Abdallah Tohmé is a personality I grew to know and love in Zouk Mikael.
Abdallah Tohmé, husband of Mountaha and father to Najwa, Father Joseph, and Tony, is a handyman and a mechanic by profession. After his retirement, he worked the Nawl (weaving) and the Marsaben (marzipan), two of Zouk's famous handicrafts; and all through his life he had the hobby and talent of writing and saying Lebanese poems (asayid).
Abdallah Tohmé cared for me like one of his own children. As I wasn't dating any of his sons yet was always around his children, he gave me the nickname of seasonal-daughter-in-law (kennetna el mawsamiyyi). His smile was filled with a fatherly love and an affection that I have not seen in any other smile. He always had time to chat and hang out and have fun with me and his children. I dont remember ever seeing him angry or grumpy.
Abdalla Tohmé has been suffering from Multiple Myeloma for 3 years now and with God's will, he is still hanging on to life. I saw him last when I visited Lebanon in 2006 and I had no idea about his medical state. I saw a weak man, size less than half of the man I used to know, barely breathing and moving. Yet, when he saw me, his eyes were the same glowing loving eyes and his words, the few he could say were to tell me that "lots of people came to the Tohmé's lives and home, and that only very few left a trace, and that I was one of these very few people who will never be forgotten in this house".
On Thursday July 5/07, Abdallah Tohmé's family and friends are commemorating his poems in a book. Along with over 400 people of his closest friends and fans, Abdallah Tohmé's life is being celebrated.
This is a poem that Ammo Abdallah sent me in a voice letter (cassette) back in 1988, a year after I left for Canada. It's a poem he had written in his first letter to his family when he was working in Kuwait in 1956.
تاري من جور الفرقة
وزدنا عالحرقة حرقة
وساعات العمل غرقة
تا تناجي النجوم الزرقة
تركنا الأوطان وجينا
تاري من جور الفرقة
تركت الزهوة تركت الحيّ
تركت الإم تركت البيّ
عا صحرة ما فيها فيّ ولا شلاّل ولا غدران
يرطّب قلبي بنقطة ميّ ويغيّر طعم الكينا
تركنا الأوطان وجينا بلكي الغربي تواسينا
تاري من جور الفرقة حملنا أكتر ما فينا
قضّينا العيشة تفكير بين الصّالح والطالح
ما وجدنا باب التيسير ولا أشغال ولا مصالح
هجرنا ولبيصير يصير ولو دقنا السكر مالح
وعنا عزم وقلب كبير لفوق القمّة يعلينا
تركنا الأوطان وجينا بلكي الغربي تواسينا
تاري من جور الفرقة حملنا أكتر ما فينا
ربّي خالق للإنسانوخالقلو الكون العمران
مش لازم يبقى نعسان
ويجوب ببعض البلدان
تركنا الأوطان وجينا
تاري من جور الفرقة
ما هجرنا تا نجمع مال
هجرنا تا يرتاح البال
ومتل غيري من العمّال بس حقوقي مفقودة
صعبان عليّ محتال بعد الشيبة يربّينا
تركنا الأوطان وجينا بلكي الغربي تواسينا
تاري من جور الفرقة حملنا أكتر ما فينا
واللّبناني بلبنانو يئسان ملبّك أفكار
عافل أهلو وخلاّنو وداشر بالأربع أقطار
وحكومتنا وأعوانو علينا لو كانت بتغار
ما بتخلّي سكّانو بالمطر يودّع قسم وقسم يودّع عالمينا
تركنا الأوطان وجينا بلكي الغربي تواسينا
تاري من جور الفرقة حملنا أكتر ما فينا
عبدالله طعمه - قصيدة كتبها في أول رسالة إلى الأهل سنة 1956 من الكويت
6 comments:
ufff coco, the poem is hard on us isn't it? kteer aweh el poem, la darajeh enno byez3ouj.
beautiful story and good luck for the book.
ufff, so touching ya coco
allah yihmi.. w yihmi killl el libnaniyi min el ghirbi
I hope you will have the chance to see him when you come back!
_Z doesn't this poem talk to you?
it screams at me mmmmmmmmm... mech bass talk.
It's amazing how a poem that is 51 years old affects us as if it was written for us just yesterday. I am sure that if we dig deep and go back 200 or 500 years ago, there will be poems that talk about the exact same thing. It seem to be our story, our life and unfortunately the same caring government that keeps giving us a reason to leave.
I wish I had the chance to know more about Ammo Abdallah's experience bel ghorbeh, and about my granpa's experience in the USA. Jeddo kamen had to come to the USA for a few years in the 70's and I remember the comments he used to make.. I only understood them when I experienced life outside Lebanon myself.
"Teri Men Jawr el Fer2a, 7melna Aktar Ma Fina"
Wow Coco, this is a beautiful story. I wish we would all document the stories of people such as this man, common people whom no one gives a second glance, but whose hearts and minds contain so much. The poem is indeed wonderful as everyone has said, w btujra7 bil3omq. thanks for sharing his story.
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