Tuesday 25 August 2019
written by Mohamad Jamous – Palestinian Programs Director
The family is a small country in which we live, and for this small country we live and die.
It is the family that creates warmth and love and fear in us. Whenever we talk about family, our words will not suffice to describe the family, whether we are describing the father, the mother, or the brothers, or the sisters! Especially if I talk here about my family, this simple and poor family that sacrificed everything to raise their kids to become peace makers.
I grew up in a family, which contains my dad, my mom, five sisters and two brothers and me.
And let me mention here that we grew up in a very difficult situation, I remember many difficult times when we didn’t have the money to buy a bundle of bread, and I remember the hot summer days in my city of Jericho when we spent days without electricity because we didn’t have the money to pay the utility bills, and in spite of all these difficult times, my parents continued to raise us and give us the best education!
Since we were young, we learned from my parents how to love and respect all people without distinction of color, shape, gender or nationality. They planted in us the love of the “other”, no matter where they lived, or how they lived.
About a year ago, I heard my mother and father talking to each other about their wish to visit the city of Jaffa in Israel, to walk in that old town, and to visit the seashore in Jaffa, and since that moment I have been trying hard to get the permits for them to enter Israel, knowing for Palestinians to enter Israel it is not easy, and it requires certain permits!
It has been a whole year and I have been trying hard to get the permits for my family! And then finally, a week ago I was able to secure the permits!” Great joy and great happiness covered the hearts of my family.
At 8 o’clock in the morning we left Jericho and began the long journey toward the checkpoints at the gates of Jerusalem, and then we continued the long drive to Jaffa by minibus.
A few moments before we arrived in Jaffa, we saw a group of young Jewish, Ethiopian children sitting next to one of the buildings in Tel Aviv. In fact, they were showing very badly, they were dressed in dirty, torn clothes, and they were covered with flies.
In that moment I stopped the bus we were traveling in, and I got off and went to them, I spoke to them in Hebrew to find out what was happening, and why they were sitting there!
I discovered from them that they were from a nursery school inside the building, so I rushed to the nursery and saw more than twenty children inside, some of them were crying and some of them were screaming, and some of them were covered by flies. The smell was very annoying in this place! It was like they lived in a prison!
I spoke with the officials at the nursery. They were three women of Ethiopian origin.
I knew about myself as an Arab, Palestinian, Muslim man who had come to Tel Aviv and Jaffa with his family to have a good time, and then I knew about myself as a peacemaker, and as the program director for the Abrahamic Reunion in Palestine.
I talked to them for a little while, and I told them about the activities that I organize for the Abrahamic Reunion, and I described some of the activities that I participate in with my Jewish friends.
And then I asked the officials to take a group of children to a park so they could have a good time and have some clean air. I knew that my family was waiting for me in the bus and they would like this idea a lot!
The officials agreed with this beautiful idea, and I escorted some of the children, and took them to the bus where my family was! My family was surprised that I came back to them with a small group of these children! Broad smiles covered the faces of everyone in my family.
I told the bus driver that we would make a small change in our plans for the day. Now we were going to visit a nearby park to have fun with these kids.
So, we all went to a nearby park, and all my family and I started playing with the kids and having fun.
I felt at this moment two feelings: the first feeling is a feeling of joy because my family and I were able to offer something to these poor children. The second feeling was a sense of fear! What if an Israeli policeman came and knew that I had taken these children to this park? I would have a lot of problems and questions if the police knew that.
I had put myself and my family at risk to give these children the happiness that they really needed. And I don’t regret it!
For me and my family, we spent the most beautiful time that day with these children. And everyone in my family, my mom, my dad, and my sisters and brothers, we all played with these children.
We spent almost two hours with these angels, and then we brought them back to the nursery and we continued on our way to Jaffa!
My family preferred to spend time with these angels instead of going and visiting Jaffa first. A good family demonstrates to others that it is important to create happiness for people who really need it! My mother, my father, and all my family members, and I will never forget the warm hugs from these children today, and from their hugs, we felt how much they needed this love!
I pray to God to keep my beautiful family safe, and I pray to God to keep your families safe!
