Janet AlJunaidi and Norah AlJunaidi

00:00 Janet aljunaidi, I'm 59. It's Wednesday, May 26th, 2021 and I'm speaking from Severna Park, Maryland and my conversation partner is Norah aljunaidi and she is mine.

00:19 Eldest daughter aljunaidi I am 24 years old. Today is Wednesday, May 26th, 2021. I am in Severna Park, Maryland and my name. The name of my conversation partner is Janet and she is my mom.

00:43 So what can we talk about? Yeah, that's let's talk about our trip to tell. Why did you decide to pick up there?

00:55 Oh, well, for a lot of reasons. Daddy is originally a culture which culture, which no one in our family has family members, that you weren't really seeing.

01:34 Where tattoos he do came from and you know, what's the reality of Palestinians. And I was lucky enough to have our second wedding on the West Bank in 1993 in Hebron. And so, I had not been there since, and I really wanted to bring you guys. And there was a program offered once a year at to work in a refugee camp with other people from all over the world, and I thought you were old enough at the time.

02:12 You are going to be a sophomore in college.

02:16 Nadia was a little bit young. She was like 15 or 14, but she was going into ninth grade at your other. So I wanted it to be an experience for the two of you together and Daddy had to work. So that's how I decided to bring the three of us and Daddy was all for it. And you guys to see a little bit more.

02:55 Of what your heritage is, even though it's not my heritage.

03:01 I think I think we you succeeded it.

03:07 It was nice to see that. I filled a sense of pride.

03:16 Right. And I cuz I also felt like after 9/11. I felt a lot of the messages in the media that maybe you girls were picking him up for back. And stereotyping Palestinians are other Arabs. I didn't see it that way because of the messages, you all may have been.

03:57 Getting from media, from schoolmates, from whatever.

04:08 Questions, I would go.

04:14 Like what?

04:32 Sly response, but we are with that foot, South Carolina.

04:44 More,.

04:49 Yeah, we serious.

04:52 Classes that talk about,

04:58 Yeah, what classes did you?

05:07 Adam was Religion. Different religions.

05:12 Severna Park High School.

05:16 And that was with doctors bag.

05:29 That's good.

05:32 So what else? What was your? What did you? What was the takeaway? You took from our

05:38 Was a service trip and a learning. So what did you take away from that tree?

05:49 The biggest takeaway was the first-hand experience of India.

05:54 Discrimination.

05:57 From an identity that I share.

06:01 Because you see it here in the US.

06:06 Weather White Salmon.

06:09 But yeah, I saw that and Justice exists and also expanding the getting out of the ethnocentrism.

06:21 Pretty easy to do you even have?

06:30 So where I grew up. So

06:34 Yeah, I know. So just that being active being an activist is important.

06:39 Yeah, you it's easy to just ignore everything and just go about your life. But yeah. Made me being not just like you ain't going with what? You brought the events. You brought it to. That's great people there. That's true.

07:10 You continue that? What was the hardest thing? You think about that trip? Well, it was scary. So there was a risk involved and I think the other hardest part was just, you know, people's responses to us going for supportive. But also like, oh, that's really dangerous. Why not seeing? What was why they didn't get it so hard for me to put some of my mom friends.

07:50 Your kids there. Are you sure? You know, and I'd sort of

07:55 You know, he did have a little bit of that feeling, but I had a feeling, you know.

08:02 I wasn't afraid of Palestinians.

08:15 Yeah, I mean the place we are staying with people, we trust them, you know, and I mostly safe environment as most people probably are seeing now on the news.

08:33 But I would say that, you know, this trip was was a very meaningful one and that it was a true service trip. And it didn't have any other sort of.

08:44 Superior motive, ulterior motive contributed. And then I think the other hardest thing was leaving there at leaving. Those people. There was very little help.

09:05 Are you anything? And I think that you're feeling down right now.

09:13 And also just being here, living a normal life when you also,

09:27 And numb.

09:29 What else? What else?

09:33 What else did you feel was one of the best things here? I mean the best things with the people.

09:42 Are the people. We had so much fun, you know what nights we would do music and dancing and everybody would still laughing and we would go fun places. So I think that was one of the best parts in and just being able to feel like you you're helping something.

10:03 Try not to be making it about yourself, but it's still a good feeling that we could go and be one of the people that helped him a playground, and

10:17 Yeah, make some action steps when we came back, really good experience. Wasn't easy work either but no power up on the hill looking down at the shells on the other side of the fence. That was a little bit.

10:55 Yeah, but it was fun because all the kids were there.

11:04 So what else? What did you think? So after that, we went to visit?

11:11 Hebron where Dad is from what did you think of that? Gorgeous place to go and

11:26 And you know, that and I think the best part was meeting your seeing my great aunts who I've met before, but I didn't remember very small, but it was kind of comical as well because they just were speaking what they were saying, but I learned about also yogurt company that our family has aljunaidi yogurt.

11:58 That's pretty cool. Fun fact.

12:10 Was just a little, you know, Mom and Pop little store and now it's got computers and really nice. So something good. That gave a lot of people jobs came out.

12:33 Okay, anything else about our trip there or well, I hope we can go back as soon as you know. You always say, I will go next year and then the panda places have it.

12:59 So maybe we can talk some more about the panda. Ya. Okay, right. And you know, that's why I'm glad we could, you know, she was the youngest of our group and I was the oldest teenager.

13:30 That's good to know. So I guess the purpose was fulfilled. Are you? I appreciate that. You appreciate that. You were, you know, that. Maybe that's okay.

14:05 And I'm proud of you for all you've been doing since that time, but the church.

14:23 Okay, so you want to talk about the pandemic? Okay, let's see. So I think a good one or there. Any experiences from your past that help you prepare for the current crisis. How is this experience? Different?

14:41 Well, I think for me, I think of that we just were last year, not this year and the beginning we were just on lockdown March, April, May.

14:56 And I think, you know, when I was.

15:00 Taking care of my mom, back when I was your age.

15:07 Living with my brother on the couch, my brother and sister-in-law, and their two kids. And my mom was getting treated at MD Anderson in Houston. And so I, it was kind of the same thing because I was I had given up my Master's Degree fellowship and I was just taking care of Mom, and it was twice for somebody else, not being able to do anything in my early twenties was kind of hard and the way from all my friends. I always taking care of my mom.

15:46 Of course that helped me and I felt like it was so much easier for me and this pandemic because I'm older. I have kids.

15:59 You know, it wasn't as but but

16:10 I was already at a place in my life.

16:14 That was, you know, supported a family where I was when I was taking care of my mom. I didn't know. You know just was everything was a question. That's why I really felt for you and Nadia in this whole thing missing out on seeing young people, you know, doing all the things independently of your parents like sort of felt. Sorry for you guys having to be home all the time.

16:49 And also, I just felt very

16:55 Privilege, you know that I could not that we were. Okay. Dad was working from home, Nadia was going to high school, you were going to college. I was running everything at the house.

17:10 So, I

17:13 I felt more or what.

17:15 Was most upsetting to me with the lack of leadership by the federal government.

17:27 But, you know, so that time with my mom was much harder, you know, because I didn't have the maturity and I may be missing out on more things like that.

17:56 Pair, but it's interesting to hear.

17:59 Your perspective that is how it was hard there back then. And yeah, I guess you could say now we have more technology for healthcare. That made it easier. Yeah. We also didn't have much support. So maybe it would have been

18:16 Chaos level would have been.

18:21 Yeah.

18:28 And it probably didn't have as many.

18:30 To bring out as many vaccines, but we ended up catching a thankfully, pretty lucky about that.

18:49 Even though we thought, maybe dad haven't.

18:55 Yeah, that's when we were just washing hands and not realizing it was from you work.

19:12 But see, have you learned anything about new about yourself?

19:22 I think I definitely learned that I can.

19:25 Do a lot more than I can handle a lot more.

19:30 Just in general emotionally. Doing the school line. Yeah, I think that's something I learned. What about your

19:44 Clinical work online and be more in be engaging online. And we were actually doing teletherapy before the pandemic at my school. So I definitely was I was someone who advocated to to expand the tell therapy for people. So for more access to health care and then everybody say that. It's alright. Yeah. It was hard to see that we have to do everything online, but cool that

20:28 People deceive. What's the benefit of it, right?

20:38 Play, there's a lot of restrictions about the licenses that you have us, healthcare provider. So you cannot practice across the states right now. So hopefully something that will stage.

20:55 How will you remember this time is private to someone in the future. You know, I'm hoping they'll be there, probably be movies about it. Probably coming out way too soon before we we've not forgotten. It's really good.

21:25 A lot of people are getting sick and we couldn't be close to each other and we have to wear masks all the time, and it was just it was just a very nice time and you know Express why I'm grateful. If not, hopefully not that any more stickers with us too soon. So I think

21:56 Yeah, it shows a lot of pictures and we'll how did it feel working in the hospital working with a covid. Patient was.

22:16 Different. I mean, I've never worked in a hospital before covid, so I don't know what it was like before, you know, everybody was just very sick and there were some people in there with disabilities were just crying or screaming and just just sad to see that and he know,

22:41 Not, you can't do that much for them. And they're just in a lot of pain. And I had one patient who I saw every day for the whole time. I was there and they didn't have covid-19.

22:55 You know, all the progress you've made in kind of a backhoe.

22:58 So it's hard to see that what you did survive. So I'm lucky that I didn't have to see anyone.

23:04 Pass away from.

23:07 Like the nurses do not pleasant.

23:11 I was just saying in the interview. I had the other day that I

23:16 Yeah, it didn't scare me away work in the hospital.

23:20 I think it was a good time to work.

23:25 Right.

23:27 Right. Well, I remember one time. I don't know if you remember this, hit was the first or second day when you had

23:35 A patient.

23:37 And you were crying you called and crying cuz you were saying they didn't have health insurance.

23:46 Yeah, I was worried that maybe, you know, I'm going to be too hard of a job for you as a cell on alert and she had just had a bad reaction to her. Procedure was just hard to see that she didn't prove. So there's a positives to

24:18 Delivering a baby. You kind of don't remember that. You were caregivers to be able to

24:39 Ryan, you start a new job.

24:42 You get so much information.

24:51 Then you're kind of focused on the

24:56 Let's see.

25:02 Let's see if we can if you could travel anywhere tomorrow cuz your family there.

25:24 Yeah, I also regret leaving on vacation early and Costa Rica and my friend's wedding table. Go next summer.

25:43 That definitely made me leave. I would go back there too. But that was good. You went to nobody's going to be saying that great. Nice, you know, ya first cousin, once removed or whatever it is.

26:17 Yeah, I heard that little baby.

26:28 Where anywhere with you and Daddy and me?

26:33 Let's see.

26:35 What are? Let's see. You have any regrets from the covid time?

26:43 Well, yeah, I did just say the one that was before. Cuz yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.

26:52 I don't know. I think I'd I don't because we got time to spend together and I got time still with some friends outside safely and I still finish my degree. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I wish it was different, but I don't have

27:13 I have a couple. I didn't go to.

27:18 Two people, you know, of people that I knew that I couldn't attend to be a comfort to their family.

27:31 I do feel bad about that. But, you know, that was what we were being advised. So I was just trying to do what was best for our country. Not the smaller group, cuz now we have so much more knowledge. You know what? So, let's see. What else should we talk about?

28:13 It's covid.

28:16 Anyting.

28:19 Yeah.

28:29 Is there anything you've learned that you helped to carry forward with you?

28:37 Well, I think I've learned that.

28:42 How much are breathing and sneezing and all this really can spread, you know, that like Nadia always has a cold and the flu shot have nothing this year.

29:01 You know, that's one thing I've learned about that and then you also learned that.

29:11 You know, some people, there's different levels of

29:17 What people think is right to do for the larger group, even some of my friends easy because, you know, some of the kids were going to parties, and I wasn't allowed to do things and some other ones weren't. So, it was just the kind of

29:47 You know, so I ignored.

29:50 I don't know. I learned some things about friends, but I did appreciate that Nadia even though she disagreed with me.

30:00 Maybe on one hand inside. She follows the rules because she did care about not giving other people covid.

30:09 So, that was a, that was an important.

30:15 Thing I learned about her, which was good.

30:20 I appreciated that from her, especially that they were missing. Their prom their graduation. There are others, especially that this year. I think seniors are getting you.

30:41 Yeah, but she didn't know nobody knew.

30:47 And then, what else do we talk about?

30:53 10 minutes.

30:57 Christina Marie.

30:59 What question, how it affects people differently and covid-19 around about being in the same storm, but not the same boat. So other people, we all have a pandemic that people differently and that's still happening here. We're out of the storm.

31:31 For the most part, they're still in the same place. They were very privileged in the US, but I think it's more, right.

31:56 And that I think is kind of one of the good things out of the pandemic and the black lives matter movement.

32:08 Had time in a way to be, they weren't distracted with other things, you know, if he came, more of those became so obvious, that's not right. I'm not equal.

32:26 Big burning pain. I do think it's interesting that there was you know, black lives matter was really the Forefront, then it was the Asian-American. Yeah. It's like all these big issues that have been there. Now. I really like those kind of pay attention to that was kind of interesting. You know, I think it's a great thing.

33:03 George Floyd's death button, you know, hopefully we can

33:09 We can continue forward and making things.

33:14 Better with knowledge.

33:17 I think that that's provided the space for that.

33:26 You know, in such a weird.

33:28 Suspended, you know not normal light.

33:36 I think that's always been our mission of spreading knowledge to our various activities. So I sprayed that we have more people. They were the only ones that know.

33:53 Yeah, so it's exciting time.

33:58 Citing a book together and we got closer and the family and that we get to do things like this, right?

34:15 So, yeah, thanks for sending it up. You're welcome to our thanks for saying. Yes. That's always a good idea.

34:35 Anyway.