25 killed due to Israeli attacks on Gaza, Hana Shalabi, Poem

25 killed due to Israeli attacks on Gaza,Hana Shalabi,Poem 

Gaza, March 13, This isn’t knew, I know but that doesn’t make it the norm and it shouldn’t be the norm in any way. Gaza survived four continuous days of Israeli attacks that left 25 dead and 80+ injured. Among those injured, some are critical, some are children and some are women. Among those dead there were elderly, women and children. If you have a heart that enables you to claim that children, women and elderly should be killed because they live in Gaza which automatically means they are terrorists, I don’t consider you a human being. Children are children; I would never celebrate the death of Israeli child, ever.

I am not here to report news, I am sure you already watch news channels every day. I am here to tell you a story, to show you that we are humans and not just numbers. Those 25 people who got killed during Israel’s latest vicious cycle of violence against Gaza have names, they are humans. One of them is somebody’s son, other one is somebody’s grandfather, and another one is somebody’s daughter.

Saleh El Issi, 59, is a person that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Saleh worked as a watchman to a piece of land in central Gaza. Saleh is a civilian; he was targeted with two missiles from an Israeli drone that left him blown up into pieces. Saleh had a grandson, Mohamed, 6, who adore him. Mohamed was his grandpa’s favorite; he would take him for a shopping spree at the little local grocery store. Mohamed saw the drone moving and then saw two missiles falling nearby, his dad called his grandpa seconds ago to ask him to return back home because the area wasn’t safe. He was too late. Mohamed ran and saw his grandpa blown up into pieces; he is in a deep depression now.

Nayef Qarmout, 14, died after an Israeli warplanes fired a missile near a gas station Northern Gaza, Nayef was walking with a group of his friends while on their way back home from school. Nayef’s friends got injured, but he didn’t make it. Mohamed Sa’d, his best friend, said that Nayef was a civilian and too young to think about joining any militant or resistance group.

A father and daughter were also killed by an Israeli attack on Gaza. Ayoub Assaleyah, 17, he was also killed by an Israeli attack on Gaza. He was a civilian and his death left his mother devastated, she is in the hospital now after collapsing due to her little son’s death.

25 stories, 25 devastated families left behind, 80+ injured from which many are critical, homes wrecked, lives changed to the worse, children targeted, elderly targeted, women targeted and Gaza yet survives another dark period.

Let me just remind you that Gaza remains under siege, darkness, lack of power, lack of fuel, lack of gas, lack of water and when you add Israeli attacks to that it immediately equals the bad memories of Israel’s war on Gaza back in 2008.

I wonder when the world will see us as humans instead of just disposal “terrorists”? Why do we have struggle daily to grab just a little piece of normality, tranquility and some peace?

Lets jump to Hana Shalabi, I will also tell you something personal about her instead of just stating a news report about her hunger strike that she started last February (16th) to object the illegal detention of her after her release last October as a part of Shalit swap deal. A quick note before I dive more into Hana Shalabi’s story, Israel has –reportedly- killed and re-imprisoned a number of those freed prisoners as a part of Shalit swap deal. Again, if you are ok with that, then you definitely need to see a doctor to locate a heart beat for you.

Hana is one of nine children in a family of farmers in Burqin village, next to Jenin. On 29 September 2005, Hana’s brother Samer was killed by Israeli forces during an incursion in the village. He had been released from prison for only three months after spending nine months in prison when a group of soldiers came to their farm to re-arrest him and instead shot and killed him and his close friend.

After being released from prison on 18 October, Hana planned to study nursing at Al-Rawda College in Nablus. As she was re-arrested less than four months later, she did not have time to enroll. Ten days after Hana announced her hunger strike, her dad and mom started a hunger strike too. All three are suffering from a deteriorating health that gets worse every day; all three have their lives at risk just to stand against injustice and illegal detention.
Please, go to google and learn more about Hana Shalabi. Decide, on your own, on how you want to help her. Either by telling her story, or signing a petition, or writing about her, and\or any other way you see fit. I will ask you to do your homework, decide the way and then research resources. You will become closer and more personal to Hana, instead of me directing you to links and ways.

And finally, I would like to share a poem that I wrote -rapidly- today. After four days of Israeli attacks on Gaza, the stress caught up to me today and I felt frustrated. I needed a way to let out my anger, frustration and sadness so I wrote this poem. Here it is:

Let me carry your soul
Gently to the sky
May it rest there
What happened to you was inhuman
What happened to you was unfair
May your death bring spring
May your death vanquish despair
May time ease your mother’s cries
Freedom is born when tyranny dies
May your impact heal your mother’s heart
May cruelty end and humanity start
May you rest well
May you smile
In heaven, may you dwell
For victory will come even after awhile
May you be the last sacrifice
May your death bring peace
Your journey was not futile
Your blown up pieces
Collected a homeland
To say the least
Let the birds sing a song
Let the wind sing along
Let us celebrate
The departure of a soul
That led to salvation
For humankind and all
Let this spark ignite a revolution
Let us merge into evolution
Let the departed soul
Be our solution
May we never let you down
When you look down
At us
May we make you proud
May our inner screams
Shake the world with sound
May our inner screams break walls and chains
For the sun will come up
After the sky rains

From Gaza with love,

Omar - March 13th \ 2012

As I turn 25 today: 25 things I am grateful for

As I turn 25 today: 25 things I am grateful for

Gaza, February 28, I would start with expressing how much I like my birthday's date but I would sound self centered. And I am not here to sound self-centered; I am here to announce my decision to bathe in gratitude this year on my birthday. I reached 25 today and although I have MUCH MORE than 25 things to be grateful for, I will choose my best 25.

My close friends have seen how tangible my transformation has been, but for those who don’t know me: I have changed allot along the past few months. 2011, was a year that I will never forgot. It was revolutionary in every sense that this meaning can hold, leaders were toppled, people demanded their freedom, horrendous bloodsheds and it was a clear sign that the world is changing. 

Apparently, I was following that trend “Un-intentionally”. I ended up changing too. Sometimes, I don’t even recognize my past self. Don’t get me wrong, the real Omar is still there and the old Omar is still camping on me but the new Omar is a spontaneous operation that started happening and still is.

I like 25 –Not because the numbers are nice or it’s the half of 50 and all this crap-, I like 25 because I can honestly say that now: I know myself a little better, I know the world a little better, I know god a little better, I know what I want a little better and I know you a little better. I appreciate things more, I enjoy things more, I no longer tolerate drama or people’s crap and I no longer seek validation from people who just wanna use me. I am becoming who I am, I am meant to be and I want to be. For me, this is big.

I was frightened to death from this transformation because as Maya Angelou once said: “If you know better, you would\should\could do better”, she is right. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do better if I knew better but GLADLY I was wrong. I try and will try to do better now that I know better, and I will always seek more knowledge to know better so I can do better even if that scares the crap out of me. I was also afraid because my change will upset many close people to my heart –and it did- and I might lose them but it will be their choice –and it is- not mine. He\she who doesn’t accept me for who I am, doesn’t deserve me –This is my new mantra-.

Ok time to shut up now and state the 25 things I thank god for –No matter how much I thank god it will never be enough for he has given me endless blessings, gifts and things to be grateful for-, here we go:

1-      My faith and how it gets 10 times stronger after a little weakness.

2-      My Vulnerability that keeps me grounded, human, humble and grateful.

3-      My family because you might lose anything but you will never lose your family.

4-      My mom who passed away when I was 9 but lived in my heart since then, she planted in me seeds that will always grow, which means she will always be with me J love you mom.

5-      Nano and his upcoming brother\sister (Adnan Abdullah a.k.a. Nano who is my nephew and the best gift that god and dareen –my sister- gave me).

6-      Ziad, My best friend. Because no matter what happens, we will always watch each other’s backs and be there for each other.

7-      All my friends (class mates, social media friends, university friends, ALL MY FRIENDS EVERYWHERE because every1 of them made a difference in my life).

8-      My Grandma who raised me like a son and a grandchild and was always there for me. <3

9-      My life in Cyprus Island that might not be long but left positive precipitations that will stay forever with me and made a huge impact on my personality.

10-   Being Palestinian because I would wanna be Palestinian if I wasn’t. I would be a different person if I wasn’t Palestinian. It made me who I am now.

11-   Palestine because this entity and existence taught me love, existence, UNARMED resistance and LIFE.

12-   Writing because the gift of writing gave me the ability to slowly discover myself and my voice and more importantly have my voice heard and express myself freely. And poetry, because it helped give my imaginations so many other and renewable dimensions.

13-   Latin Patriarchate School and Holly family school because the 1st gave me the best years of my childhood life with the best friends, teachers and school ever. And the 2nd meant the transformation from childhood to adolescence and a whole new phase with the same awesome friends and teachers.

14-   Social media for helping us reach out to people, participate in global revolutions and spread the truth about Palestine and Gaza.

15-   Gaza. Imagine you were walking in a gallery and a breathtaking portrait caught your eye and you couldn’t stop looking at it. Infact, you kept coming everyday to just look at it. Well, I live in this portrait J

16-   My love for pets and animals in General because it made me more humane, hating animals can turn a person into a cruel monster. I said “CAN”, please don’t hold that against me.

17-   A little more knowledge everyday, because knowledge is power.

18-   My English language because it made my life 100 times easier than other people here in Gaza.

19-   My family’s financial status that enabled me to study at good schools, universities and be able to do some of the things that I like even though we aren’t rich. My financial status, I am not rich yet I am independent and I get to live how I want to live and do most of the things I like.

20-   My integrity that helped me make numerous friends for life without needing anything from them. Thank you god, Thank you god and Thank you god.

21-   My love for art, culture and music that introduced color to my life, without these things my life would be black and white à BORING “in my personal opinion about my life, you might be living a black and white life and enjoying it” J

22-   My laptop. My first big purchase and my best investment because it was the gate for priceless things and moments. It means allot to me.

23-   My humanity that enables my heart ache whenever I see a child crying, an elder suffering, an animal hurting, injustice ruling, oppression camping and Palestine bleeding.

24-   Change. The change that happened to me, to the world and my ability to spot positive change; seek positive change, work for a better change and thrive for a better change.

25-   Kareem. For being in my life as a second dad, friend, mentor, a person who is brutally honest with me, knows me very well, always there for me no matter what, incorporates me in his family, sets me straight, listens to me and offers me unconditional fatherly love.

Ok that’s all folks. Feel free to tell me what you are grateful for, why did you wake up smiling today? What do you wanna thank god for? …etc.

I wanna also thank you all for being a part of my birthday.

With love, gratitude, respect and hugs,

Omar from Gaza

Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all others - Cicero