Dubai: The shocking images of a young Palestinian American boy savagely beaten by Israeli police were splashed on the front pages of newspapers earlier this month.
Tareq Abu Khudair, a 15-year-old boy from Tampa, Florida was visiting family in occupied Jerusalem, where the Abu Khudair family had lived for centuries. Little did he know that his visit would change his life forever. Just a few days earlier, the bodies of three Israeli teenagers who went missing in June were found. This prompted a series of ‘revenge’ attacks by Israelis who openly propagated collective punishment of all Palestinians.
On July 2, 17-year-old Mohammad Abu Khudair’s body was found after he had been abducted from his front porch by Israeli colonists. It was later found that he had been savagely beaten and then burnt alive. Mohammad was Tareq’s cousin and best friend. And if that wasn’t enough trauma for the young boy, the next day two undercover Israeli police officers savagely beat Tareq. The beating was caught on video and went viral around the world. In an interview with Gulf News, Tareq and his mother Suha recount the horror of what they experienced and how it changed their lives.
Question: The last time you visited Palestine you were four years old. What was it like to be back after all that time?
Tareq: I was so happy. I couldn’t believe I was there walking in the streets of Jerusalem. I was excited to see the Dome of the Rock and reconnect with my family.
Question: Mohammad was your cousin. Were you guys close?
Tareq: We were friends from the first day. We were best friends.
Question: You were the last person to talk to Mohammad before he was taken. Do you remember your last conversation?
Tareq: I remember I was going to the bakery and I asked him if he needed anything. That was the last time I spoke to him. We found out later what had happened. I couldn’t believe it. I was so sad. He didn’t deserve to die.
Question: The next day people were in the streets protesting after they found out what happened to Mohammad. That was the day you were taken by the undercover Israeli police and beaten. What happened?
Tareq: I was standing watching from the alley. I heard screaming and then soldiers running towards me so I ran. I fell down and got back up but it was too late, they grabbed me. They beat me and I was screaming. I didn’t know what to do, they zip tied my hands behind my back and kept kicking me in the face and the ribs. I thought they were going to kill me. I guess I lost consciousness but when I woke up I was blindfolded.
Question: Now, thankfully, you are back home in Tampa. How are you recovering?
Tareq: My ribs are still very bruised and I still get very bad headaches.
Question: Do you think what happened to you has changed your life?
Tareq: It has definitely changed my life. It made me wide awake and think about Palestine more and learn more about my home country.
Question: What is your message to Palestinians living there that have to live under Israeli occupation?
Tareq: My message is to stay strong and never back down. Don’t be scared of them.
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Question: Where were you when you found out your son had been taken?
Suha: I was mourning the loss of Mohammad at his mum’s house when I found out that Tareq was in jail and another cousin of his as well.
Question: That must have been really scary given what happened to his cousin. What was going through your mind at the time?
Suha: I knew that when they take Palestinians that they do beat them. I’ve heard that before. I was so afraid though. I had all these thoughts running through my head that they might kill him. If they kill him who is going to find out? It’s just another dead Palestinian kid. My relatives tried to calm me down. They said don’t worry, they might slap him around a bit that is all. They assured me that once they find out he is American they would let him go. That brought me some relief but I really didn’t know what to expect from the Israelis.
Question: You later found out that Tareq was in jail. What happened to Tareq in jail?
Suha: When Tareq was in jail, one of the guards secretly told my husband that Tareq needed urgent medical attention because he was bleeding and fading in and out of consciousness. He was blindfolded and bleeding everywhere. Tareq was beaten at 7.30pm and it wasn’t until 1.15am that my husband managed to convince them to give our son medical attention.
Question: When he was transferred to the hospital were you finally allowed to see your son?
Suha: When I got there I saw the Israeli police guard at his door and I’m thinking to myself, ‘why would they have a guard on the door of someone who was just beaten unconscious?” My husband finally convinced him to let me in, they didn’t want to let me in. They told me ‘you can’t touch or talk to him’.
Question: I can’t imagine as a mother seeing your son in that state. What was going through your mind?
Suha: I was asking myself, ‘Is he alive?’ His face was so distorted, it didn’t look like Tareq.
Question: So, finally he was let out. Was there any explanation for the reason your son was taken and beaten?
Suha: No. He wasn’t charged with anything. Yet they made us pay a bail amount and he was put on house arrest for nine days. He was in jail for four days and it was only after the US consulate got involved that he was released.
Question: I asked the same question to your son. Did this experience change your life?
Suha: It has changed my life tremendously. I am closer to my country now. Palestine is closer to my heart than ever before. What Tareq went through is what Palestinians experience every day of their lives.
Question: Now that you are back in America, you and Tareq have been very busy with media interviews. What do you think in general about American media coverage of what is happening in Palestine?
Suha: Well, in my son’s case I am happy with how the media has covered it. They got my son’s story out and a lot of people are finding out the truth now. Before they just thought it’s a war between Palestinians and Israelis. Now they are learning that it is more than that. What we are going through is an occupation — a one-sided occupation. Palestinians have no rights. But with covering the Palestinian issue in general, I think the American media cuts out a lot of the important facts.
Question: Were you satisfied with the American government’s response to Tareq’s horrible experience?
Suha: Well, the American consulate tried their best to help us during that time, but I’m sure had it been a Jewish kid he wouldn’t have spent a minute in jail. What we are going to do now is take legal action. I hope those who were responsible for what happened to my son will get prosecuted. We are going to Congress to tell them our story.
