This crisp October night hit differently as I delved into the news of the ongoing Palestinian Genocide. For a moment, no problem in my quite problematic life seemed huge anymore. Because WHAT ABOUT THEM?As I turn off my mobile and put aside my glasses to sleep, it’s 12:30 a.m., 5 hours before the new day begins. The air is chilly – winters are coming. The cold breeze gives me goosebumps so I reach out for my fleece. “But what about the Gazan man carrying body parts of his children in a shopper? How bitterly cold will the night be for him? “I reflect.Words from Hosseini’s Sea Prayer echo in my mind :I said to you,Hold my hand.Nothing bad will happenThese are only words.A father’s tricks.It slays your father,your faith in him.Because all I can think tonight ishow deep the sea,and how vast, how indifferent.How powerless I am to protect you from it. 4650 Palestinians were massacred, and 1870 were children among them, according to the Media. Few people, some, some more and then many people dead! How painful will the night be for those still alive as the flashbacks of terror and constant reminders of loss will haunt them?If only we could fill pain in jars for the world to know how pain looks, for it cannot feel. A husband who just lost his newlywed wife: his beloved.. and then many split couples. The guilt of sleeping in the comfort of my home–safe, along with my parents, who are thankfully still alive. I watch my brother sleeping and remember when we smiled at each other in the evening, after a day of being upset. At this moment, all I can remember is the luxury of still having my family.It is Monday: I wake up and rush to prepare before the van horn beeps. As I prepare my breakfast, I make my father’s but stop for my own. I rather have this pack of biscuits with a cup of Chai because time is flying. Mom has made Halwa, early on, for the rest of the family. The sugary aroma fills the air. Images of hungry kids and adults in Gaza and the West Bank rush through my mind. The guilt of getting to eat this tasty food.. ah. The horn beeps. I leave my breakfast and dash outside.I pensively gaze at this girl in the van saying, “Many classes today.. I will stay till 4.. look at my schedule.” I recall that on the other side, people prepare every day to lose their lives or their loved ones. Evacuation of homes, sorrow of losing their property, fear building inside.. will they die too? The guilt of having a normal scheduled day in a world where my Falasteeni can only dream of normal conditions.As though a transparent barrier separates our world from theirs. We see them, but cannot feel their pain. Do we live in a different time zone or another historical era? The psychological effects of the violence will long linger among the children. Panic, confusion, anxiety, depression, and aggression. An Al Jazeera article dating back to 2021 reported Hala Shehada, a 28-year-old mother from northern Gaza saying:“Living in Gaza means having to relive trauma time and time again. War is the ugliest thing in the world. And the real war is the one, you have to live with your memories of it.”She talked about her daughter as:“It’s very hard to be a mum in Gaza. I was terrified myself. My daughter’s mental state deteriorated severely during the offensive. She was crying hysterically when she heard the bombs,” said Shehada.“Even now with the ceasefire, Toleen suffers from nightmares. She wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. I try my best to comfort her, but it kills me to see her like this,” she added, sobbing.The Nakba, which happened in 1948 during the establishment of Israel, was a traumatic event for Palestinians. The conflict has seen multiple wars and countless acts of violence, leading to a staggering number of casualties. Many Palestinian families have lost their loved ones and witnessed the destruction of their homes and communities. The restrictions have caused economic difficulties, restricted access to essential services, and denied basic human rights and freedom.Eventually, this led to a surprise attack on Israel from Hamas on October 7th, 2023, which responded with the commencement of the Palestinian genocide. Israel is bombing Gaza every day!History will not be forgotten. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. 💕 #Istandwithpalestine
Category Archives: Advocacy
by Qusay Hussein In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful {O you who have believed, let no people mock another, perhaps they will be better than them}…because we live in a society that loses compassion and humanity because we live in a society that holds people accountable for mistakes they never committed because we live in a ruthless society. Their smile was taken away. They are angels in human form. Who should have the authority to decide to prevent them from living like other humans just because they have special needs? As if all their suffering is not enough for them, but society’s gawking burdens them further. It is as if they are not from the earth’s inhabitants, as if the earth is the monopoly of only one type of human being. Society does not view disability as a syndrome that has nothing to do with it, but rather as a contagious disease, perhaps a deficiency. Between merciless looks and lack of awareness, the rights of these angels are lost. Between looks of pity and fear, their lives are turned upside down. In societies where some of its members still live in an old mentality that is not based on any logic or even a religious background, it remains difficult to accept people with special needs. They deal with any of them as a person of a lower degree, or as a person who has no future or ambition, a person who is incapable of life. Between the love of parents and their shyness, some people with special needs collide with the mentality of their families before society at first. Despite the development that has taken place globally at all levels, some families’ interactions with their children remain limited to the thinking of society. Despite the great love that any family has for its “disabled” son, the great fear of people’s words still dominates their thinking and how they deal with people of determination. Instead of trying to integrate them into society, they resort to keeping them away from people out of fear for them, as they think it is the best way to protect them from human bullying. They are victims of society and their families, victims of families whose social, material and even psychological conditions prevented them from accepting this reality and adapting to the state of disability. On the other side of the conversation, it is necessary to shed light on the families that deal with their members “with special needs” consciously and rationally, as they work hard to integrate them into society and provide them with appropriate special care. Society’s reactions towards these angels are reflected in their lives, as it greatly affects the building of their personality and their acceptance of the society that has to accept them in return. Understanding people and treating them as normal as other human beings helps them to continue their lives in a better way. They are not like other people, but much more beautiful than them. They are mercy and love. They are smiling and honest. They are far from a hypocritical society, most of which cannot accept them due to a lack of “society minds.” They are not nothing, or a folded page in a forgotten book. They are the hope for a better tomorrow, they are the angels of mercy and guardians of this land. Let them live in peace, they only deserve love and life. Their handicap is much purer and greater than the handicap of the minds and consciences of these ruthless societies