Posts by: Oelmis Fermin

What a Dollar Really Cost?

﷽ How difficult is it to obtain a job? Beyond that, How difficult is it to obtain a job with an organization that allows you to speak your mind. A few days ago, Marc Lamont Hill was fired from CNN for doing so. His comments were “to not just offer solidarity in words” but “to […]

God is on the Side of the Oppressed

﷽ Everyday scholars and journalists are being arrested and murdered for doing their jobs, Shia clergy and laypeople are being societally repressed as they have been since the creation of the state, and innocent men, women, and children die in Yemen from war and famine; through all this God is on the side of the […]

What will Come Tomorrow?

“Tomorrow is close if you have patience.” This Arabic proverb always provides insight for my future, especially because I do not know what the future holds. It means that as long as you are patient, you will receive what you have worked for or what it is that you want. I believe that most of […]

Connection with the Divine: What drives my spirituality?

Poetry Reflection on “Listen to the Flute” by Rumi:   My heart aches as I’ve been separated. Torn from my beloved, the One that makes me elated.   The wine calms me for a moment, but this is not enough. A need to return to the exalted One is surely a must.   Enslaved by […]

Travels

The last time I was home with my family, I had time to reflect where I had been and where I was going. My dad told me I was lucky to have visited the places I did by the age that I am. When he was my age he had never even left his side […]

The Father of Maps (ابو خريتة)

﷽ Abu Kharita is not someone I look up to, care about, or wish greatness for. Abu Kharita is a both a real person and a fictional entity. It means both father of maps and father of bull-s—. I met this man in real life in Israel and I’ve encountered this concept many times prior […]

Losing My Religion?

﷽ Although I don’t have the same beliefs I did as I a child growing up and I consider myself to be more secular and pluralist than what I was taught, I cannot say that I have lost any faith in god or religion. On the contrary, I believe that my spiritual practices have deepened […]

Am I There Yet?

Recently I was having my typical existential crisis on what I should do post-graduation. The obvious choice is wait for a reply from the Peace Corps, but they like to play the waiting game. My fiancé thought it would be a good idea to look for possible career opportunities I may be interested, as I […]

Holy Days

The year is 1439 AH. This week is Holy Week for Christians and Passover has recently started for the Jews. Easter is tomorrow. It’s a wonderful feeling when celebrating the religious holidays with the community. There are 46 days until Ramadan 1. Prior to that there are two holy days: Lailat al-miraj and Lailat al-Baraat. […]

Community on Campus

During Spring break I was fortunate enough to go back home and participate in and event by the David Project called “Latinos and Jews United”. The David Project isa Israel advocacy group that works on campuses to promote Israel, but I didn’t really see any heavy right-wing Israel propaganda on the trip to Israel in […]