A graduate receives a secure offer at her parents’ fabric shop and a less certain opportunity in translation. Her answer raises questions about gratitude, work and family expectations.
01Read the Arabic story
رَفْضُ الْعَمَلِ فِي مَتْجَرِ الْعَائِلَةِ
بَعْدَ تَخَرُّجِي، عَرَضَ عَلَيَّ وَالِدَايَ إِدَارَةَ مَتْجَرِ الْأَقْمِشَةِ الَّذِي أَسَّسَاهُ قَبْلَ عِشْرِينَ عَامًا. كَانَ الرَّاتِبُ مَضْمُونًا، وَكُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ الزَّبَائِنَ وَطَرِيقَةَ الْعَمَلِ. وَقَدْ كُنْتُ أُسَاعِدُهُمَا فِي الْعُطَلِ مُنْذُ الْمَدْرَسَةِ، لِذَلِكَ بَدَا الْعَرْضُ لَهُمَا امْتِدَادًا طَبِيعِيًّا لِحَيَاتِنَا. غَيْرَ أَنَّنِي حَصَلْتُ عَلَى فُرْصَةِ تَدْرِيبٍ فِي مَكْتَبِ تَرْجَمَةٍ لِسِتَّةِ أَشْهُرٍ. لَمْ يَعِدْنِي الْمَكْتَبُ بِوَظِيفَةٍ دَائِمَةٍ، لَكِنَّنِي رَغِبْتُ فِي تَجْرِبَةِ الْمَجَالِ الَّذِي دَرَسْتُهُ.
عِنْدَمَا أَخْبَرْتُ أَبِي، أَغْلَقَ دَفْتَرَ الْحِسَابَاتِ وَقَالَ: «هَذَا الْمَتْجَرُ دَفَعَ تَكَالِيفَ دِرَاسَتِكِ». لَمْ أَعْرِفْ هَلْ كَانَ يُذَكِّرُنِي بِفَضْلِهِ أَمْ يَشْرَحُ خَوْفَهُ عَلَى مُسْتَقْبَلِ الْمَكَانِ. أَمَّا أُمِّي فَسَأَلَتْ عَمَّنْ سَيُرَتِّبُ الطَّلَبَاتِ إِذَا غِبْتُ. وَأَدْرَكْتُ أَنَّ رَفْضِي بَدَا لَهُمَا تَخَلِّيًا عَنْ جُهْدِهِمَا، وَلَيْسَ مُجَرَّدَ اخْتِيَارٍ مِهْنِيٍّ.
فِي الْمَسَاءِ، عُدْتُ إِلَى الْحَدِيثِ بَعْدَ أَنْ خَفَّ التَّوَتُّرُ. وَكُنْتُ أَخْشَى أَنْ أَخْسَرَ ثِقَتَهُمَا. قُلْتُ إِنَّ امْتِنَانِي لَهُمَا لَا يَعْنِي أَنَّنِي سَأَنْجَحُ فِي إِدَارَةِ الْمَتْجَرِ. وَاعْتَرَفْتُ بِأَنَّ التَّدْرِيبَ مُخَاطَرَةٌ وَأَنَّ رَاتِبَهُ أَقَلُّ. لَمْ أَقُلْ إِنَّ مِهْنَتَهُمَا أَقَلُّ قِيمَةً مِنَ التَّرْجَمَةِ؛ شَرَحْتُ فَقَطْ أَنَّنِي أُرِيدُ فُرْصَةً لِأَخْتَبِرَ قُدْرَتِي عَلَى عَمَلٍ آخَرَ.
اقْتَرَحْتُ أَنْ أُنَظِّمَ السِّجِلَّاتِ خِلَالَ شَهْرٍ، رَيْثَمَا يَبْحَثَانِ عَنْ مُوَظَّفٍ جَدِيدٍ. كَانَ التَّدْرِيبُ سَيَبْدَأُ بَعْدَ سِتَّةِ أَسَابِيعَ، فَاسْتَطَعْتُ تَحْدِيدَ وَقْتٍ وَاضِحٍ لِلْمُسَاعَدَةِ. قَالَتْ أُمِّي إِنَّ تَدْرِيبَ شَخْصٍ غَرِيبٍ سَيُتْعِبُهَا، وَكَانَتْ مُحِقَّةً. لِذَلِكَ لَمْ أَصِفْ اقْتِرَاحِي بِأَنَّهُ حَلٌّ يُرْضِي الْجَمِيعَ، بَلْ خُطْوَةٌ تُخَفِّفُ بَعْضَ الْعِبْءِ.
فِي الْيَوْمِ التَّالِي، وَقَّعْتُ عَقْدَ التَّدْرِيبِ وَبَدَأْنَا تَرْتِيبَ السِّجِلَّاتِ. كَانَ أَبِي قَلِيلَ الْكَلَامِ، وَلَمْ يَطْلُبْ مِنِّي إِلْغَاءَ قَرَارِي. وَحِينَ وَجَدَ إِعْلَانًا عَنْ قَامُوسٍ مُتَخَصِّصٍ، وَضَعَهُ بِجَانِبِ حَقِيبَتِي. شَكَرْتُهُ دُونَ أَنْ أَعْتَبِرَ ذَلِكَ مُوَافَقَةً كَامِلَةً. كُنْتُ أَعْلَمُ أَنَّنَا سَنَحْتَاجُ إِلَى أَكْثَرَ مِنْ حَدِيثٍ وَاحِدٍ لِنَفْهَمَ بَعْضَنَا.
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After graduation, my parents offered me the management of the fabric shop they had founded twenty years earlier. The salary was guaranteed, and I knew the customers and how the business worked. I had helped them during holidays since school, so the offer seemed a natural continuation of our lives to them. Yet I had obtained a six-month training opportunity at a translation office. The office had not promised me a permanent job, but I wanted to try the field I had studied.
When I told my father, he closed the accounts book and said, “This shop paid for your studies.” I did not know whether he was reminding me of what he had done for me or explaining his fear for the shop’s future. My mother asked who would organise the orders if I was away. I realised that my refusal seemed to them like abandoning their efforts, rather than simply making a career choice.
That evening, I returned to the conversation after the tension had eased. I was afraid of losing their trust. I said that my gratitude to them did not mean I would succeed at managing the shop. I admitted that the training was a risk and paid less. I did not say their profession was less valuable than translation; I simply explained that I wanted a chance to test my ability in another job.
I suggested organising the records over a month while they looked for a new employee. The training would begin in six weeks, so I could specify a clear period for helping. My mother said that training a stranger would tire her, and she was right. I therefore did not describe my proposal as a solution that pleased everyone, but as a step that would ease some of the burden.
The next day, I signed the training contract and we began arranging the records. My father said little and did not ask me to reverse my decision. When he found an advertisement for a specialised dictionary, he put it beside my bag. I thanked him without treating this as complete agreement. I knew that we would need more than one conversation to understand one another.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| الْأَقْمِشَةِ | fabrics |
| مَضْمُونًا | guaranteed |
| امْتِدَادًا طَبِيعِيًّا | a natural continuation |
| بِفَضْلِهِ | of what he had done for me |
| تَخَلِّيًا | abandonment |
| امْتِنَانِي | my gratitude |
| مُخَاطَرَةٌ | a risk |
| السِّجِلَّاتِ | the records |
| الْعِبْءِ | the burden |
| قَامُوسٍ مُتَخَصِّصٍ | a specialised dictionary |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Use the story to distinguish what is stated from what the details suggest. Open the English support if you need help with a question.
What to remember
- Gratitude and a career decision can coexist without removing the practical cost to a family.
- A small gesture can suggest support while leaving disagreement unresolved.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Anna in Arabic: I Know That and I Think That
أَعْلَمُ أَنَّنَا سَنَحْتَاجُ
Follow the embedded statement after “I knew” as the narrator recognises that understanding will take time.
Purpose Li in Arabic: How to Say “In Order To”
لِأَخْتَبِرَ قُدْرَتِي
Identify the narrator’s purpose in seeking a different kind of work.
