LATE Birthday present

TIFFA THANK YOU!!

awwww 

she gave me this for my birthday!

ana ubibbuki fillah tiffa.

dia kawan darjah 1 saya kat sk sg Pelong.

hihi. terharu i

May Allah bless you athifah arrawday!

BINASAKANLAH MEREKA ,LAKNATULLAH ISRAEL!

Palestine is under siege right now, attacked by Israel laknatullah. It is with horror watching the latest events in Gaza. Ya Allah, it really frustrates me much seeing my brothers and sisters in Gaza are killed and the same time i feel helpless, not doing much for them. I can't imagine the fear that is currently running through the veins of each man and woman, and especially child as they face Israel's brutality.

Ihzimhum Ihzimhum Ihzimhum

lets perform Qunut Nazilah, prayers for our beloved brothers and sisters in Gaza, seeking divine assistance for them, wishing them that Allah grants mercy to all those who have been killed unjustly and inhumanly. We, Muslims, are in one nation! If they kill the Muslims, the feeling is just the same as they kill our own family members!

We are now facing a great catastrophe. To all Muslims, we must close our rank and pray from our heart for our brother and sisters who are suffering most terribly. It is OUR DUTY to pray to Allah to grant the victory and relief. 

Currently, over the past few days alone, Israel has dropped more than 250 bombs on this densely populated land. These attacks are supplemented by naval and tanks shelling. Among the recent 22 Palestinian victims are 2 children playing soccer, and 11 month-old infant, a pregnant mother and 3 other children.

O Allah, we ask Your help against the aggressive Zionists who have committed crimes (against the oppressed), who have violated the sancities, and killed and dispersed the oppressed in Palestine. 

O Allah, they cannot overwhelm You. 

O Allah, You who are the Lord of the oppressed, help the oppressed 

(against their oppressors)

O Allah, show us Your miraculous powers in dealing with them

O Allah, make their plans a plan for their destruction.

Make their armies a source of their own defeat.

O Allah, help the oppressed against the oppressors in all parts of the world.

O Allah, have mercy on the Ummah of Muhammad

O Allah, bring relief to the Ummah of Muhammad

O Allah, You are the twister of hearts, make our feet steadfast on the past of truth

O Allah, make us all guides unto truth and make us rightly guided

O Allah, bless and send peace on Your Prophet and Messenger Muhammad and his entire family and companion

amin

NETBALLERZ Olomouc 2012

I proudly present you the representative of iGames Olomouc Contingent NETBALL TEAM, the NETBALLERZ HOTTIES!

*clap2* da bau-bau gold medal da tuuu LOL

NETBALLERZ hotties consist of 

C - Akiey (fana)

WA - fana 

WD - Mel

GA - Qiela (jiha/siti/syazana)

GD - K teah (eja)

GK - Meera 

And my lovely buddy; Qiela as the chief da mission, acewahh.

I'm so thankful to Allah that Allah has introduced me to these wonderful girls. 

dorang sure rasa best gak an i ada. *perahhsantann*

BLOOPERS bloop bloop

hampes betul, kanak-kanak ni dok pakat nak pekenakan gue! mel, fana, jiha, siti grrr!! just uols wait! alasan sebab nak revenge on behalf of nam, hahahah! kesian plak teringat gmbar nam aku pergi tutup muka dia time Aidiladha photoshoot hari tu. hihii sory la nam, ramai plak backing ko. cehh.

p/s credit to Ecah for helping me out with this photoshoot. 

Thank you and may Allah bless u.

moje buddies

thanks for being my best friend here in Olomouc.

sakinah and farhana

miluji tě moc!

Best friends are angels that Allah sent along

They always stay beside you whenever things go wrong

I'm glad that Allah blessed me with a good friend such as you both,

A person to be there, a person to get me through,

The one that brightens my day, 

the one that cheers me up,

the one that's here to stay

thanks you so much!

ana uhibbuki fillah

moga Allah berkati dan hidup rahmati kalian dunia dan akhirat 

post-bday video

IBU ibu Ibu. Miluju te!

 Meet my supermak, my precious, my pearl, my true love, my IBU

Hamidah Abu Bakar

In my life, she is the one who has the most significant influence on me. She has greatly influence my life. She taught me the value of Islam, love, hard work, patience, and so much more.

Dearest ibu. 

how are you? i hope you're doing good, and in a pink of health. i miss you so much it hurts. i miss your soft  face. Your arms were always wide open when i needed hugs, you always know the time when i needed a friend to talk to, your gentle eyes always stern when i needed a lesson, your never-ending support always boost me up to work even harder. I terribly, immensely missing you.

Dearest ibu, 

i'm sorry for my misbehaving. Throughout my life, i've always worried you a lot.Going out with my friends  and late night back home, and how rebellious i was in the oldtimes.But you're an angel,  i know, even though the whole world would  turn me upside down, there will be one person who will stand up for me. Its you! You always forgives anything thats I did even though the next day i repeat the same mistakes. Ibu still maafkan kakcik. I remember it clearly the day i made you cry. You were in your room and i caught you wiping the tears flows on your flawless cheeks. Ibu, i would never ever forget that day, that dark old times. Ibu, maafkan kakcik

gosh, i never expect things to be hard when writing this post.

Gosh, haha ada pulak habuk masuk mata time2 cmni. 

Dear ibu,

Sacrifice. Nothing can ever compete when it comes to this word 'sacrifice'. 

Dearest ibu, i know raising the 5 of us, you've went through ups and downs, happy and sad moments, frustrations and tiredness. But you never complain how hard it was. Not even a single word of complain. Your patience and perseverance soothes my soul everytime I think of you. You sacrifice your happiness, just for our happiness, for the wellness of 5 of us. 

Dear ibu.

 understanding you are. No magic can compete than the words of wisdom comes out from her mouth. Everything that you said just make sense. You always know the right words to say when i'm down, when i'm happy, when i seek for advice. How can you know me so much ibu??? You are my best companion, my bestfriend, my teacher, and you dont even need a Phd for counseling to be the best advisor in my life. 

Dearest ibu,

Ibu is the most outstanding cooker in the whole universe. Masak goreng pisang pon kakcik da tergolek-golek sebab sedap sangat. haha. Bangun pagi, terhidang nasi goreng ,nasi lemak, tengah hari dan makan malam makan sedap tak terkata. Bila teringat balik , the most remarkable thing about her cooking is that, for so many years of cooking and serving us, there will be no leftovers on the table. haha, the original meal has never been found. trust me. kelakaaaa!! semua orang macam tak makan seribu tahun!! She put too many spices of love into it. haihh  padanlah satu keluarga badan lebih kurang je, macam kena pampam bila balik rumah! Ibu, i miss you and your cooking. UNBEATABLE TASTE!

Dearest ibu, 

Even though we are million miles away, even though we are in two different continent, you are far away East, and here I am ,trapped in Europe, but you should know that, no other place feels like home than being beside you ibu. I feel you everyday, i know ibu you always pray for me, kakcik tahu ibu siang malam tak pernah lupa sebut nama kakcik dalam doa ibu, ibu tak pernah tak rindu kakcik. I could never imagine a seconds without u in this world T__T  kakcik tahu kakcik will phoned you once in a bluemoon, but it doesnt mean i dont miss you. I DO! No worries, you little daughter is a grown up already. I inherited some of you super-gene in me. and dont worry ibu, i'll never forget to mention you in my prayer. ibu ibu ibuuuuu T_T

gosh

Ibu, 

you means everything to me. thank you for giving us unconditional love. It is incomparable , your love is like nothing else in the whole wide universe. 

i love my ibu, 

She's one in a million.

May Allah protect and shower His blessings upon you, ibu!

*berjuraiiiian banjir bilik gue*

       

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Life after 20 years of war : is Sarajevo safe?

Dobro došli U Bosnu i Hercegovinu!   

Alhamdulillah, thanks to the Almighty, being in Bosnia and Herzegovina few weeks ago was a dream come true. It was a childhood dream of mine to come over to Bosnia. Since i was little, i watched through the television screen Bosnia war that happened there, and now its 20 years after the war, how life would be like in Bosnia? How do you go on after living through hell? This was the question i asked myself again and again. Bosnia, particularly its capital city, Sarajevo, was heavily destroyed during the 1990s. Constant bombings, lack of food, water and electricity, and being surrounded by the Serbian forces led to a violent isolation.

But, how about now? is Sarajevo safe? 

We entered the Border of Bosnia by bus from Metkovic. Basically me and Farhana missed the early express bus in Dubrovnik that we've already booked earlier. But it was a blessing in disguise, the bus ticket fare was way cheaper, and we could see the board that signify the border of Bosnia even closer. My heart couldn't pump any harder because i'm too excited, alhamdulillah, here i am, i'm here! in  Bosnia! 

Bosnia and Herzegovina by location

Briefly about Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the Balkan Penninsula, Bosnia and Herzegovina is bordered by Croatia (to the North, South and West), Serbia (to the East) and Montenegro (to the Southeast). It is prevented from being landlocked by its 26km of Adriatic coastline, of which Neum is the principal town. Although there are flatlands to the North, most of the country is mountainous, and the capital Sarajevo is set amongst the Dinaric Mountain Range.

Sarajevo today as what people said, bears few scars of its war-torn past. Yes, that couldn't have been less true, there are scars everywhere you look, half-destroyed buildings, bullet holes, a devastated landscape. Husband of Pn Asmah, drove us around the city, past bullet-strewn buildings and piles of garbage heaps, i kept thinking of how different Sarajevo was from Croatia- huge different it really is! 

However, not all of Sarajevo is like that. There are modern parts, beautiful ones, like the cool 

Baščaršija area, with lots of cafe and restaurants and high-end shops.

Bosnia's history in a nutshell  

i) History before 1992 Bosnia War

The city has a long history, a troubled ones. Bosnia has always been a region perched between east and west. In early Christian times, it was located about half-way between the important cities of Rome and Constantinople. During that time, religious affliations had many effects beyond spiritual. European Christendom was split into 2 parts based on those two cities. To the north of Bosnia, the Croats belonged firmly to the sphere of Catholic Christianity in Rome, and to the South, the Serbs and Bulgarians were firmly Orthodox Christian and looked toward Constantinople (now its Istanbul) for their religious, political and cultural models.

Being in the middle, plus the rugged nature of the countryside (Bosnia is blessed  with its beautiful mountains and hills), meant that Bosnia was never firmly colonized or integrated into either the Catholic or Orthodox. Around 1200, there was even an independent Bosnian Kingdom, with population was nominally Christian but multiethnic, its borders were constantly shifting and its social structure remained very simple. Thus, the isolated region of Bosnia was ripe for succumbing to the pressure and blandishments of Ottoman rule, under which were many rewards, as well as exemption from certain kind of discrimination for converting to Islam. The Ottomans conquered the region in 15th century, and certainly it is not true that Bosnian Muslims today is substantially due to massive forcible conversions by the Ottomans. Some historians also attribute the Bosnian's embrace of Islam to their earlier adherence to an obscure, heretical sect of Christianity known as Bogomilism** has been exaggerated. None of the religions in preIslamic times was firmly established over the whole region in Bosnia.

The number of Muslims in Bosnia grew over the centuries, to some extent on account of Turkish immigration into the cities but mostly due to the style of conversion discussed above. The beautiful city of Sarajevo grew to prominence as administrative center for Ottoman Turks, even though they consisted of a bewildering variety of increasingly restless subjects. 

But as nationalism grew among the Sultan's Slavic people, it became even more apparent that Bosnia was a very mixed region. In addition to the Muslims, there were large Serbian and Croatian population grops. In the 19th century, questions arised and the answer remain unclear; what would happen to Bosnia after the Turks left, would it be annexed by newly independent Serbia to the east or would the multinational Habsburg Empire, next door to the north be able to occupy it? Just how long would the Turks be able to maintain their grip on Bosnia? 

And several years after war and peasant rebellion in the Balkans, Bosnia did fall to Habsburg Empire (Austria-Hungary) in 1878. They occupied Bosnia until 1908, when it was fully annexed and incorporated into the Empire. So, Bosnia turned into effective administration by the Austrians, and they succeeded somewhat in industrializing it, but the occupation was controversial. The powerful Hungarian parties in the Empire resented the presence of more Slavic minorities, and neighboring Serbian very much wished to annex the region itself. But Emperor Franz Josef made his country easier to defend against attacks from the south, since the Bosnia and Herzegovina was the hinterland to the Habsburg-controlled strip of Adriatic coast known as Dalmatia. Also the annexation came at a time of great expansionistic on other part of major European powers. Britain, France, Italy and Germany were engaged in significant imperialism in Africa, while The Habsburg Empire was unable to join in the free-for-all on other continents, but it could expand in Balkans. The main reasons were to prevent the region from falling into Serbian hands and to stop the peasant uprisings from spreading into Slavic areas under Habsburg control.

This occupational was a fateful move because in 1914 friction over Bosnia provided the spark that ignite World War 1. A group of Bosnian Serb nationalists, supported by the neighboring Serbian government assassinated the heir to the Habsburg throne in protest of the Austrian occupation. The death of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia, Duchess of Hohenberg occured in June 28, 1914, a date significant to Serbs as the anniversary of the medieval battle of Kosovo, up to 1918.

near Latin Bridge in the middle of town, on June 28, 1914, is where the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia , Duchess of Hohenberg; ignites the First World War (WWI)

Event : Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophia assassination 

A Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, had planned this assassination since Franz Ferdinand decided to visit Sarajevo to make an inspection of the Austro-Hungarian troops which was scheduled for 28th June 1914. It was planned that Franz Ferdinand with his wife would met at the station and taken by car to the City Hall where they would have lunch before going to inspect the troops.

There were 7 young men who had been trained in bomb throwing and marksmanship were stationed along the route that Franz Ferdinand's car , and would follow from the City Hall to the inspection.

The first two terrorist were unable to throw their grenades because the streets were too crowded and the car was travelling quite fast. The third terrorist, a young man named Cabrinovic, threw a grenade which exploded under the car following that of the Archduke. The Archduke and his wife were unhurt, some of his attendants were injured and had to be taken to hospital.

Later after lunch, at the City Hall, Franz Ferdinand insisted on visiting the injured attendants in hospital. However, on the way to the hospital the driver took a wrong turn. Realising it was a wrong turn, he stopped the car and reversed. Another terrorist, named Gavrilo Princip took this chance and stepped forward and fired two shots. The first hit his wife, the pregnant Sophia on the stomach, and she died almost instantly. The second shot hit the Archduke in the neck, he died a short while later.

The assassination of Franz- Ferdinand and Sophia set off a rapid chain of events, Austria-Hungary, like many countries around the world, blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident as justification for settling the question of Slav nationalism once and for all. As Russian supported Serbia, an Austro-Hungarian declaration of war was delayed until its leaders received assurance from Germany would support their cause in the event of a Russian intervention-which would likely involve Russia's ally, France and possibly Britain as well. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe's great powers collapsed. Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Britain and Serbia lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and World War I had begun. This long and disastrous war would see the total collapse of both the Ottoman empires, and in 1918 Bosnia became part of the new country of Yugoslavia.



ii) Bosnia War 1992-1995

Eighty years later the bullets were flying again. In 1992, the city of Sarajevo was under siege from Serbian forces four devastating years after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia. Serbian troops had surrounded the capital of Sarajevo, it sits in the bottom of a valley surrounded by hills. When the referendum was passed and independence was declared, the Serbians began to fire on and bomb the city. Nearly 12,000 innocent civilians died as basic services were cut off, shells and machine gun fire rained down from the hills and snipers picked off civilians from afar. 

Post-war ; Life after 20 years of war

The damage was is still obvious now, a scant twenty years later, site of Europe's worst genocide since World War II, the echoes of the conflicts still haunt the country's land. Although most of the downtown buildings have been rebuilt, bullet holes are everywhere. White gravestones scar the surrounding hillsides, far more than there should be for a city this size. 

Bosnia's resilient citizens are still slowly rebuilding their infrastructure with remainders of the war all around. The remains of massacred Bosnian Muslims are found daily and buried in the Srebrenica-Potočari Memorial and Cemetery. Most victims were males, Bosnian Muslims and Croats, over 500 bodies were found and buried in 2012 alone. 

The war largely succeeded in separating the country's three main people; Serbs, Croats and Bosniak (Muslims) and the peace accords cemented those division into law. Today, Bosnia's children are growing up more isolated from neighboring ethnic groups than their parents were. The majority of Bosnian schools have been segregated according to ethnicity. The country itself operates under the guidance of three different presidents, each representing the three different ethinicities ; Croats, Bosniaks and Serbs. 

## a good reflection for us Malaysian, what if this happens in Malaysia?

People may forgive, but it must be damn near impossible to forget. And yet the city is moving on, opening its arms to visitors. 

Tunnel of Hope

Tunnel of Hope or Tunel Spasa, is definitely one of the must-to-go places if you come to Bosnia! Uncle Ramlan brought us to this place by car after we had Borak and cevapi for breakfast.

During the siege of Sarajevo during Bosnian War 92'-95', this tunnel was used to move food, weapon, and humanitarian aid to come to the city, and people to get out. This tunnel enables linkage and communication between the city of Sarajevo and to the area near the airport,which was entirely cut-off by the Serbian forces. The construction was built in secret on March 1st ,1993 by Nedzad Brankovic, a Bosnian civil engineer, created the plans for the tunnel's construction. Together with the besieged citizens of Sarajevo, they volunteered digging in 8 hours shift, starting from Jan 93' and was completed in mid 93'. The construction took time though, owing to a lack of skilled manpower, tools and materials to complete the task. Consequently, the tunnel was dug around the clock by hand, with a shovel and pick, and wheelbarrow. These diggers work for long hours, digging from opposite ends and would be paid for their efforts in cigarettes rather than money. Cigarettes went on to become the most common form of currency during the seige.

The tunnel was 1.5m in height, about 1m in width and ran for approximately 960m in length. It was told that, during the time it was used, it is estimated that 20million tons of food entered the city and 1 million people passed in and out of it, in that small underground room. Subhanallah! 

The tunnel had a few problems throughout the course of its life, the main big one was being excess underground water. The water had to be bailed out by hand. But even with excess water in the tunnel, over time electricity cables and an oil pipe were also laid through the tunnel.

and thanks to the Sida Kolar, she is the superwoman of Bosnian war. She risked her life everyday to provide water to each person exiting the tunnel. This tunnel is actually located under the house of Sida Kolar. Kolar lived in Butmir, 800m away from Sarajevo airport. In war time, Sida Kolar stayed at home instead of going to a safe place. May Allah bless her soul! She took care of the wounded soldiers, cooked for them, and sent them meals to the soldiers in front. She risked her own neck for the national liberation! 

And it was remarkable, whilst the Serb forces never knew the exact location of the tunnel entrances, they did come mightily close to finding it with a mortar shell. Kuasa Allah! they never succeeded in finding this tunnel until the war ended.

I felt welcome in Sarajevo, and quickly fell for the winding streets and remarkable cultural and religious melting pot of the city. Mosques are almost everywhere, cathedrals and synagogues lay within eyeshot of each other, east meeting west in a swirling mass of colours, sounds, smells and culture. 

The call to prayer rang out five times a day, subhanallah, its been long i haven't hear the beautiful azan prayer calling.

Shisha smoke wafted from darkened cafes as teenagers walked past with gelato in hand. We didn't miss out having our must-eat-gelato-icecream too! 

The food was plentiful and excellent,  the people were warm and generous.  There was plenty to see and do, in a compact, easily walkable area.  But those things, important as they are, can be found in a lot of places.  They are often necessary for me to love a new city, but they usually aren’t sufficient.

Sarajevo was more than that.  It was beautiful in its own, war-damaged way.  It was safe, but with a gritty undertone that kept things interesting.  Most importantly for me, it was very different to both anywhere I had been before and my expectations.

How could i forget the moment of kissing a beautiful Bosniak little baby. She stared at me from afar and her sister brought her to me, and let me kiss this adorable girl.

I just didn’t expect so much diversity in a city of under half a million people.  I didn’t expect so much history in a place ravaged by war.  I didn’t expect so much friendliness to outsiders when the local population has been through so much. I really didn’t expect to love Sarajevo at all.

Surprisingly, wonderfully, I did! 

so, the answer to the question above, Sarajevo is definitely  a safe place to visit and you should put in your must-to-go list people!

Bosnia - childhood dream

hi iris. Assalamualaikum wbt
Not long ago, when i was little,  I remember it clearly, the crying of Bosnian children, the same age as me (during that time) crying through the tv screen. Bombing, massacre, and genocide, as they say, 'ethnic cleansing' and the target were the Muslims as a revenge of Ottoman ruling by the Serbs. I was thinking, how an earth those soldiers could possibly have no mercy, killing them without any heart. Ibu used to tell me stories while we were watching tv (i used to be very talkative when i was very little as said by ibu), she told me that these Bosnian people are innocent casualties but their home were being bombed, their parents were killed, and they don't have toys to play kakcik. Well, i am just a little girl, the saddest thing that i can't bare with are losing my parents and family members and no toys to play with. So, as i watched how those children suffered, i told myself, one day, I will come to this place insyaAllah. Bosnia Herzegovina

ya Allah
I told ibu, that i've planned to go to Bosnia a year ago. Like any other mother in the world, i am already expecting that Ibu will say a big NO to me. haha Bingo!! She did say, NO KAKCIK. But dont worry, you're little girl knows you too well ibu. Hehe. Due to your curiousity and worry, I am well-prepared to answer any questions you may have dear mummy. hehe. It goes the opposite with ayah. Ayah at most of the times, he will agree to the travel plan that i've prepared. Ayah said, 'kaki kakcik ni panjang, suka sangat berjalan' yeehaa, i love my parents! They are the coolest parent of all parent in the whole wide universe!

haha, dear iris, i feel so sleepy already. nite. i'll post about Bosnia travelling moments on the next post.

to be continue...

Summer 2012 : Croatia : Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik is exactly the place for history-freak. Dubrovnik excites me since I've watched Games of thrones beforehand just to get the feeling of being in the set. GOT series was filmed here, in the Old Town. But seriously, the views here are stunning added with the glorious sunshine! It was perfect time for us, to go for walking besides the beach wearing a long dress, haha berangan bukan kepalang, zzz

After 5hours sitting in the bus seat sampai bontot panas, finally we arrived here in Dubrovnik! The bus station condition was quite small, not as what i've imagined, since this city is one of the UNESCO list for world heritage site. Kalau bandingkan dengan Melaka Sentral kat Melaka tu, MS lagi daebak kot!! *wooot* We missed a few trip since we were quite confused how the timing for the buses goes, and we didn't find the site to wait. But we managed. Getting on the bus, but not knowing where to get off. But there was one little girl helped us. She is such a sweetheart. I think she is just 7 years old, but yet she is already independent enough to get on bus by herself. #inspired

Alhamdulillah, we finally found our hostel. The price for the hostel was quite expensive, but Dubrovnik itself is an expensive city. The price for the hostel that I purchased are considered to be one of the cheapest. 

wakaka baju ni semangat beli kat Split, siap topi gittew haaa

so the next day, we toured around Dubrovnik city.