aud’acious

People have been suffering in Gaza for a long time with water shortages and random border closings, etc.  It’s been a difficult place to live for a long time; most of it is covered in refugee camps.  The Palestinians that live there seem different to me than the ones I meet in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  There is an Arabic song that some of the Palestinian teenagers wrote recently through the help of a group called Sabreen located in Jerusalem.  West Bank teenagers were writing songs about their lives but a boy named Muhammed was not able to participate except over the internet because he lived in Gaza.  They put together a song in honor of him about Gaza being like a prison.  That was before all the recent attacks.

What I think is most interesting is how warm and welcoming the people of Gaza were to me and my friends when we visited prior to 9/11.  A family invited us into their home and the women who wore the black burkas from head to toe let us try them on in their homes.  At that moment looking at myself in the mirror with a black burka in Gaza I felt very honored and felt a connection to the people there.

I hope the people there will find peace.