OLDEST MEMBER IN A BIG FAMILY

Hanan Qadah

Bayan Kanaaneh

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being the oldest female member

of an Arab family?

Nothing is really happening in the picture. You

.see two beds, one library and FYI one closetBeing a member in a big family forces you to share things all the time with your siblings whither you like it or not. It is true that sharing teaches oneself not to be selfish, but it is disturbing and annoying to always share stuff all the time and never have your own space. Especially at times when you feel sad and don’t want to see or talk with any one. Being the oldest sister forces you to be a model for your brothers , So you can’t demand or have your own things and expect your them to share.

Lunch time is precious in the Arab families. Mother prepares the food ,and every body sits on one table to eat together. But, if mama isn’t in the house it becomes one of the girls duties! They have to prepare the food and of course wash the dishes afterwards. Home chores are likely to girls and that’s a disadvantage I would like to change . Boys don’t touch anything mostly. Girls do all the job! and again, the oldest one does the cooking and most of the chores. More over she has to observe other’s work in order to check if they are doing it in the right way.

Here is my brother Abed working on the computer trying to do a homework for school. As his big sister I have two jobs. First, to help him get his homework done. Second, to teach him how to surf the internet safely since both my parents don’t know how to use it. They only hear the disadvantages of the internet. So, they gave me the job to monitor my sibling's work on it ,and to know what sites they are looking at. It is a good thing to watch out for your brothers ,and help your parents at the same time. But, it would be nice to have them know how to use the modern technology and deal with it properly without asking me every two weeks “ what is with the internet? Is

every thing okay”!?

I know what you are thinking! You’re saying is this bed belongs to the oldest female member in the family! It probably should not be this way! I just woke up and you can see that my bed is in a total mess, and you know what, I didn’t even tidy it before leaving the house.I know that you are saying ohh what a girl! But, I took this picture on purpose because I want to show that being the oldest member in the family doesn’t always mean being the most responsible or concerned one.We face this kind of ignorance each and every day in our community, not just with simple stuff as you just saw in the picture, but with more serious stuff .

I think each one of us should start thinking about everything he/she does especially when it comes to

our families .

After picturing me as a neglectful girl, it is time to correct this view. Although, sometimes I act like a careless, neglectful girl, but that’s just a shell, deep inside I really care for my mother and my siblings a lot. As you can see I was going to help my mother mopping the floor which is something I don’t do often. I admit it because I don’t want to lie to you. But, as being the oldest female in the family I feel responsible when it comes to help my mother as well as my siblings because I feel like I’m the one who they can depend on and who can protect them from every harm without asking for a benefit. I think that each one of us feels this way even though some of us don’t show it, as myself. No matter how we act or feel we should take in consideration our families because without them

we worth nothing .