya'll think exactly what this writer said. The one thing this blogger left out was that when you attack the people from the birah as a whole no matter what dar they are from we stick together. Nonethelss, you dont have to live in the birah to knw this.

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  14. Wow! A lot of hate out there! I thought it was funny and easy to relate to any balad. I lived in Al Bireh for 4 years and a lot of people were nice and some not so much. I would hear the ghareeb thing but only from the ignorant ones. I don't think the author of this is jelous or envious. It is her take on it and the best part is it is her opinion. Not everyone has to agree.

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  15. As a biraweeya I thought this was funny. A little too harsh, but I laughed!!! FYI: I heard it was Sophia Loren that was biraweeya!!!

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  16. Iam a birwaa , its true we think we are better than others,but I've learned that each town thinks they are better.Honey you got the families all wrong the ,hameyel are not stupid they are the show offs.Dar taweel are known to be copycats of hameyel and are trouble makers and the quar3an actually used to be cheap now they wear the coach purses. This article describes poeple from ten years ago .I know girls that fall in love everyday with guys outside the berih.I know this is supposed to be funny but take pride of half of you thats from the berih . I tell my kids take pride of who you are.

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  17. Wow...everyone needs to calm down a bit. I'm from the Bireh and I love it there, but didn't get offended by this article. The writer clearly states that the post will be full of stereotypes and generalizations, so don't take it personally. Yes, of course there are exceptions, but there is also some truth...and some would argue, A LOT of truth to this article.

    I'm an educated Birawiyeh who married a non-Birawi whom I chose and I'm living the life I want to live with the support of my family. I did everything I ever wanted to do and still going and no one in or out of Elbireh ever tried stopping me. The point is...if you do NOT fit the description of a Birawi according to this article, then great...don't take it so personally and enjoy the humorous side of the post.

    And to the author I say this: Continue speaking your mind. I laughed out loud at a number of things you wrote in this article. Ignore the haters.

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  20. Great blog! And for the most part you're dead on!

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  21. I agree with feda

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  22. Haha I'm the half breed and I'm not offended! I love people's reaction when I tell them that my dad is from al bireh and my mom's from nablus. They look at me as if I just told them I killed their first born.. "Yeeeeee keef sarat abooki akhad nabulseeyeh?" Um my mom was fly and my dad was in love! Good blog! Just ignore the comments from the boneheads, it obviously didn't offend them enough to close it after the first paragraph!

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  23. This is sooo funny, I'm from Al bireh (born and raised in America) and it's the same stereotypes I've always heard and known as well. People take it too serious...LOL it's hilarious!

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  24. I was thinking of writing another post "Birawees are a Bunch of Humorless Cretins *THISPOST IS ALL ABOUT GENERALIZATIONS YET AGAIN*" but i think enough shit has hit the fan for now. I can't believe there are some people who are apologists for racism though, i think an inaudible "bitch" to that crazy old woman was letting her off too easy. You guys are all awesome, thanks for the love.

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  26. So funny! I'm from dar hamayal and have heard that we are known to be showoffs not drug dealers :( haha but I must admit mostly everything u said was true ESP about us min Amreeeeeka lol and we all know it whether we'd like to admit it or not lol..this made my day :)

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  27. Say girl instead of you writing 7achee fathee about ahil el bireh why don't you write about Israel? Jews are all our enemies so since your a good writer and all spread the word............IBN EL BIREH

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  28. Hi Thaer, are you that near-sighted that one look at one post gave you the overall impression that all I do is write "hachee fathi"? Check out the rest of the blog, I've been published over various media forums writing about the Israeli occupation, PA, and political landscape. And please stop using "Jews" when referring to Zionists, it's one semantic error that violently feeds the hasbara machine.

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  29. Loooool...Linah ur really cute and adorable! Everything you said was true...bas 7aram 3alieke dar el tawil arent THAT concieded :))))
    No seriously...Fatha7teeena....people are already haten on us!!!
    Mashallah ur writing is nice...keep it up, just as long as u 5afeeefe shwaya 3a ahil el Birah ;)

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  30. You are seriously fathya ashghal, worst "tongue in cheek" article. I'm from dar abed and you declare us airheads, everyone in my family has a minimal bachalor degree from actual accredited colleges and not from that middle school "mimken nit3ruf" college bierziet university. You seem to be writing about your own insecurities and addressing them on a broader base with no actual merit, rather by urban palestinian mythology with the absence of facts. Wallah to get to the point if u want to date and chill at clubs go ahead and do it, just don't take out your anger on mommy and daddy by writing this article....thaer qoran the patriots have it this season, that should tell you who I am. Finally, biraweeya are cocky because they can be. The majority of us love our family, culture and religion and that's what makes people like u resent us

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  31. Honey, I'm not the one that gave these clans their stereotypes. I'm a bit confused with your rant though (pubescent angst at parents, desire to go clubbing, freedom for love relationships outside marriage, etc) but it does a wonderful job of pinpointing just exactly why the majority here agree with me. "...urban palestinian mythology with the absence of facts". Isn't that what it's all about ya zalameh..Or is that just to show me that you did go to a proper university? Don't be afraid to use your real name next time.

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  32. YOYOYO everyone needs to calm the crap down!!!

    THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SATIRE, YOU WOULDNT GET MAD AT A COMEDIAN NOW WOULD YOU????

    Linah your writing is beautiful, hilarious, and inspiring. Your diction is quite expansive and impressive to say the least. Every word you wrote was poetic.

    And as a Birawiya I am actually not offended but instead EXTREMELY proud that there is one of you amongst us. I have been following your other posts as well and can say although this is break from your usual, it needed to be said. Kudos. Keep doing what you do.

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  33. I don't have to prove to you or your flock of fans of my education. However my statement was said "tongue in cheek" as well as yours, or didn't you pick up on that. The clubbing aspect of my previous statement was meant as a general statement not a personal attack. Since most (even if you exclude yourself) people who share your opinions are self loathing palestinians not realizing the so called american palestinians you satirically make fun of, are the ones that built current palestine and are the ones funding it. Yes we have american palestinian hobol that go there only in the summer but you failed to mention that's the minority.

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  34. wooohooo Dar Karakra put on the map!!! All 14 of us our hyped! hahahaha, this one was funny and true..good writing.

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  35. built current palestine and are funding it?

    for someone so silly you take yourself way too seriously.

    Enjoy the satire. If you can't, check out all the other more serious posts Linah has authored. Or just go away.

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  36. I wouldnt exactly say this post was humorous/satirical, but I'm sure you knew the type of reaction you would get. I looked at the comments sections of the past couple of posts and saw no comments, yet this post has over 30. It's basically an attention grab and a decent way to drive up views. It's much like the way Fox news makes outragous claims to get more viewers.

    The timing is pretty spot on, as alot of the people you demonize will be heading overseas soon. Is there someone in particular that you know is coming over that you may have a grudge against?

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  37. I'm from the el bireh. I found the whole article very funny and true. Especially the part about marrying someone ghareeb. Anyone can say what they want but us birawee do have issues with marrying outside el bireh. We also have a tendency intentionally and maybe sometimes unintentionally of making a ghareeb person feel like a complete outsider. The only thing I disagree with is the hamayal thing. I didn't ever think we were viewed like that.

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  38. I believe this is so true but not only abt berawi's. This is so true abt everybody in the whole world. These people that you talk abt that look down on dfrnt families probably look down at each other in different occasions. I t all goes back to how the person was raised and for the person who posted this you have guts!

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  39. All I can say I am from Dar Qurann we r not cheap. I hate when people say that.

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  40. LOL this was so funny and true. People who are offended are only upset because they know its true. The bireh collectively think they are awesome that goes the same for many other balads. Someone mentioned you should write more about the Israeli Pali conflict. But how can we talk about fight against Israeli's when everyday we are fighting against ourselves. People only want to get married within their own balad and cringe from the thought of marrying elsewhere, especially the bireh. Girls stay single until they are 30 because their mothers dont allow them to sit with ghareeb guys. If this is the case no wonder why we cannot unite country. We are to focused on narrowing it down to cities towns and families. Loved your article...looking forward to hearing more of your stuff.

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  41. people need to relax its a great article i am half dar abed and dar taweel and these sterotypes of us being airheads and dar taweel conceited its all fun .. keep up the great job love ur writin .. i married a ghareeb so i can understand what u are talkin about ,,

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  42. your all going to hell. good luck!!!!

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  43. find a new hobby!!!!!

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  44. i know who you are, bint.......?1!??1?!!?1 Manal.

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  45. Most is true but you sound like your to good fir Al-Bireh! I married a "ghareeb" but really the only ghareeb is Al-shaytan. Everyone needs to get off their high horse and that includes the author of this article. We all need to stop hating on eachother. Lemme ask you this...are gazaweeya any better? I doubt it.

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  46. OMG!! This is so hilarious and so dead on...but I think you can pretty much apply it to most of the "al daffa" villigers that settled in the U.S. come on people where is your sense of humor????I am 100% "beerawi" and I think I saw 90% of my relatives in this article.

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  47. u talked about albireh like they are user want come to america, not educated, all spend there life behind cashregester, the young all time in clubs,and theres different between ghaza and albireh walek the shoes for ibn ghaza andaf men rasek elfady. what ever years you spent in college cost nothing after this article, dont belive who told you u good writer, even u dont know how to make the article paragraph connected,
    all what i see no one want marry you becuase no one respect you,u thought if albireh people saw you coming from america they should jumb up and dawn wishing you are the one want marry , or praying day and night to be there wife, no baby they dont want woman like you have empty head even if you the only one.they want one know how to be agood mother for there kids know to to teach them how to be proud they are arabic, this prove to you they not user need pass to america and how you end like this is your fought,you want live as american thats all. you should be proud you palestenian befor you are from albireh i feel sorry for your family they dont teach you how to love your people, want know from where you get all this angry? advice for you " u need to c adoctor u r sick " by the way iam from albireh and taweel family am so proud

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  48. First of all, everybody chill, when someone writes about something you can express your own views in the comments respectively. Thousands of articles get published daily that we don't agree with whether they are political,social...etc. If a person does not have the tolerance to read something against their own opinions then do not read it. Yes, the author said that she GENERALIZED that means she is speaking in general terms and what she is saying does not include everybody. Second of all she gave qualifications for some of her generalizations, and she included the counter-argument (how the birawees view themselves). So technically as a piece of writing this is good. And there is freedom of speech, so anyone who wants to write a blog post in favour of the birawees they are free to do so. We don't live in a free country, but we can express ourselves freely online at least. I am speaking with no bias whatsoever, the people from my village also have some quirky habits, and if anyone pointed them out I wouldn't mind, also if someone generalized or exaggerated about them, it's a way of writing to make the piece satirical. So please let's be more tolerant of each other. We can agree to disagree.

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  49. Ba3deen she has a lot of things on politics and other things, bas I see that nobody cared to comment on those!

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  50. To the post above me: Yes, that is exactly my point in an earlier comment. No one was paying her much attention in the past couple of blogs, so she decided to bring attention to herself by disparaging the people of the town she lives in. And you know what, it worked. Here we are all discussing how funny/horrible she is, which is all she really wanted in the first place.

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  51. I'm NOT from El Bireh and i know nothing about it or its people.. when i first read the posti thought it was funny and light..i laughed and closed it.. i didn't think for one second that albireh's people are like that. but AFTER coming back and reading the comments above, i now know for sure that some of the Birawees are too full of themselves and (have no education at all.. this one for the guy who was bragging about his education) please google the word "satire" im afraid its too big for you to understand! :S

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  52. yeah well i think ur just saying that because ur dying to marry a birawi guy and noone is looking at u and never will,,,and ist7i 3ala 7alek ur insulting ur mother and her family by saying that,,,and ur a girl stop using bad words i dont even think ull ever get married to any guy not just from the bireh after writing this article, go get a life and stop talking about people, if u arent interested in the birawiyeh u wouldnt have brought this subject up.

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  53. tab inkil3i inkil3i sachri thimech ghos balech!

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  54. u know what...u and ur family are hated from all birawees and all what u have said in ur acticle ONLY applies on U GUYS...not becuz we are racists its becuz u R filthy dirty mouth regardless of who or where ur origins r from. its a shame how u have been raised

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  55. llloooolll--so true, we birawayeh know it

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  56. Seriously people are extremely retarded! Calm down everyone she was just speaking her mind and you all know most of what she said was true,thats why you all got pissed! No balad is better then the other and each balad has its issues. I think the Birawees' problem is that they have way too much pride in themselves 3al fadeeee! Your birawee be proud,thats great, but just because your from the Bireh doesn't mean your big shit. Sorry to break it to all you defensive Birawees out there. Way to go Linahhh!!!!

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  57. do u think dar 5ashan a7san??

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  58. i truly enjoyed you article it was very funny and so true and this coming from a birwih that is very proud of her heritage. I think that some people need to claim down and look up what the words generalization and stereotypes mean.
    kept it up

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  59. This is hilarious! My bestfriend is birawee and she swears this article is true, lol. She said she wants to marry a guy who is a "ghareib" so that her kids do not suffer the stereotypes. Plus she does not trust the men from there because of what a cheat scum ball her father was to her mother!

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  60. i truely also enjoyed the article and everything u said is true .. i dont know u but know of u .. mashallah she has nothing to be bitter about her family is a good family.. u are u beautiful person from inside and out from what i hear .. keep up the good keep ur head high up never put it down for no one u did nothing wrong. i guess in the bireh we dont have freedom of speech.. half dar abed and tawil love ur blog.. i married a ghareeb so i know what u are talkin about ..

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  61. Hi Linah,
    I am from al birth, dar abed...and I freaking agreed with EVERYTHING U WROTE ABT!! Man, you were spot on. I used to enjoy coming back every other summer, then I just hated it. Why? B/c of the annoying american binat. Wallah sooo embarressing. Walking in huge groups, giggling and making a scene....nobody cares!!! And the purses! Coach, Chanel, Burberry, Prada etc....seriously?? The last time I checked it wasn't a damn fashion show. The ppl who got offended by this great article are most likely mad bc they are everything you had listed.
    Anyway, keep up the great work! I love your blogs!!!

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  62. Lmao im not from the Bireh, but all this shit can go to all the arab like they say kul balad feha izbaletha, so instead of talking about a group of people go talk about your fucking president and all the arab kings with there dick in there hands and have america and the yahood bossing them around grow up, and worry about your problems not others.

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  63. So much angst coming from the writer of this article. Who can write a 5 page dissertation to figure out why she has so much angst?

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  64. oh wow..u are so lucky ur not infront of me now...ya chalbeh ur half Beraweyeh...u have no ASEL!! if i was ur mom i would beat the crap out of u!! BERAWEYEH FOREVER!!

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  65. @June 17, 2011 4:57 AM

    Tooz 3allech you hater!! WE don't want you!!!

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  66. It's funny ppl get over it, some of it was pretty accurate, sorry to burst your bubbles ppl. just take it for what it is, someone stating their opinion, we all have those!!!!

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  67. you. are. my. hero. funny shit. love it

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  68. baraah.. wallah it makes sense why your last name is quran after reading your comment, beraweyeh forever kal yil3an sharafich, your type of people are the reason this masterpiece was written in the first place

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  69. honestly i fined this article not even humorous its retarded who wud write such a crappy thing and honestly thats why arab well never make it in this world there always jealous and hating on each other! maybe as muslim arabs need to move on in this world and help each other out not talk stupid crap!

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  70. June 17, 2011 6:55 AM

    You're a piece of trash!! Don't ever talk about my cousin like that!! Allah il3an ahlech!!!

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  71. uft tayeb i wont talk about your cousin, yil3an sharafich inti ya bint al sharmouta, linah you're the best :D

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  72. how fitting that mostly dar abed are commenting, playing the stereotype perfectly, well done

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  73. Love you Linah!!!! KEEP IT UP!!<3

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  74. whoever is taking this seriously needs a wake up call. getting defensive about an article, get a life

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  75. Im pretty sure the same people are commenting over and over and over again. so your not getting your point across cursing and being stupid. really you all probably have no life because this article IS HILARIOUS. n if u dnt think so ur not a real berawee!

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  76. i am birawee and think its hilarious and well written.. but the thing i find the most funny is the retarded girl talking about my father who is playing perfectly into the stereotypes, it further solidifies the post

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  77. June 17, 2011 7:31 AM

    So says the one that put into play sharaf el banat....Wa7adah hypocrite!

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  78. My name is mahmoud and I lived in el-bireh for 16 years and all I used to hear is when i walk by "be7 be7 el ghorbia" and you described each family in the exact words! Now the ones that are in America are the same!@#$.

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  79. Salam Linah, this was so funny we laughed so much...Masallah you're really talented. The family traits were off a little, like Dar Abed being dumb-not true just a tad slow..so most of them went on to get degrees and get out of the grocery stores since Ahl bireh use to make fun of them.. Hamayel arent dumb either just show offs and they are richer because they had more land, also know to have arrogance even al (3kzook)a hole. Tawil-(tikhave Kurmeetic) I think means they pry into you business. Whoever says Koran is not cheap comeone we know eachother Addis/Lentils is the're feast. Karaka well all ten of them aren't too bad..but joking all that done. Going back to the Bireh after living in America even with all its faults is the best place to be for all you young people. Its the only place in the world where yes you walk down the street and others know you or your family. I think most Birehs have realized that their Dean is the most important thing most men have gone away from Haram and more girls are wearing hajab..Linah you are beautiful and whoever marries you will be lucky even though pops is Gazayie...lol stay funny!

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  80. guys this is not about if this article is true or not,shes half birawiya which means shes talking about asilha, and as for her cousins who r defending her ist7o 3ala 7alkom ur all birawiya and even if this is true u shouldnt go in public and talk about ur own people like that, which means insulting ur father mother and ur whole family, its ashame that u guys have no ASEL, and im disappointed of ur comments. and as for one of the comments saying that most of dar 3abed who r taking it too seriously, well that should show u that dar 3abed r not airhead nor dumb,at least they have asil and well raised, yallah roo7i inkil3i and get a life, focus on ur study instead of all that 7aki fathee ur saying!!

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  81. I loved reading this....ur very talented keep it up !! and to everyone else calm downnnnnnnnnnn....I'm half birawee and thought it was pretty true...Linah u forgot to mention the birawees that go around asking the "ghareeb" husbands...mish inta ele a5edit bint baladna?!...lolll

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  82. so wut if they ask mish inta ile akhadit bint baladna,,yes she is bint baladhom theres nothing wrong with that question,,,,its like a person asking mish inta ile akhadit my cuzin??same thing but u guys r sick wallah!!!!linah ur a ghareeba get the hell out of our city and go back to ur own

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  83. hi.......who the hell r u to say all that about al_bireh or the people in it.........if u got a scrowed up family that dosent mean that all the bireh are the same....so please keep it to ur self..hater....................... and if ur women\man enough show ur self and talk to people,,,,,,,,,,not just say all that shit.........

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  84. woooowwww reading all these comments it feels like im back in 4th grade....grow up people, she's entitled to her opinion...if u didnt think it was funny and were offended u should have stopped reading and gone away...the ones with the rude comments r the fadyeen ashgal ones... keep it up Linah !!

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  85. ifooooooo 3alaiki w 3ali rabooki hal tirbayeh!

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  86. she did not name any names..this wasnt directed at specific people, so all of you who r insulting her mom and dad should be ashamed of yourself...

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  87. Everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion..even when commenting, but for the love of God please use spell check.

    -mazozeh

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  88. seriously whoever got offended by this shouldnt have unless of course while u were reading it, u were wearing ur pencil skirt waiting for the clock to hit wedding time or sitting in ur jersey waiting for the latest yearbook so u can pick out ur 3aroosa....lmaooooo...great piece of writing Linah !

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  89. Linah, I first want to say that as an English Literature major at Birzeit University your English is GREAT. However, this does not mean to practice it on a whole community. Dwight Eisenhower wrote, "A people that values its privelages above its principles soon loses both." That is exactly what you did. You wanted to express your anger, humor side, whatever you want to call it, not really understanding that it is a privelage for you to do so but the principle of EDEB(RESPECT)was not present.YES EVERYONE is entitled to their opinion but class and taste is a requirement. The article not only illustrates what you feel or might have experienced but told me alot about you as a person. No matter what balad you are from you are taught at a young age to respect elders. Calling the lady a bitch is just not right. How would you feel if someone called a loved one for you a bitch? The article also tells me that you are a hypocrite. Are you telling me that there is no one that relates to you got married the old fashioned way? That is the boys family sees the girl and asks who she is?
    I am not disputing what is in the article. That is your opinion and you have the privelage to express it. BUT the principle in which it was written was classless and tasteless. I am sure you know alot of bireh girls and are friends with them. Some might agree just because they think your cool. Others might not agree because they relate what you said to themselves. IN MY OPINION it was an article crying for attention. Again CLASSLESS and TASTELESS. YOU NEED TO OPOLIGIZE.
    P.S. I read some of your other posts. Stick with those subject rather than trying to degrade a whole community. Value principles. It will get you more in life.

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  90. Lina, AWESOME! I was LMAO the entire time.. Oh god that was GREAT! and do oh so please ignore the Birawieen indigenous bcoz they are full of "merde" and are furious because someone had the balls to call them who they really are, some airheads, addicts and proud winners of the worst-architecture-sense of the year :P :P (again, generalization peple! although I doubt you even know that word)

    But I do have to thank one Birawye girl who anonymously called you a 'jealous bitch from Jenin area'. I laughed so hard on that one! If that comment didn't solidify your article, I don't know what would!

    Love.. Reem Qadan from TULKRAM (Uh-uh! I didn't just say that to a bunch of lunatic Birawye who thinks I'm a disgrace to humanity ! I'm dead man walking)

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  91. seriouslyyyyyy???? Linah.....YOUUU are talking about khwallik,,,just incase u didnt think about that,,,,u r half biraweyeh,,,Is your mom proud of you???? and when u talk about the girlz who come from America just showing off their Designer Bags and Clothes,,i7mmmm dont forget you would also be talking about your own relatives from Bireh side,,,As I recall Coach bags was a MUST thing to alot of girls who just haddddd to have them...soo honey ,just remember,,U R NOT funny at all,,,U R just a sore looser who has disgraced Ahil Il bireh in alot of things u said,,about what they work in America,,,,and how they make thier money ,DONT GENERALIZE when u talk bcz u r talking about karaybek,,,,I dont know why your parents dont shut u up....3aib 3aleki!!!

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  92. هلا هلا مين هاي اللي بتحكي عن اهل البيرة؟؟ غزوية؟؟ هلا والله؟ اشكري ربك اللي حاوينكم عنا في البيرة!!

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  93. This is hilarious! I am a birawi and agree with everything in this article. Linah don't listen to these airheads and empty threats. Whoever marries you is lucky to have someone that is brave enough to speak her mind. Thank you for this, and all great people have haters. Keep it up.

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  94. Dar Quraan are cheap! haha

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  95. I've heard many stereotypes about Ahel il Bireh , but have met many more people than the number of stereotypes I've heard. None of them fit. Just because one person from a balad does something doesn't mean you can generalize every single birawee/biraweeya in the entire universe. Every balad doesn't like to "gharib" their daughters, but times have changed and even the most closed minded kurah people have became more open minded and now look for only a GOOD MAN or GOOD WOMAN. Not every Birawee man goes to America screws around then comes and marries an innocent chick. You can find the most muhtarameen men in America, and the worst here. Doesn't matter what balad you're from, what family you're from, and what state/country you were raised in... it's all about how you were brought up. There's a saying that says " if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all." But the sad truth is, it's not about bags, money, drugs, or banat.. it's about how people treat each other. Sadly,this is why Allah hasn't granted us a free land yet.

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  96. great job linah the best thing about u writin this article is that now i have found a very talented writer love ur other ARTICLES on ur blog . u are an amzing rider.. u didnt write nothing new its what we have always been hearing.. this stuff u didnt make up its what we always hear.. yeee her son is bad so she brought him to the blad to get married.. from dar abed and tawil didnt get offened .. love ur work keep up the good work ..

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  97. Anonymous above, I am a birehweya as well. The ones who are threatening and using foul language are classless and tasteless like the article. As for whoever marries the author Linah, allah inshallah biwafikha. Like I wrote before I am sure she had good intentions but Linah needed to have principles like self respect, and dignity. She did caution generalization but the article displays her inner feeling and in a way hatred for a particular people. That is not a person I want to marry a relative of mine. Again I am just generalizing people who write and express their feelings like her.......CLASSLESS.

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  98. Im married to Dar Qur3an and its true, if you arent from the bireh youre a "ghareeba" and people look at you like youre from another planet.

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  99. Why cant we all just get along? This was all supposed to be a generalization but the beraiyah had to take it seriously. point in case.

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  100. Linah you are going places =D

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  101. As a berawi I would not really want to marry a Berawiya. I prefer the "ghurab" but my balad would rather have me marry some random cousin of mine. This article is a piece of work. good job whoever wrote it.

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  102. Baraah Quran go find a hobby. I hear swimming is in season.

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  103. shes a biitch that wrote this n is mad hopefully ur dream comes true an u marry a bireha guy(:

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  104. فلتقل خيرا أو لتصمت..

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  105. I'm from al-bireh, dar abed, and I approve this message! Twas hilarious. Allah 5aleeki

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  106. I am just curious where the writer is. Its funny how she generalized her opinion about the bireh but is not available to generalize on the posts!!!Ya shatoora ya Linah. Wallah you embarresd yourself and really lost credebility after this blog. You are a discrase to the human race, to women and islamic women in particular. Do you use the hijab to cover up all your garbage opinions?

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  107. shes probably getting beat up from her mom!! lmao

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  108. I dont think so....lol. Its too late for that. Akhlak and ADEB are taught at a young age. Her biraweya mom and ghareeb dad did not teach her any....

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  109. Lmaooo imma biraweya and i agree this is sooo tru

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  110. are you married ? would you marry me im from Dar Karakra, because im going to sell my liqiour store and come open a coffee shop in el bireh.

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  111. wow this has gone to far esp. the name callin .. the girl was just generalizin how she felt is there something wrong with that to express herself.. why would u get mad if u know its not true..i dont think linah cares to marry a birawee its not like they are the only guys to do for .. shes a good girl educated pretty and anyone would take her .. why do u the person above have to go say ur going to marry a piece shit from gaza ... what did gaza people do to u ...grow up people seriously this has gone to far ..i guess our birawee minds are still closed minded

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  112. WOW! first off all Im from Dar Quraan. Married from Dar Qaraqra, And I see no point for hatred to all of these Families! Seriously 3eyb! And for all these people that are liking and Love this stupid article,must have issues,How Can You sit and agree to what is said! Linah, Inshallah you marry someone with all these problems 3shan eerabeech! Long Live Bireh! Chan kad halich you would say who you really are! if your mad at someone, you should make the article point to them, not to everyone in general. Freedom of speech is in America, not pali! And you should right to Isreal, ppl who are stealing your land. itshataree 3layhim mish 3layna!

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  113. SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT. This Linah girl writes her hert out for the last year and half . she speaks of tough political issues. she tries to bring awareness on many issues that our people in palestine are not even aware of - let alone people rised here in the states or elsewhere other than palestine.
    so of all the damn posts i browsed through, only one..YES ONEEEEEE lonely reply to her posts. A FREAKING YEAR AND HALF OF WRITING AND SHE DOESNT GET A THANK YOU FOR SUCH BEAUTIFUL STYLE OF WRITING , yet when the poor girl decides to have some fun - if u wanna call it that- everyone gets on her case? what a buch of hypocrites we are.
    I dont think she wanted or tried to offend anyone. she simply spoke her mind and didnt attack anyone in particular. her post was funny comic real .. WALLAH AS IF WE ARE JUST PERFECT AND CANT BE CRITIZED. GET REAL.
    i think those who attacked this poor girl are the ones that took it personally for they themselves - as indiviuals - are leading the type of life Linah was critizing. they are certain indiviuals who need to take a deep look at themselves and see what they path of life they are leading . they need to aknowledge that they are the example that Linah was refering too and NOT the entire population of el bireh. sad wallah
    two things left; (1) much of what you said Linah , though valid and seen in everyday life, was more of a reality about 10 years ago ..these traits are starting to disappear specially in the "inter-marriages" and (2) to all the loser who claim this girl is NOT of you and you took personal shots at her - SHAME ON YOU. only shows the type of ignorance, lack of knowledge and understanding, stupidity and illiteracy.
    oh ya and number 3, LinaH is no less berawi than any of the people who posted replies here. after all, she ends the spelling of her first name with an "H" ( linaH).. now who else other than berawis ends every word in english with an "h" ?
    keep the good word LinA. keep writing and judging from the many other blogs on here, wallah i believe that one day you will have it all in a book you personally wrote. good writing good spirit and you're funny too wallah .

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  114. Nope,,,,nothing wrong with the girl expressing herself,,,if thats what you think,,,,then let her EXPRESS as much as she wants,,,But Then it shouldnt be just a one sided thing,,,then if its OK for her to EXPRESS erself then its OK for ppl To express themselves too and tell her what they think,,,and as for her carring to marry a birawee or not thats not the issue,,if she can live in Gaza,,then inshallah naseebha beeji for Gaza,,,lets see what she is gonna find to Talk about ahil Gaza then,,,one should NOT put down any town...village ,,or what have you bcz u never know where u might end up!!!!

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  115. Linah, I know your last name but want to RESPECT your privacy, oh I forgot you do not know what that word means. This is for all those who think that Linah is just giving her opinion. There is nothing wrong with her expressing her point of view but there is something wrong when she insists that she in someway is better than others. You talk about the bireh yet your friends are bireh girls. You talk about girls coming and speaking English yet you have the nerve to call a lady a bitch. You have the nerve to talk about designer bags as if you never held one or at least dream of holding one. No where in the article did you state "IN MY OPINION" which tells me that no matter what education you recieve you will remain closed minded. Your article my love was not generalization, it was pure hatred. Nothing in the article states what you do like about the city that you lived or live in. If it wasnt for the city, yes city, EL-BIREH you would not be able to roam freely to Birzeit and have the privelage to write your so called opinion. I have no clue how you have friends. Good Luck and inshallah Allah bihdeeki.

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  116. Does your maternal grandmother refer to you as ghareeba? I only ask this because my grandmother thinks of all of her grandchildren as ghareebeen, becasue my mother and her sisters married outside of Al-Bireh. I might add not by choice because my grandmother did not want her daughters to marry the man sluts in Al-Bireh. Now, how ironic that she resents us for being ghareebeen. I applaud your courage to speak the truth. Yet, remember that all those old folks who carry the stereotypes will be dead soon and we will be free to just be people that live in an area occupied by the Zionists. How is that for irony? What holds us back is our view of one another. Please learn to value what sometimes seems of no value.

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  117. I am not biraweye and after reading all those hateful comments I thank God I am not! Those who are calling Lina names are doing nothing but proving her right!! And those of you who think are disgracing her by calling her Gazaweya should go spend a day in Gaza to know the real meaning of being a falastenee or falastenya!

    It's really a shame to read such insulting and hatfull comments! No wonder we don't have a country! Wake up you ignorant first class birawees!

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  118. To the above anonymous, I wish Linah can own up to her words and describe GAZA for us. OH I forgot she lives or lived in the city of EL-BIREH. Ask her to live in GAZA. She cant. She needs to generalize a population to get her hatred point of view across. She is lucky she doesnt live in GAZA. Can you imagine if she degraded them?

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  119. LMAO......................... i think this is not an opinion............... an opinion says wuts good and wuts bad in a respectful way without hurting anyone............... u just attacked a city and u want from us t lough..... i dont think so....... so find a better way for spending ur life girl.....and if u hate a birawee .... please tell him in his face and forget ................. i think ur the problem..................

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  120. Dear Ms. Linah,

    Mashallah, you are a captivating writer who has managed to initiate a diverse discussion. Your words are accurate. Again, readers, it's her opinion posted on her blog. Does the truth sting to all of my fellow birawees? Maybe that could be a topic at the next convention.

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  121. Your role model of a captivating writer has the same understanding of GENERALIZATION as those who view Muslims as terrorists. She is no better. Yes it is her opinion on her blog but the tone and manner in which she cativates you with her writting is not right. To me the problem is not what she wrote per say, rather what her deep, inner thought thats are and how she sees herself any better.

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  122. I am birawiya from dar Abed and I wasn't offended by the article- I knew what she would say about every family before she wrote it because it's what everyone in El-Bireh says about the different 7amoolas - it's not like she made them up ... They're generalizations - they're JOKES .... I read the article and laughed - lots of it is true, and not just about birawiya - but about lots of different towns all over Palestine/every other Arab country.. But reading these comments is horrible. There is absolutely no reason for everyone to get so defensive and speak so horribly about Linah or her family, shame on all of you...
    Linah, you are a great writer.

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  123. this was well written! lol i really laughed at it because its completely true. whether people want to admit it or not we are who we are! i love Palestine for these controversial topics. haha everyone is sooo opinionated about it. great job writing this girl!

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  124. This drivel is not 'great' by any stretch of the imagination.

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  125. Okay, honest to God some people are so close minded. Why in the world would anyone get offended by this? This is funny. And don't lie, birawia always joke this way about each other. This is her take on birawia and I respect that. Hell, if you guys want an article about Birawia coming from a 100% birawia, I'll give you one, but it won't be any different than what is said here. I mean do you not hear your grandmothers/grandfathers/whoever talk about the families like this? And it's not because anyone is jealous. It's because it gives everyone a good laugh. If you can't laugh about it, then just go open some book and read. We always say dar quran are the cheap ones, abed the slow ones, etc. And it is all for fun! True or not, it's just for fun. So seriously people GROW UP. Don't act like you don't see what was said in this article around. I've been in the bireh for so long and I've seen all of this.

    Oh and the only disrespect in this article are the comments cursing her, her mom and dad out. Now, that is disrespect. What, ya'll want her to add disrepectful as a trait to Birawia?

    Props to you Linah. Write about whatever you want and however you want. Whoever says anything is just jealous 'cause you know how to write.
    :)

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  126. I'm a thirteen year old and I think you people are going over the limit.. It is her opinion and everyone has a right to have one. You ppl cursing at her and her family, its like grow up, I even know that's wrong. The article was a good piece of writing and if you guys didn't like it then you should of stopped reading it... You can't judge her by only reading this. She is an amazing writer and doesn't deserve you people hating on her. Haram 3alekum.. How would you like people hating on yu for saying your opinion. And it's sad how you guys are grown adults and acting immature ( no disrespect) ... And yes no wonder why we don't have a free country of our own, we never agree , we are always fighting , not just Berahwess, Arab in general . FYI Im 100% Berawyi, and If I know what she said wasn't true why would I get offended? In my opinion you know its true that's why you got offended. Y'all need to grow up and stop fighting. Linahh your writing is amazing it doesn't matter what anyone thinks.

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  127. Again it is not that she stated her opinion, it is the tone and manner in which she did!!!

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  128. Very funny article, Linah. Unfortunately, the content isn't new or original, and is very dated (more suited for 1991 than 2011). I think you were at least 10 years late with this one, unless of course, this was mainly directed at our grandparents and great-grandparents, and great-great grandparents. Granted, there are still a lot who think/act this way but definitely not the majority. I think you should have stuck to your claim that you were "generalizing" by not mentioning families by name...it would have been sufficient to refer to Al-Bireh as a whole rather than make specific insults to specific families (by the way, I think this is the reason you are getting such an emotion reaction from various families.). You took it one, maybe two steps too far (crossing the line between satire and sounding like you really are out for revenge. This is a fine line and something I think you need to work on and be careful of in your future writing career)...but nonetheless, very funny piece of work. Good luck to you. By the way 100% biraweeya here and also married to one...still thought it was funny.

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  129. Just one more thing before I get back to my life, to the "man" that called linah a "bitter whore", go read some qurAn and get a bar of soap and wash that mouth out boy! What's your problem?! Dude you are an angry fella and I feel bad for your madre!!! Salam!!!

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  130. Thank the lord im not Birawi, look how they speak to each other!

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  131. Linahhh! This article is hilarious and honestly I can think of 100 people that all fit the charecterstics listed above hehe . Ofcourse not all people are the same but you did state that you were stereoyping so its all good. I'm half biraweyeh but for the life of me I cant understand why some of them are so arrogant!! "we raise the economy 60%" . Ummm okayy,would you mind citing your statistics? loserrrr! lool Your writing is great keep going and making people mad its rather entertaining!!! <3

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  132. I am going to comment to you

    First of all I'm not ignorant.
    And I think you need to learn how to treat people, and religious? At least I know how to treat people, and I actually think its sad how you guys are haters. and I may be a child, but in my opinion I understood this more then you did. Stop hating on her because you will never write in the way she does. it was a joke wake up people! Does insulting people complete your life? If you don't like it then Khalas leave the page simple as that.
    And actually you are ignorant!

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  133. I SHUN THEE

    GAAAAAAHAHAHAYAYAYAYAYA

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  134. ^ MIND UR OWN BUSINESS AND STOP JUDGING PPL!! IF UR A TRUE BERAWI U SHOULD BE GETTING MAD ABOUT THIS!!! KAL HALF BERAWEYEH THINKS THIS IS FUNNY!!! ETFOOO 3ALI RABOCHEM!!!

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  135. ^^^I'm 100% Berawi...what's your point? I can't believe ppl are getting all upset about this article LMAO..is this all new stuff to you?? I'v heard this since I could walk and talk and it doesn't faze me. LMAO.

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  136. I dont understand why people are asking the Birawia why theyre upset? If this was written about you, your family or your city Im sure you would feel the same way too. Obviously the writter has issues with Ahl il Bireh. Especially the women/girls of the Bireh so she decided to express her feelings of Jealousy and envy in the weakest way possible. I also think its pretty funny how youre trying to put the Birawi Amercan on blast. Im pretty sure youre probebly the first one calling up your family in America telling them to buy you those Coach purses when you know theyre heading over seas. And to the Birawia people that are posting comment like omg this is so funny or this is true ikhs 3laichim. How are you going to stand behind someone who is putting your city on blast? I really wish you would of said this in front of me When I was visiting El Bireh so I would of given you a good ass whipping!

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  137. And who ever just tried putting Ramzy Mousa on blast. Wowww youre ass either wished you were him or you could marry him. I pretty much know everyone in the Bireh and never have I heard anyone say anything 3til about him or his family. Ikh 3la ey Rabooki!

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  138. I WISH THE BIRAWIYA CARED THIS MUCH TO COMMENT ON ZIONIST NEWS/ARTICLES/BLOGS THAT ACTUALLY ATTACK OUR ENTIRE EXISTENCE AS A PEOPLE.

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  139. bireh** my bad lol

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  140. I wish People would stop talking about Zionist and Jews and all that other shit when this Artical is about Birawia. If I wanted to post a comment about that then I would be posting somewhere else!

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  141. loool wallah i see the comments that are in lina's deffence must all come from her relatives...good try,,but the majourity think she is an insult to ahil il bireh...and a joke would be understood as a joke,,BUTTT to go intu details and talk about the things she talked about just shows how much she hates birawees,,,anyway,,kol wa7ad bi3mal bi aslo!!!

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  142. I thought the article was funny and what WE ALL think of but don't have anything guts to actually say it boldly. HOWEVER, I think Linah you might of went too far in some things, thats all.

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