In my last days in uniform, Antar would accompany me wherever I go. He would sleep next to me in my guard shifts and wake me up if I fell asleep. He was a scary one year old to many, a deep loving dog to few of us.
The Dog Sat Where We Parted
2018-2020
A PERSONAL project of my one year long path through
service in Egypt. I had to do it. Army service is
obligatory for all eligible men here. I could not travel or work
unless I do my time.
Apart from endless guarding hours, miles of walks everyday,
caring for the ill and tending for the wounded as a doctor, I
spent my year of service on a trail around the country. I spent
most of it in solitude. Suddenly, my aspirations, dreams,
feardoms, even my haircut looked just like everyone else’s. It
was one of the greatest challenges in my life; to be stripped
away of my individuality, to submit and to find comfort in a
stranger’s company who looked and dressed just like me.
I have been marooned.
I have been taught to obey. To follow orders
I have been rediculed
made fun of
beaten
thrown in jail
I caught a geko
I raised three dogs
I heard a snake but never saw it
I cried
a lot
I grew plants. I watered them everyday. Sometimes every other day.
I don’t have a name tag. I’m a soldier. Dressed as a soldier. Referred to as a soldier.
I saw the last lunar eclipse in awe. It was once in a lifetime. I saw the eclipsed moon and our milky way. Together.
I shaved my head like everyone else.
We wore camouflaged skin that appealed to sand.
