Stone, Paper, Scissors
Zahra Abdollah – Malaysia

Palestinian boy; Egyptian papyrus; Delivery room.

Shying with might and main; Writing and reading; Cutting the umbilical cord, baby crying.

Single shot sound; Civilization; Daddy kisses, mommy pampers, baby giggles.

Boy falls; Order, disorder, cry-out for justice; Baby creeping and crawling.

Boy not moving, blood rushes to the ground; Acts and resolutions; Child toddling, walking, running.

Two people run, carrying boy in their arms; Louder cry-out; Child asks.

The pavement is red, blood has won; Failure of resolutions; Child learns.

Silence; Silence; Child playing stone, paper, scissors.

Zahra Abdollah was born in 1972 in Tehran, where she got her M.A. in Islamic Arts in 2008. She is married with two daughters and currently lives in Kuala Lumpur. She is a Ph.D. student of Islamic and Other Civilizations at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC).