As Salam Alaikum, dear reader. My name is Yasmin Hussein, and I'm a young woman of Somali descent living in the City of Ottawa, Ontario. I attend Algonquin College, where I study accounting and I live in the east end with my boyfriend Steve Salomon. The big and tall young Haitian guy stole my heart a long time ago. I love this man something fierce and I would do anything for him. We're from different religions. He's a Christian guy and I'm a Muslim chick. A lot of people who know us both said we wouldn't last but we're going strong after one year.
The other day, Steve Salomon took me to Soleil Des Iles, a nice little Haitian restaurant in Vanier, to celebrate our one-year anniversary. I was happy that he remembered and he got me a nice bracelet. I'm real thankful for Steve's kindness and generosity. Still, did he have to bring me to Haitian central? You should have seen the way the Haitian ladies dining inside that restaurant looked at me. I'm a tall, curvaceous, brown-skinned cutie in a Hijab and traditional long skirt.
Since the Haitian people are mostly Christian, they're not used to people like me. Well, I looked defiantly at the Haitian mama behind the counter as she looked me up and down, then shot Steve a disapproving look. When I asked Steve about that wuthering look, the big bozo just laughed it off and said that lots of Haitian women didn't approve of Haitian men marrying women of other races and cultures. Hmmm. Imagine that.
Like the keen-eyed observer I happen to be, I saw a dark-skinned Haitian chick having lunch with her white boyfriend at the restaurant and nobody seemed to mind. I guess these Haitian women only mind when it's a WOMAN from another culture stealing one of their men. Haitian female/other male relationships are considered okay by them apparently. I have Arab and Somali blood in my veins and typically people ask me if I'm Moroccan or even Puerto Rican when they meet me. I always tell them that I'm a Somali-Canadian Muslim woman. End of story.
Of all the peoples of the African continent, the ones most susceptible to marry interracially are the Somalis and Ethiopians. Lots of us have married Arabs, and after centuries of interracial breeding, we Somalis and Ethiopians, along with the peoples of Djibouti and Eritrea, are more Afro-Arabian than purely African. That's our DNA and our culture, I guess. I love my people but at times, I get mad at them for being so Islamist and less Afro-centric. I've met Somalis who considered themselves Arabs, due to their having mixed ancestry and living in Arab countries like Yemen or Tunisia. I consider this to be the purest form of foolishness.
Me? I consider myself a woman of African descent. A proud Muslim sister of African and Arabian blood. Besides, we Muslims know the truth about racial relations. Allah made all human beings, from the black man to the white man and the Arab. No human being is better than another based on his skin color. Only through piety and good conduct is a person better than another. Take my Steve for example. The big and tall Haitian was leering at me the first time we met. I was working as a cleaner in a tall office building in downtown Ottawa and Steve worked security there.
I found Steve roughly handsome but the way he always stared at me was more than a bit creepy. Of course, I was taught that only Allah can judge, so I reserved judgement on the big and tall young Haitian guy. It's a good thing that I did because otherwise, I might have dismissed him as some random guy and missed out on a life-changing relationship. For there was much more to Steve than meets the eye. He's in the business management program at Carleton University and he's actually a really nice guy when you get to know him. And I know him intimately, if you catch my drift.
Lately, things have been fine between us. Maybe it's the pessimist in me but I don't think this can last. My fellow cleaners and I were asking for a two-dollar raise at work and got it. I now make sixteen dollars per hour cleaning office buildings at night. I just wish things were better for Steve. He used to complain a lot about a racist manager or supervisor or something at his job. I took care of that toot sweet using my feminine wiles and wicked ways. Steve got promoted, taking the job of his archenemy. You'd think the dude would be happy, but Steve is still complaining.
I love Steve but the dude really needs to stop whining and appreciate the finer things in life. Like me, his beautiful sexy Somali Canadian Muslim girlfriend. That's why I decided to punish him. Steve truly does enjoy my punishments, and that's one more thing I like about him. As soon as we got home from Soleil Des Iles, where we enjoyed some delicious plates of rice and beans with goat meat and lemonades, I decided to give Steve a little treat. My way of thanking him for making our one-year anniversary special, AND punish him for whining at the same time.