A day at the military base
I was very happy as having passed a great obstacle which I had failed to pass a year ago. This great obstacle was the BAC. It was an obstacle for me, because I wasn’t good at French, but I passed it, and the summer following this achievement was not a quite normal one; I had to apply for schools to continue my studies at, and the idea that I will finally have a place at the university was exciting, especially after I had thought that I will never have a place at any university because of my bad level at French. This idea of being inferior, because of my French level, made me think of military services, the fact which resulted in my unforgettable day: The day at the military base.
I was at that time living in Kenitra, and I always saw military vehicles passing by my and my cousin’s window, but I never thought I was going to spend a day at the place where these vehicles came from. It was five past thirty in the morning when my aunt woke me up. I can remember her saying “wake up, Reyad will pick you up at six. You have thirty minutes to get ready”. As she said, Reyad picked me up in her husband’s car, and we went towards the military base. As we arrived, I saw many young candidates standing and waiting for the gate to open. Suddenly, a man wearing military clothes started calling names, and said “candidates who don’t have invitations should be separated in a group”, so No sooner had he finished his words, other military members came looking for candidates with no invitations. When I heard him, I thought that I wasn't going to be accepted without the invitation, or something else was going to happen.
The gate got opened, and I -afraid of the fact of not having the invitation- went inside the military base. Everything was going alright, except for that we, the people with no invitations, were doing everything separately. No sooner had we passed the gate, we were searched. I wasn't searched for a long time, because I carried nothing with me, unlike other candidates whose clothes were thrown in the floor and scanned by military members. We then went to a place where we were to have our breakfast. It was still the morning, and I wasn't hungry as I had already had my breakfast at home before I came. So, I ate nothing. In fact, there was nothing to be eaten except some oil, small pieces of bread and some sweet substance which I didn't know what it was.
After the poor breakfast, we went to pass the running test. Candidates were complaining, because the breakfast wasn't enough to make them run 3000 miters. I wasn't a good runner. In fact, I was a bad one which caused me to be the last one to cross the end line fifteen minutes after the candidate before me had crossed it. We were told the results after each test, and although I was the very last one to cross the end line, I was accepted. When the results were shown by a military member, candidates who had crossed the end line 30 minutes before I crossed it were turned down, and I- after I was getting prepared to go back home, because of the bad results I achieved- surprisingly went on to the next test. I doubted that there was something wrong, but I just kept telling myself that I don’t know what military service wants its member to be like; maybe I am OKAY for them.
After 4 hours of setting in the burning sun, it was time to have lunch. Although I didn’t know what I was eating, I ate as though I never saw food, for I was so hungry. Part of the lunch was a stick of meat which I didn’t eat, because it was STOLEN. Somebody called my name and I turned to respond to the calling, but I found no one; everyone was looking at his stick of meat as not to be lost. I found out that they were looking at the meat as not to be lost in a way or another, because when I turned to continue my lunch, I didn’t find my stick of meat, and I realized that I had to eat only that thing which I didn’t know what it was.
The lunch was finished at two o’clock, and we sat in the burning sun till three past thirty. I sat alone, not talking to anybody, not complaining. I just thought of the fact that I was among the group of candidates who didn’t have the invitation, and that was worrying me. This idea of not having the invitation was not the only reason that made me silent; it was a conclusion I had which was that we were being watched while setting in the sun, so those who don’t complain are the ones who were going to be accepted. That’s the only explanation I could give to the fact that I was accepted even with the bad results I had. That is, I thought that military is all about endurance.
Now that it was the time of having the medical test, I was getting prepared to go home and be absent at it; I had no invitation, and I weighed ninety five kilos at that time. All these facts helped me make up my mind to leave. I went to the member in charge and told him that I wanted to quit and go back home. This was the conversation between me and him:
-Me: sorry sir, but I think I won’t have a good result at the medical test.
-Him: (with a look at me from up to down) yes, you got that right.
-Me: so, how can I go home, sir?
-Him: give me your invitation to cancel your name from our files.
-Me: sorry sir, but I have no invitation.
-Him: what?! You don’t have an invitation. (Angrily)
-Me: yes sir.
-Him: go back to the lines, we are not playing here. Pass the test, fail and then you may leave.
-Me: OK sir, sorry.
I don’t know why he refused my idea of quitting only after he had known that I had no invitation. For me, it was the most ironic thing I have ever been through; not having the invitation, which I thought will get me refused, was the reason that kept me in the competition! I passed the medical test, and my name was among the names that were accepted. I was fat to the extent that I couldn’t run, yet I was accepted, while fit candidates who seemed healthy were turned down.
It was finally the end of the day, and I was going back home to spend the night and come back the next day to continue the competition. Just before I went out, I had gone looking for the one in charge and told him that I was sorry and that I was going to bring the invitation with me the next day. At that moment, I heard a shocking fact; he asked me, ordered me not to bring the invitation the next day, and when I asked him why I shouldn’t bring it, his answer was: “you have been sent here with no invitation as to make it easy for us to spot you and accept you no matter what your results are”. At that time I remembered my aunt’s husband, the one whom I was living with, asking me to give him the invitation to see something wrong with it and when he told me that he was sorry, because he lost it the day before the competition was to be held and that I had to go without it the next day. Everything was explained at that moment as the one in charge looked at me and said “didn’t you know that?” and I answered, LOOKING AT HIM FROM UP TO DOWN, “all I know now is that I won’t be back tomorrow”...
Written by: Omar Zellal
