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Hikayat: Short Stories by
Lebanese Women
Edited by Roseanne Khalaf
(Telegram Books 2006)
Mention the civil war and silence imme-
diately prevails. No one wants to talk
about it: Hear no evil. Speak no evil. And
remember no evil.
In Hikayat, Roseanne Khalaf, an assistant
professor of English and creative writing
in the Department of English at AUB,
brings together 26 women authors – each
with a story to tell. Some are fictional and
some are not. The women represent three
generations: pre-war, civil war, and post-
war reconstruction. Not all the stories
deal with the war, but in many of them,
women have to deal with the extra bur-
den of war. Most of the stories have the
distinct voice of feminism daring each
generation to change women’s imposed
roles and break social taboos.
Some of the texts were written in Arabic
and translated with some difficulty into
English. “Arabic is an emotional language,”
said Ellen Khouri at a panel discussion held
at BIEL on April 20th. The discussion fol-
lowed a book signing ceremony which was
held during the Beirut International Book
Fair. “And English is a pragmatic language.
It wasn’t easy finding the right words.”
But she did. All together, the authors pro-
duced a captivating mix of stories. One of
them is written by no other than IC’s Senior
Vice President and Director of Secondary
School, Mishka Moujabber Mourani.
“The Fragrant Garden” reveals how, iron-
ically, some people actually miss the pace
of life that the war forced upon them.
Mourani’s narrator herself found that she
lived more “intensely” during the turbu-
lent days. “I felt I was really alive,” she
recounts. “…I looked forward to going to
school, to spending time with the kids I
taught. There was a heightened meaning
to our everyday lives. I haven’t felt that
way since the war ended.”
After fifteen years of living a life dodging
bullets, living with sparse electricity and
fuel, the character of the husband in the
story equally felt a loss when peace finally
prevailed. Expatriates had returned to the
war-torn city as if nothing had happened.
“They had no idea what every shell hole in
the wall or every pothole in the street
meant,” he said. “The pace of life quick-
ened and became banal. People were busy
again. It actually made me nauseous.”
The George Debbas Staff Development
Award
George Debbas ’44
deeply loved IC and
enjoyed good relations with its personnel.
During the civil war, the IC staff proved
to be of great help to him. He never for-
got. The Debbas children have estab-
lished The George Debbas Staff Develop-
ment Award to honor the appreciation
their father had for IC staff.
To be eligible for the award, recipients
must have shown dedication, hard work,
punctuality and willingness to put in
extra time if necessary, a positive influ-
ence on the morale of fellow employees
and superior quality in the level of his or
her work.
This year’s winners were:
Nelly Awad
, Administrative Assistant
Kifah Bedreddine
, assistant to business
manager for computer operations
The Albert Abela Distinguished Educa-
tor Awards
Albert Abela ’39
, left IC and later
became the founder of the multimillion
global contract caterer, the Albert Abela
Corporation. He passed away in 1998. In
his honor, The Albert Abela Distin-
guished Educator Awards was estab-
lished to recognize teachers - nominated
by fellow teachers and students - who
have proved themselves to be committed
to IC and were interested in their own
professional growth and in the develop-
ment of students.
This year’s recipients were:
Doha Berjawi, Rola Ayache, Juliette
Bikhazi, Fatima Taha, Nizar Mehtar,
Arlette Akl, Gladys Haddad, Riad Chi-
razi and Colette Matta
.
The Edmond Tohme Distinguished
Educator’s Award Fund
Edmond Tohme ’56
who later became the
school’s deputy president is well known for
leading the school into many innovative
educational approaches. In his name, The
Edmond Tohme Distinguished Educator’s
Award Fund recognizes faculty members
who have shown instructional excellence,
genuine concern for student welfare, serv-
ice to the College beyond the call of duty,
active participation in professional devel-
opment and community educational and
cultural activities and distinctive profes-
sional activity.
This year’s award went to
Wadad Hoss
,
the Middle School director.
Special Awards
:
For their 25 years of service and com-
mitment to IC, three teachers received
special awards:
Amal Charara
, Assistant to the Director
and Library Prog. Supervisor
Amal Naccache
, Arabic instructor
Nicholas Rubeiz
, Bus service
FACULTY AND STAFF
AWARDS