Monday, August 18, 2014

Home…

It comes naturally to children the desire to play. Running outdoors to enjoy the sunshine, laughing as a breeze plays with their hair and building a sand castle on the beach. All families allowed their children to fulfil their natural desire to play outdoors except one family. This family kept their children indoors at all times. It might seem cruel, but there is a story behind this.   

Once upon a time there was a man named Pal. He lived in a house that his ancestors lived in for hundreds of years. A house that he holds lots of pride in. A house that its key has been passed on from one generation to another. Pal lived in a peaceful city. He and his family planted olive trees and fished in the sea. A life that seemed perfect and joyful. A life that most of us can relate to. A roof over our head, a job to sustain us, and family and friends to enjoy happy moments with. 

One odd day a man named Brit knocked on Pal’s door. Brit told Pal that he is no longer capable of running his own home. Brit will take over and manage Pal’s house. Although Pal complained but under a shot gun there wasn’t much he could do. Pal thought that this situation might end soon if he can prove he is capable of running his own home. Unfortunately, Pal wasn’t given a chance.

Under the mandate of Brit a strange thing happened. A Polish friend of Brit, named Zion, came to visit him. Zion said that he wanted a house to live in. Brit replied that he had the right house for him. It is a house under his custody. There was just one problem, its owner! Pal still lived in his home. Zion assured Brit that he is capable of kicking the rightful owner out of the house and take it over. Brit and Zion agreed and Brit signed the house to Zion. 

One dark night Zion attacked Pal’s house. Pal and his family were startled and didn’t know what was happening. Zion was shouting “get out! get out!”. Pal’s kids were crying of fear and his wife was trying to calm them down. Pal said “but this is my home, I have nowhere else to go”. At this moment Pal received a hard hit with Zion’s rifle. Pal fell on the floor and his wife and kids ran towards him. Pal’s teenage son couldn’t handle seeing his dad beaten. His blood boiled as he saw a grin on Zion’s face. He couldn’t help but run toward Zion like a raging lion but how much bravery can last in front of a rifle’s barrel. It was not long before a sound of a bullet shot was heard. Pal’s teenage son was shot by Zion. 

Red blood started covering Pal’s home. Screams, tears and fears filled the air. Pal and his teenage son were on the floor and the rest of the family in shock. Heartless Zion didn’t even soften when blood was gushing from the boy’s heart. He went on demanding to get out of the house. Pal put an effort to stand up and walked toward his son to pull him away. Pal told his family to leave the house and run for their safety while he pulled his injured son. The family left and on their way out tried to grab whatever they can from their belongings. Time didn’t allow them to take much. It all felt like a dream, but in reality they are now in the back yard of their home. 

The family needed a roof over their heads in that dark cold night. The only roof out there was that of the shed in their back yard. Pal and his family took shelter in the shed. There were little facilities in there, but at least it is a place to stay until they understand what happened and care after their wounded son. There was not much that they could have done for their son. It was only moments before he passed away. The family spent the whole night around their murdered son. In their hearts was anger and fear mixed with grief and mourning. It all seemed like a nightmare. They couldn’t make any sense of it all. 

It was painful to have to bury such a young man, but it was a must. They had to wait till the morning to do that. The following day Pal tried to leave the shed to arrange for this son’s burial. As he opened the shed’s door, gun shots were fired towards him. He realised that he will not be allowed to leave the shed. He will forever be imprisoned in there. An eternal siege. This realisation was not accepted by Pal’s other children. They insisted to fight this imprisonment but for now they have to bury their brother under the shed.  

Day after day Pal’s children tried to open the door and run toward their home. A reunion that seemed impossible for they are constantly faced with guns. They didn’t have weapons to fight back and free their home from its robbers. Their weapons were only rocks they collected from their back yard. Rocks thrown toward Zion were met by live bullets. It might seem as an unbalanced power, but Pal’s children knew that truth is the greatest power of all. For sure if people heard their story they would rule justice for them. They will be freed and their home be given back to them. If only their voice could be heard! Since a voice can be very threatening, Zion made sure that Pal’s children are never seen nor heard. Not only that, but Zion also thought that maybe by wearing a white collar he could hide his crime from people and remove any suspicions toward him.  

The years went by yet the situation has not changed. Pal and his family longed for their home. When Pal’s new born children grew up they kept asking their dad why are they in this crowded shed? Why can’t they go out to play? Pal used to take them to the cracks in the shed’s wall and show them their ancestors home. He showed them its key that he still possess. A key that he kept hanging on the shed’s wall. Pal’s children couldn’t give up their dream of returning one day to their home. They were determined to fight or die in that cause even if no one out there supported them. 

Zion had family living in every corner of the world. He called upon them to migrate to his newly occupied home after he settled in it. They accepted and moved in with him. The house became crowded and an expansion deemed necessary. Zion built an extension to the house. This took a big piece of land from the back yard. Expansion after expansion brought Zion to the door steps of the shed. Pal and his offspring need to be harassed to evacuate or killed to clear the land. 

Zion thought that with time Pal and his family will give up their quest to take back their home. With time even Pal’s neighbours will forget that it was Pals’ house and start calling it Zion’s house. Although more than sixty years have passed and Pal is no longer among the living, his offspring still could see their home from the shed’s cracks and still called it home. It was impossible to forget. Zion’s offspring also followed their father’s footsteps. They continued to hold the gun to protect the house they stole.

The Pals constant resistance gave the Zions no rest. A resistance that must be stopped at any price if Zion’s expanding family could enjoy their stolen house. The Zions started to imprison anyone from the Pals who dare to leave the shed or fight to get their home back. Some of the Pals were taken away as prisoners by the Zions to locations not known and visits not allowed. Not only that but the Zions built a tall wall to stop the Pals from coming near their home. A wall that will deprive them from even seeing their home. 

The Zions used every weapon possible to terminate the Pals, but they were not able to. More than sixty years have passed and the battle continues. A battle between the Zions who came from Poland to steel a house and the Pals who still possess its key.

If you were in Pal’s shoes and someone drove you out of your home under the force of a shot gun, what would you do? Would you leave your home and look for another place to live? Or would you continue to fight back to reclaim it? You might think that it is more sensible to take it back through law, as it is more befitting a civilised world. Pal and his offspring have been calling for more than 60 years on the law to have their home back. How many more years does the law needs to bring justice to Pal’s case. How many more years before Pal can take his key and open the front door of his rightful home?

Help the Pals to return home!


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Pal: Palestine
Zion: Zionist state of Israel
Shed: Gaza and the west bank 
Brit: British government
Law: International law









   




              

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