His Blood Mixed with the Strawberries

Eisa narrates his story saying: "In the autumn vacation, after the first study semester, the alarm clock tolled at 7 am, so I got up and thought of playing. There were no places for playing except in the strawberry farm, near our home. I called out my cousins and my friends and together we went to play in the farm. Suddenly, we heard sound of shootings, and thus we hidden behind a wall there. When we decided to get out from there, a rocket was fired by Israeli airplanes and exploded between us, then, I lost my conscious...

I opened my eyes and found myself in the hospital; I learnt that some of my friends were killed and others were injured like me.

In the very beginning, I felt very pain and angry; I cried and became very grieve; and when I'm alone, I hallucinate and began talking and inquiring: why am I in this case? Sometimes I say: it is my fate, and I should accept it. When I look at the kids in the neighborhoods whom I was playing and running with, and often winning the competition; now, they are walking and playing, but I cannot; I hate getting out of my home to be shown handicapped, disabled. I feel very sad when I see them sympathetic with me, or they say "How awful, this child is handicapped; he cant move"

Eisa's Father who lost his job inside Israel since the closure of Gaza crossings says: "My son, Eisa, doesn’t accept his disability; he is very nervous, and hurt his younger brothers by beating them or screaming at them. He destroys everything in the home, especially the movable parts of it. For instance, his wheel chairs, he breaks its wheels until it is immovable. Recently, he has broken the computer desk's wheels. He needs nothing inside the home moving since he lost the ability to move and walk.

Enough Please..?!

Tala is a 10 year old child, living in the Al-Fayrouz Towers in Gaza city, describing the incidents she experienced in July, 2007: ''once upon a time, in a day full of fear and panic, the clashes between Hamas and Fateh broken; and shooting fire increased; all people are frightened; they left their homes and apartments, into their relatives', or descended into the ground floor; sitting in the bathrooms, or the house paths, as bullets and missiles cannot reach these places.

I'm living in an apartment opposite to my grandparents'. I was very frightened about them from injury, death or demolishing their homes. Fear was very tremendous; I attached to my mother and still praying to God to protect my grandparents and their apartment. My uncles are working in the security apparatus, so I was worried about them from being killed by Hamas militants. In the same time, I was worried about my paternal uncles who are bearded and praying in the mosques, so I was worried about them from Fateh militants. I was clinging to my mother and walking behind her to protect me…

The radio sound was very loud, and everyone was listening carefully to the breaking news in order to keep acquainted with what was going on outside. Once, they say that militants withdrew, then we shocked by the sever bombing of the missiles and bullets.

All of a sudden, my grandparents' apartment was bombarded by missile, and then a heavy smoke rose out from inside. I thought that my grandfather injured because he refused to get down to the ground floor. My body trembled of panic and began praying to God to protect my grandfather from being injured or burned. "Thanks for God; my grandfather could escape out of the apartment in the last few moments."

I hoped to get out to the street and scream at the utmost of my voice: "Enough, enough, you are one people, brothers and friends. It is awful what you are doing; stop it. You are scaring us; enough please, enough…!"

I hope disputes end, and we live in peace and security. Sometimes I dream to escape far away in the space, and live in the farthest planet, Pluto, until this conflict ends. However, this might last for a very long time; meanwhile I will be frozen and dead.

Sometimes, I think of affiliating to a military group and become a martyr. The occupation is the main cause that makes us hate each others, kill each other, may Allah answer me…"