A Blog by Mohamad Jamous
March 15th, 2020
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
About a month ago I started preparing for a special program called “Mural” for the youth in Palestine.
I wanted to create a Peace mural on one of the main walls surrounding Jericho, so that the thousands of visitors who enter the city each day would see our message.
A mural event requires a lot of coordination.
First, I had to obtain permits from the government authorities. Then I visited the Palestinian artist “Samer Khamis” to coordinate with him, so he could oversee this event. I also invited youth from around Palestine to participate.
But then they announced the unexpected spread of the Coronavirus.
The Palestinian authorities said people should not leave their homes, and they should not travel between cities!
Despite the start of city closures throughout Palestine, Samer and the other young participants arrived at 11:30 AM the next day to begin. But after a few minutes, the Palestinian police also arrived and told us that we must leave immediately.
We were disappointed, but we postponed our event!
I returned to my day job at a tourist center near the Dead Sea, where every day I deal with many tourists from all over the world.
While I was working there, a tour bus driver came with a group to our center.
The next day news spread throughout Palestine that the same driver who had visited us the day before was infected with the Coronavirus!
I became very afraid.
I was afraid they would quarantine me 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 quarantine?
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.
The medical staff performed many tests on me, and for 10 days I waited for the results.
I was away from my family. And I spent ten days thinking about my “Mural” program.
I wondered if I was a carrier of the virus, and thought how I may have infected my family, my friends, and my colleagues in the Abrahamic Reunion.
Those ten days felt like ten years!!
Eventually, the doctors came and said to me, Muhammad, you are not infected, and you can return to your home tomorrow morning!
I couldn’t control myself, and I started to cry. I felt such the relief that I could embrace my family and start my “Mural” program.
I returned to my house and spent a few hours there, but then I reached out to Samer, and the participants in the “Mural” Project and I began to put the program back together.
The next morning, Samer arrived at the site, and together we arranged everything for the Mural project. After a while twenty-five participants, and male and female, Islamic and Christian arrived.
I thanked them for coming, and I briefly talked with them about the Abrahamic Reunion and our important activities, then together with Samer, we started to draw a seven-meter mural on the wall.
As we drew, we used the facemasks and the gloves.
We made a beautiful painting entitled “This Land is for Everyone”, which depicts people of different colors and nationalities holding hands and dancing. Be with us and embrace the depth of that dream. This land is for everyone.
We painted the palms of their hands and pressed them on the wall and wrote “Abrahamic Reunion” on the mural and took a memorial photo.
Then we went to a public garden and we ate lunch.
I thanked everyone for completing this program. This mural and its meaningful message will be seen by thousands of visitors to Jericho.
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 who enabled me to implement this program.
Mohamad Jamous is the AR Programs Director in Palestine, and can be reached at mohamad@abrahamicreunion.org.
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