You are hungriest in the afternoon. And that for four weeks. But, says Nejia, afterwards we are rewarded by shopping at Intertoys.
It is Ramadan. And to find out how children experience this tradition, Studio040 was invited to join the Dakhlaoui family. They have a Tunisian restaurant on Wattstraat. Nejia and Yahya tell us about fasting. “First we have to see if I can do it. So I started with half days”, Nejia says.
It is not too hard for her to not eat anything for half a day. But she has a party coming up soon, and then it comes down to it. “That party is also with food. But luckily I can stay there for a long time. Then I can also decide to eat there a bit later”.
When evening has fallen, everyone gets a date and some water or milk. Then they have to pray before the family starts the real meal. Yahya places two mats in the restaurant and stands with his father facing east. He himself recites Koranic texts during the prayer. When praying is over, everyone joins in.
Fasting can be difficult. But the children say that the Suikerfeest (sugar party) or Eid Al-Fitr in Arabic makes up for a lot. “Then we all go to the mosque to pray for a long time. But afterwards we go to Intertoys or MediaMarkt to buy things. As a reward for taking part”.
Ramadan lasts another three weeks and does not end until the sight of the new moon, around 1 May this year.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
