A swimmer suggests reserving part of a beach for fishers. A visitor’s question reveals whose needs her simple solution overlooks.
01Read the Arabic story
مَنْ يَسْتَخْدِمُ الشَّاطِئَ عِنْدَ الشُّرُوقِ؟
قَبْلَ شُرُوقِ الشَّمْسِ، وَصَلْتُ إِلَى الشَّاطِئِ وَمَعِي مِنْشَفَتِي وَنَظَّارَةُ السِّبَاحَةِ. كَانَ زُوَّارٌ يَفْرِشُونَ بَسَاطًا قُرْبَ الْمَاءِ، بَيْنَمَا حَاوَلَ صَيَّادَانِ سَحْبَ قَارِبٍ صَغِيرٍ إِلَى الرَّمْلِ. طَلَبَ أَحَدُهُمَا إِبْعَادَ الْبَسَاطِ، فَاعْتَرَضَ شَابٌّ بِأَنَّ أُسْرَتَهُ وَصَلَتْ أَوَّلًا. تَوَقَّفَ الْقَارِبُ بَيْنَ الْمَاءِ وَالْبَسَاطِ، وَارْتَفَعَتِ الْأَصْوَاتُ فِي الْمَكَانِ الَّذِي أَقْصِدُهُ عَادَةً لِهُدُوئِهِ.
كُنْتُ أَعْرِفُ الصَّيَّادَ حَسَنًا، فَاقْتَرَحْتُ أَنْ يُخَصَّصَ هَذَا الْجُزْءُ لِلصَّيَّادِينَ حَتَّى تَرْتَفِعَ الشَّمْسُ. بَدَا الْحَلُّ بَسِيطًا لِي، إِذْ أَسْتَطِيعُ السِّبَاحَةَ فِي وَقْتٍ آخَرَ. لَكِنَّ امْرَأَةً مِنَ الزُّوَّارِ أَوْضَحَتْ أَنَّهُمْ قَطَعُوا طَرِيقًا طَوِيلًا لِيَرَوُا الشُّرُوقَ قَبْلَ عَوْدَتِهَا إِلَى الْعَمَلِ. سَأَلَتْنِي: هَلْ تُصْبِحُ الْأَوْقَاتُ الْجَمِيلَةُ حَقًّا لِمَنْ يَسْكُنُ قَرِيبًا فَقَطْ؟
قَالَ حَسَنٌ إِنَّهُ لَا يَطْلُبُ الشَّاطِئَ كُلَّهُ، بَلْ مَمَرًّا يَسْحَبُ عَبْرَهُ الْقَارِبَ. أَشَارَ إِلَى صُخُورٍ تَمْنَعُ السَّحْبَ فِي الْجِهَةِ الْأُخْرَى، ثُمَّ أَرَانَا شِبَاكَهُ الْمُتَرَاكِمَةَ عَلَى الرَّمْلِ. اعْتَرَفَ بِأَنَّهُ يَتْرُكُهَا أَحْيَانًا مَبْسُوطَةً أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا يَلْزَمُ. لَمْ يَكُنْ نَقْلُ الْقَارِبِ كَنَقْلِ مِنْشَفَتِي، لَكِنَّ هَذَا الْفَرْقَ لَمْ يَجْعَلْ حَاجَةَ الزُّوَّارِ إِلَى الْمَكَانِ بِلَا قِيمَةٍ.
طَوَيْتُ مِنْشَفَتِي الَّتِي وَضَعْتُهَا بِجَانِبِ الْبَسَاطِ، وَطَلَبْتُ مِنْ حَسَنٍ أَنْ يُبَيِّنَ الْمَسَاحَةَ الَّتِي يَحْتَاجُهَا. جَمَعَ الشِّبَاكَ، وَحَرَّكَ الزُّوَّارُ أَغْرَاضَهُمْ قَلِيلًا، فَأَصْبَحَ الْمَمَرُّ وَاضِحًا. اقْتَرَحَ الشَّابُّ لَوْحَةً تَشْرَحُ اسْتِخْدَامَهُ بَدَلًا مِنْ لَوْحَةٍ تَمْنَعُ الدُّخُولَ. أَمَّا حَسَنٌ فَوَعَدَ بِمُنَاقَشَةِ الْفِكْرَةِ مَعَ بَقِيَّةِ الصَّيَّادِينَ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَتَحَدَّثُ بِاسْمِهِمْ جَمِيعًا.
فَاتَنِي بَدْءُ السِّبَاحَةِ مَعَ صَدِيقَتِي، وَاضْطَرَّتِ الْأُسْرَةُ إِلَى الْجُلُوسِ أَبْعَدَ عَنِ الْمَاءِ. عِنْدَمَا اسْتَقَرَّ الْقَارِبُ عَلَى الرَّمْلِ، رَفَعَ الشَّابُّ هَاتِفَهُ لِيُصَوِّرَ الشَّمْسَ، فَابْتَعَدَ حَسَنٌ عَنْ أَمَامِ الْعَدَسَةِ دُونَ طَلَبٍ. لَمْ تُكْتَبْ لَوْحَةٌ ذَلِكَ الصَّبَاحَ. وَقَبْلَ أَنْ أَدْخُلَ الْمَاءَ، سَأَلَنِي زَائِرٌ جَدِيدٌ عَمَّا يَجْرِي، فَشَرَحْتُ لَهُ وَظِيفَةَ الْمَمَرِّ، لَا هُوِيَّةَ أَصْحَابِ الْمَكَانِ.
Show English translationHide English translation
Before sunrise, I reached the beach with my towel and swimming goggles. Some visitors were spreading a mat near the water while two fishers tried to pull a small boat onto the sand. One asked them to move the mat, but a young man objected that his family had arrived first. The boat stopped between the water and the mat, and voices rose in the place I usually visited for its quiet.
I knew the fisher Hasan, so I suggested reserving this part for fishers until the sun was higher. The solution seemed simple to me, since I could swim at another time. But a woman among the visitors explained that they had travelled a long way to see the sunrise before she returned to work. She asked me, “Do the beautiful hours become a right only for those who live nearby?”
Hasan said he was not asking for the whole beach, only a passage through which to pull the boat. He pointed to rocks that prevented pulling it up on the other side, then showed us his nets piled on the sand. He admitted that he sometimes left them spread out more than necessary. Moving the boat was not like moving my towel, but that difference did not make the visitors’ need for the place worthless.
I folded my towel, which I had placed beside the mat, and asked Hasan to show us the space he needed. He gathered the nets, and the visitors moved their belongings a little, making the passage clear. The young man suggested a sign explaining its use instead of one banning entry. Hasan promised to discuss the idea with the other fishers, because he did not speak for all of them.
I missed the start of my swim with my friend, and the family had to sit farther from the water. When the boat was settled on the sand, the young man raised his phone to photograph the sun, and Hasan moved out of the camera’s view without being asked. No sign was written that morning. Before I entered the water, a new visitor asked what was happening, so I explained the passage’s function, rather than the identity of the place’s owners.
02Useful words from the story
| Arabic in the story | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| شُرُوقِ الشَّمْسِ | sunrise |
| بَسَاطًا | a mat |
| سَحْبَ قَارِبٍ | pulling a boat |
| لِهُدُوئِهِ | for its quiet |
| يُخَصَّصَ | be reserved |
| مَمَرًّا | a passage |
| الْمُتَرَاكِمَةَ | piled up |
| بِلَا قِيمَةٍ | without value |
| وَظِيفَةَ الْمَمَرِّ | the passage’s function |
| الْعَدَسَةِ | the camera lens |
03Check your understanding
Choose one answer for each question. Use the Arabic text to distinguish facts, motives and supported inferences. Open the English support when needed.
What to remember
- An early arrival and a nearby home do not settle which needs deserve space; the characters must explain their actual constraints.
- A clear boat passage addresses one immediate need. Small gestures improve the encounter, while agreement with absent fishers remains unfinished.
Explore the Arabic in this story
Related grammar and vocabularyOpen Araqick guides connected to this story.
Because in Arabic: Give a Reason with Lianna
لِأَنَّهُ لَا يَتَحَدَّثُ بِاسْمِهِمْ جَمِيعًا
Follow Hasan’s reason for consulting the other fishers before promising a shared sign.
Lam in Arabic: How to Say “Did Not”
لَمْ تُكْتَبْ لَوْحَةٌ
Notice lam with a passive verb when the ending distinguishes discussion from a completed action.
