EYAD SAID

Excerpts from We The Interwoven

Eyad Said was born in Damascus, Syria. He lives with his family in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He earned a master’s degree in banking and finance from the University of Damascus, Syria, before getting a PhD in mathematics from Louisiana State University. A husband and father of two, he is an assistant professor of mathematics at Mount Mercy University. He hopes to explore the wounds caused by the terrible tragedies that have taken place in his country and to be able to tell more Syrian stories to the people of Iowa.

“If food is the first way to understand the Syrian culture, then our holidays are the second. For those who want a window into life in Syria, Ramadan is the perfect example. For an entire month, Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. No food, no water, and no cursing, dammit! No fighting or arguing or other bad deeds. The idea is to build character and learn how to be a good human even when feeling starved and exhausted. It is also a month of charity and giving. When fasting for the majority of the day, you know how the poor and needy feel.

Ramadan was also marked by how much more households spent on food. I know it sounds odd and defies the purpose of the holiday, but it’s true. Restaurants offered dine-in deals and packages to have iftar at sunset. Dessert shops and street-food vendors were open almost twenty hours a day to meet the increased demand. Families would invite each other to iftar or even for suhoor before sunrise.

Some of my favorite memories are of this time of year. My mom’s uncle did not have children of his own, so he treated my mom and her seven brothers and sisters as his own kids after their father, my grandpa, died. He would invite the whole family to the same restaurant with the same menu once every Ramadan. It was so predictable that it was funny, but although many family members complained about this routine, they never missed the loud, boisterous gathering.”