That was
little Adam's question for his mother when I came to visit their house,
just before leaving the village of At-Tuwani for a brief trip home to the United States. Adam is 3 years old.
His mother tells me that he wants his father to come home from jail and
bring him ice cream. "Adam is upset," she says. Looking at her eyes, I
can tell that she is too. So am I.
Adam's father was arrested
on March 28th, just a few days ago. A group of 8 to 10 Israeli settlers from Havot Ma'on, an illegal Israeli settlement outpost, came inside the village of At-Tuwani where they found Adam's father and his
grandfather. The settlers sprayed them with an aerosol substance, which
I can only imagine was pepper spray. They hit Adam's father in the
eyes. Soon, the settlement guard arrived, a man everyone in Tuwani
knows all too well. He was followed by the Israeli army and total chaos
began to unfold. The settlement guard accused Adam's father of breaking
his sun glasses. While the settlers who attacked Adam's father and
grandfather stood by, Israeli police arrested Adam's father. They
didn't listen to the Palestinians who witnessed the settler attack.
They didn't question the settlers. The police forced Adam's father,
still seriously injured, into a police van and took him away. There was
nothing anyone could do.
Sitting in Adam's house, I try to
find a way to convey my feelings of anguish in my limited Arabic.
Adam's mother is unfailingly gracious. Making terribly situations seem
funny is an art practiced by many Palestinians and perfected by Adam's
family. Somehow, we laugh while we drink our tea. Then Adam's mother
tells me how the settlement guard threatened Adam's father, "If he sees
him again, he will kill him," she says. "Then, he said, there will no
more problems." My mouth drops open upon hearing this threat on
Adam's father's life. My Arabic fails me utterly. "Really? That's bad."
I say. Adam's mother laughs.
"Momma, when I'm big will I go to jail like Daddy?" Adam asks.
"No, when you are big, God willing, this will be Palestine." she answers, smiling.
I wrap myself in the words of this beautiful and strong woman and praise God that she still has hope.
A note: lots of information recently posted to my blog! Take a look:
inpalestine.blogspot.com
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inpalestine.blogspot.com