Images etched in stone

A year ago this month, the Israeli army had shot dead a Palestinian woman near the border with Gaza. What was so heinous about this act was that the victim was a 57-year-old mentally retarded woman who had wandered close to the border.

The Israeli authorities tried to cover this cold-blooded murder by claiming that their forces intended to shoot around the legs of the victim as a warning, but unfortunately her body got in the way. Right! Such acts of targeted killings are nothing new for Israelis who often mow down defenceless victims to drive their message of dominance home to oppressed Palestinians.

In the Gaza holocaust, the world witnessed images of Palestinian children being blown to bits by Israeli bombs. They also saw un-doctored images of victims in schools and hospitals deliberately targeted by the Israelis to strike terror in the heart of the resistance.  

Such blatant brutality, so often left un-censured by the civilised world, has driven hapless Palestinians to the point of despair. From seeing their lands illegally occupied by colonists to their women and children being shot by trigger-happy Israeli forces, the Palestinians are truly victims of an ongoing holocaust. But very little of what they experience is ever reported.  

The images of these brutalities are widely cast in the region and live far beyond the event. A 15-year-old Saudi boy who had never been anywhere near Israel and Palestine perhaps captured the essence of what it is to be like living under such continuous Israeli terror. He sent me a poignant prose called ‘A dream to dream’, imagining the disposition and fears of the oppressed Palestinians. It reads: “Dreams — I can’t remember the last time I had a dream, at least not a good one. Now every night I just have nightmares — hell, I’m living one. My name is Ali Yousuf and I’m 13 years old. I was born in Gaza, Palestine. I say I’m from Gaza, Palestine, but it feels like Gaza, Israel.

“For as long as I can remember, my family and everyone in Gaza have been virtually ruled by Israeli [colonists] and soldiers who come and go and do what they please. I’ve heard bombs in the night and gunfire in the morning. Every day when I walk to school and approach the checkpoint, I tell myself ‘this could be your last day on earth’. But unfortunately, my life just continues in this way.

“My great grandfather told my grandfather who told my father of a time when Israeli soldiers didn’t exist in our land and it was possible for us Palestinians to walk home safely and not spend every waking moment afraid of an invasion. A time when we Arabs were treated like human beings and were given the same rights ... a time when you could dream of what you want to become and not dread what you are destined to be. This is the place I wished I lived in, not this hell where me and my family barely survive.

“Two weeks ago, my father fell sick with a life-threatening illness and was unable to work and earn money. I am the eldest son among four children with no skills for work, but I needed a way to make money for my family. The next day, I went to see some kids in my school who were rumoured to have connections with the Hamas group. I knew that if I worked with them. they would pay me, but what would I have to do in return?

Making a difference

“I met with some Hamas leaders and they offered me a job. They said that if I did that job it would give Palestinian people a chance to lead a better life and either way they would take care of my family. At first, I was filled with joy. It was all I ever wanted and now it was finally possible! I thanked them and ran for the door. I stopped just short because I had forgotten to ask what the job was.

“When one of the leaders told me what it was, my heart sank. If I did that job, I wouldn’t be celebrating with my family later. But backing out was out of the question, my family needed this and I needed to put my family first.  Besides, I don’t have much to look forward to here in Gaza. But I can at least try to make a difference for others and their lives.

“So I went home and hugged my mother and father and wished them good health, but I didn’t tell them about what I was planning to do. Then I went to my three younger brothers and sister; Sofian, Mohammad and little Fatima. We didn’t always get along, but at this particular moment, I loved them more than anything else. I hugged them all while I was on the verge of tears. Then I went into my room and cried. At least I knew that God would allow me to finally dream a good dream while in heaven.”

The young Saudi boy who was far removed from the actual terror the Palestinians face daily wrote this. This true-to-life depiction of the reasons behind the acute state of hopelessness that many Palestinians in the Occupied Territories have been driven to is not one that is routinely reported, but it is a true reflection of the sordid reality of desperate people driven to desperate measures.

Palestinians are being gunned down daily and their lands stolen acre by acre, even as the world powers sputter about in fruitless peace talks that the Zionists have no interest in. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been publicly blunt about that!

The Israeli propaganda machinery continues working at a feverish pace, trying to convince the world of regional threats other than themselves, and yet they could not deceive a 15 year old. Their atrocities have etched poignant images in the hearts of many.

Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia