Friday, May 05, 2006

Laique اللاييك

It was such a shameful performance last month, only four posts!!! I could do better... but maybe I didn't want to. But anyway, here comes another
Laique is my school for 12 years. After it accumlated two ot three different names such as معهد الحرية then معهد الشهيد باسل الأسد along with many other schools, it is still known to everyone as: Laique. The reason I am talking about it is that I paid a visit to it few days back, and tried to take some photos with my cellphone. The building is still the same, it is a huge building that belonged once to the French military I think, then it was converted into a school teaching in French before the government "occupies" it (مستولى عليها) and forces teaching in Arabic.
We had such great teachers at the time, all of them, almost, left to find other venues, alas..
I stepped in and introduced myself as a former student, and to be honest, everyone was welcoming. Even the موجه of the seventh grade took me on a tour through the level, the basement. And what is there to tour in the basement?? nothing but fragments of memory about witchcraft stories, body parts, and bathroom murders (all where so hot a topic at one time, of course all rumors).
The students have changed... duh, of course they have, they do evey year. Given the fact that I left the school 14 years ago, even those in preschool grade are not there anymore. But what I meant is that the type of student has changed. It looks something like "to sir with love" but in arabic. Complete chaos. No respect these days. Teachers are to blame too apparently.
The govenment has changed the green military uniform to blue for intermediate grades, and grey for the high school grade. Everyone was wearing jeans, and some sort of a top. If I didn't know that I am in a school, I would have thought myself walking down an alley where neighborhood boys are playing and girls are showing off.
The same broken windows are still there. The look didn't change, apparently just the content. And the principal that everyone knew no one but him, محمود عبد الكريم, is not anymore. And he died few month back too.
There is a website of the school, it hasn't changed since it was launched: Laique. It only functions as a call to pay money through subscribing to the Laique Alumni, which is a failed thing as I heard.
Do I miss the school days?? I don't know, I don't remember much of it. I rely on my friend Tony to remind me with all the happenings then, as he function as my living memory. But in retrospect, I miss it especially after I visited it.



The front of the school: Main enterance.


Recess space.



Also showing is the "goal" which naughty students used to "marry" some guys to it. I am sure that longitudinal penetration is painful, but a transverse penetration is surely very painful.