#majidshokor

[11truelovestories-blog]

“My wife was my sister’s friend. I saw her a couple of times and I felt that there was really something very special about her. There is a strong character, open mindedness. I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to be married or not because I didn’t want to be in a relationship while the war was going on. We had a long talk on the boulevard along the Euphrates river. I told her if the war finished and I was still alive, I would be very happy to come back and ask for her hand. 

In the war, I sat in a communication unit in the office. I was responsible for updating the communication maps, the codes. I was moved from one unit to another unit. I saw friends who lost their lives, people in front of me got killed. One of the nights I couldn’t sleep, I wrote her a letter. I remember one phrase I said, the phrase in Arabic is something like - In this time, where men are spilling blood and sweating from hard work, I write to you.

For two months I read it every day. At some point, I started to read it like it was a text written by someone else, not by myself. There was some kind of joy in putting your feelings on paper and reading it again and again. 

Then when I had my leave, I took it and then I gave it to my sister to send her the letter. Five years after I gave the letter, we got married. I didn’t ask her about the letter and I didn’t want to see it again. I know it’s there somewhere in the house but I don’t want to see it.”

Majid Shokor is a Melbourne-based Iraqi actor and writer. Majid is best known for his roles in You Deserve Everything and the award-winning documentary On the Banks of the Tigris.

Directed by Fadia Abboud, photographed by Hoda Afshar