Dear Brothers and Sisters,
When hardships and crises intensify in the world, a generation from the bottom of the Earth is born to radiate Peace and Hope, and that generation is radiating Peace and Hope from a city in the heart of Palestine called Jericho, and it is the intention of that generation to touch every country, city, and street in the world with that message.
It is our intention to let the sun shine from our hearts, a sun that is filled with Love and Hope, that proves to the world that this generation is able to take people out of darkness, and into the light. It is a generation that challenges all obstacles; a generation that came from nothing to do everything. This generation is called the Abrahamic Reunion Youth!
Our story is not like all stories, and our program is not like all programs, and this report is completely different from the rest of the reports.
Our program drew smiles, and made the earth pulsate with hope. It broke the closures, and challenged the viruses, and emitted light into the world from the heart of Palestine!
Preparation period
About a month ago I started preparing for my February program, which I intended
to be a special program called “Mural” for the youth in Palestine.
At the time, I intended to create a mural for Peace on one of the main walls surrounding Jericho, so that the thousands of visitors who enter the city each day would see our message.
To do a mural event in Jericho requires a lot of coordination.
First, I visited the Jericho Government offices to obtain the permits that are necessary to do such an event, and then I visited the Jericho municipality to get their permission as well.
Then the next day I went to the home of the well-known Palestinian artist “Samer Khamis” to coordinate with him, so he could be a major part of overseeing this event.
Samer Khamis is a well-known artist from Palestine. He started painting as a small child and dazzled all of his relatives with his creative work when he was young. During his school years, his teachers were also amazed by his talent. By the time he was fourteen, local and international institutions, centers, and associations, became involved in watching, and buying Samer’s paintings! Unfortunately, due to his imprisonment by the Israeli army at the age of sixteen, Samer did not receive a university education, but in spite of this, the Palestinian characters in Samer’s paintings have motivated people to display his paintings in Europe, and in other countries around the world, where he has had many international exhibitions. Samer is an artist who loves humanity, and to this day he strives to inspire love, peace and hope in the hearts of all people.
During my visit with Samer Khamis I coordinated his participation in the Abrahamic Reunion’s Mural painting event.
Then, on the same day, I also called on the youth from Nablus to invite them to the “Mural” event.
Everything was fine, and I was so ready and enthusiastic to carry out this program.
But fate willed, and at a glance everything changed!
(COVID-19) Corona virus
The following day, everyone announced the unexpected spread of the (COVID-19) Corona virus, a virus that has caused the deaths of people from many countries throughout the world. “My condolences to them.”
Initially, it was very normal here in Palestine, but on that day, after a few hours, the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior, and the Palestinian Ministry of Health began publishing several edicts stipulating that people should not leave their homes, and that they should not travel between cities!
I began to have many fears! I wanted to implement the “Mural” program! Everything was coordinated and ready!
I went to my father and told him what had happened, and my father contacted some of his friends in the Palestinian police department. They told him that the situation had become very tense, and they did not know what would happen if I did this event!
Perhaps my strong insistence for implementing this program was not good, because in spite of this warning, the next day I went to the event site, and waited for the participants to arrive from around Palestine.
Disappointment
At half past eleven in the morning, despite the start of the city closures throughout Palestine, Samer and the other young participants began to arrive.
Once we had gathered, I welcomed everyone and introduced myself as the program director of the Abrahamic Reunion in Palestine. I described the various activities and programs that the Abrahamic Reunion has done in the past and I also introduced the programs we were planning for the future.
After a few minutes, two Palestinian police vehicles drove up and the police started talking to me. They told me that what we were doing was not allowed, and that we must leave immediately!
I told them that I had all of the necessary permits to carry out this event, but they said: “It does not matter, you must all leave immediately!”
We were all so disappointed, but we left, and the participants returned to their home cities and we postponed our event!
After that, every day that passed was difficult, and I felt more and more tense because I had not carried out this event, even though I knew that this difficult situation was not only limited to Palestine, and our supporters were also being affected by similar situations.
Quarantine
Perhaps some of you do not know that besides working for the Abrahamic Reunion I also work as a cashier in an ancient tourist area called Qumran near the Dead Sea, and every day I deal with many tourists from all over the world.
So, a few days later, while I was working in Qumran, a tour bus driver carrying a group of Greek tourists came to purchase products from the Dead Sea.
The next day news spread across social media, that the same driver who had visited us the day before was infected with the (COVID-19) Corona virus!
Fear possessed me and I became very anxious.
I was not afraid of being infected with the virus, but I was afraid that if I had the virus, what would they do? Would I be taken far from my family? How would I carry out my “Mural” event?
How could I write about hope, love, and peace for humanity, if I was in that situation!
Soon I would find out.
The following day, after hearing that I had interacted with that driver, the Palestinian police took me to the quarantine center in Jericho and I was compelled to stay there for 10 days.
While I was in quarantine, the medical staff performed many tests on me, and for 10 days I was waiting for the results of those tests.
For ten days I was away from my family. I was away from my father, who had recently had a back surgery.
I spent ten days thinking about my “Mural” program.
For ten days I was wondering if I was a carrier of the virus, and how that would affect my family, my friends, and my colleagues in the Abrahamic Reunion.
Those ten days felt like ten years!!
Eventually, after nine days, the doctor in charge came and said to me, congratulations, Muhammad, you are not infected, and you will be able to return to your home tomorrow morning!
I couldn’t control myself, and I started to cry. The reason for my tears was not because I did not carry the virus, the reason for my crying was the relief I felt that I could embrace my family again, and I would be able to implement my “Mural” program.
I returned to my house on Sunday morning March 15, 2020 and when I returned, I embraced my family, and spent some time with them, and then I reached out to Samer Khamis and the participants in the “Mural” Project and I began to put the program back in motion.
I said to myself, my “Mural” program will be done tomorrow, whatever the price!
Program implementation
On Monday, March 16, 2020 at eleven o’clock in the morning, I went to the site of the event, and I put a table in front the wall, and I brought water and coffee, and I waited for the participants from around Palestine to arrive.
At half past eleven, Samer Khamis arrived at the site, and together we arranged the paint buckets and other supplies, and brought buckets of water and other equipment for the Mural project.
I called the participants from the other Palestinian cities outside of Jericho to check on them and they told me that the Palestinian police were preventing them from entering Jericho due to the strict quarantine rules. Since they would not be able to participate, they were returning to their homes cities.
However, after a few minutes, approximately twenty-five participants, and male and female, Islamic and Christian arrived from Jericho.
Youth who defied the decisions, youth who defied the viruses, youth who defied the closures, youth who put themselves at risk for the Abrahamic Reunion.
I started gathering the participants and I thanked them very much for coming, and then I briefly talked with them about the Abrahamic Reunion and our important activities, and then together with the artist Samer we all started to draw a seven-meter mural on the wall.
Happy faces, wide smiles, loud laughs, great hope, challenges, and deep peace owned our hearts as we worked.
As we drew, we used the facemasks and gloves to take precautions in these difficult circumstances. We also complied with the distancing regulations and kept space between us for fear that the police would come and prevent us from completing the activity.
At three in the afternoon, we finished drawing a beautiful painting. The painting was entitled “This Land is for Everyone”
The painting depicted people of different colors and
nationalities holding hands with each other and dancing to the music of love,
hope and peace, to prove to the whole world that this land is for everyone and
that we are all human beings.
There is no difference between us, white or black, Christians, Jews, or Muslims,
even if you are without a belief, be with us.
Let yourself transcend and embrace the depth of the dream, son of Adam. God created you as different, so He blessed you with your difference, admittedly in your uniqueness, be professional … Be the successor of God on earth with your difference, and do not follow the herd. Live free, son of Adam, this land is for everyone.
After we finished drawing the painting, we all took a memorial photo in front of the mural, and then some of the participants signed the mural by coloring the palms of their hands with paint and pressing them on the wall. Then we wrote the name of the association ” Abrahamic Reunion” on one of the corners of the Mural!
After we finished cleaning up, we went to a public garden adjacent to the event area and we ate a lunch of rice and chicken, milk and soft drinks there.
As everyone ate, I thanked them for coming, and I thanked them for facing all of the obstacles to complete this program. This mural and its meaningful message will be seen by thousands of visitors coming to the city in the near future.
At five o’clock in the evening, we all left the garden and returned to our homes in safety and peace.
My Brothers and Sisters, over the past ten years I have participated in, established and implemented many peace activities throughout Palestine, but this activity was very different, the challenges were many, and the depth of commitment was very deep.
I thank everyone and everything that supported me and enabled me to implement this program, whether near or far!
Mohamad Jamous is the AR Programs Director in Palestine, and can be reached at mohamad@abrahamicreunion.org.
