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'Dad, why can't Ali Baba end the war in Gaza?'
Written by: Jawad Harb
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Jan. 9, 2009 - 4 am, local time This is the 14th day of the attack. It is 4 am. My six children are so worried, restless and unable to close their eyes. With each airstrike, the house shakes right and left, and the children grab one another like cold rabbits seeking warmth. We feel helpless and victimised. There is nothing worse than being unable to protect your children. Airstrikes are becoming more violent and more horrible. They sound like they are very close to us, chasing us wherever we try to hide. The kind of psychological trauma Gaza's children have been exposed to is unbearable and incurable. My sole objective and mission impossible as a father is to put my kids to sleep. During the past 13 days, I finished all the children's stories my mother used to tell me as a child. The only story left untold is "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves". My children seem interested to listen. I reached the part: "Then Ali Baba climbed down and went to the door concealed among the bushes, and said, 'Open, Sesame!' and the door flew open." Suddenly my six-year-old son opened his eyes, and asked me: "Dad, why can't Ali Baba appear in Gaza and say 'End the war, end the war!' - and then the war would be over?" At night, we hear screaming and crying
Jan 8, 2009 - 4:45 am, local time This is the 13th day of the attack. It is really more horrible than we could ever describe. We feel like the sky is going to attack us. There is nothing worse than being tired, needing to sleep so badly, but being unable to sleep. We feel if we close our eyes for a moment, we will die. It is 4:45 am. My six-year-old son just woke up, and asked me: "Dad, why is it so loud tonight?" He used to hear the bombing further away, which was quieter. He doesn't know that they are targeting houses closer to us tonight. It is the crying of children in the neighborhood with each bombing which hurts us the most. It is unbelievable, and this is the first night we have heard this screaming and crying. Everyone is exhausted. I couldn't help but go downstairs, and was surprised to see almost all my neighbours gathered in the main road by their houses. "It is safer out here. At least we will not be buried under a demolished house," said one of my neighbours. Another bombing happened when I was in the street, and people raised their hands together simultaneously and looked at the sky seeking the help of God, and it looked like they all agreed to do this at the same time. The air strikes kept coming, one after another, with people looking to the sky seeking the help of God. Children continued to scream and cry with every bombing, and I continued to recall the words of my youngest son: "Dad, why is it so loud tonight?" For a few hours, life was almost normal
Jan 7, 2009 - 4:30 pm, local time My children are all sleeping. They went to sleep three hours ago, when the bombs stopped for the ceasefire. For three hours, it was totally silent. No bombs. They look so peaceful. Last night, none of us slept at all. The bombs were falling every five minutes. It was a terrible night. You can't sleep with the war going on. As soon as the bombs stopped for the ceasefire, the shops in my neighbourhood opened. My neighbours rushed outside to buy food. They ran, because nobody believed that the ceasefire would last the full three hours. They were afraid there would be an airstrike anytime. People bought food - rice, macaroni, cheese, salt, sugar, eggs. These are the only things left in the stores. Food is now very expensive. We had electricity for four hours today, which means we had water. We washed our clothes, pumped water, and bathed the children. This is the first time I have ever been excited to wash clothing! For a few hours, life was almost normal. The airstrikes just started again. I can see the smoke through the window, a few hundred metres away. It's right in front of me - black smoke. I am afraid. With the bombs, it's not what you hear, it's what you feel. It's like an earthquake. The houses is swinging, left to right. It's like an underground wave that moves under the houses. My children are waking up. The ceasefire is over. We will hope again for tomorrow's ceasefire, when we can sleep for a few hours again. It will be another long night.
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15 responses to “'Dad, why can't Ali Baba end the war in Gaza?'”
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09 Jan 2009 18:15:24 GMT
Human life has become so cheap and dangerous in Gaza. Every Day break is a challenge for innocent children elderly and sick peoples. I had gone through similar situation in northern Srilanka several years ago. The situation has not changed since like that in Gaza today and several people are killed daily by land and air attack. A peace agreement like that in Gaza was broken by Srilank after five years of failed implementations. Another truce in Gaza and Srilanka is opposed by some interested parties for the same reasons. Cease-fire agreement and truce they say strengthen the rebels always and bring pressure on others for a political settlement of the conflicts. A political settlement for a lasting peace in these conflicts will only affect the basic fundamentals behind some of these nations in conflicts. It is very important for these nation to maintain these polices they will always reject in toto all truce.
10 Jan 2009 12:29:45 GMT
I feel very bad for the writer, but it's ironic that he says "There is nothing worse than being unable to protect your children." yes, I imagine that is what the Israelis have thought for the past 3 years, as rocket after rocket has been fired from Gaza into their country at THEIR children. and this is AFTER they gave Gaza over to the Palestinians, who then voted a terrorist organization into power.
I don't want to see any children die, Israeli or Palestinian. but I find it strange that 3 years of Qassams from Gaza is acceptable to the world, yet Israel retaliating is not. Jawad, if you care about your children (and Hamas certainly doesn't care about them) you need to tell your leaders to recognize Israel and stop shelling them, and the fighting will stop.10 Jan 2009 12:30:31 GMT
When a people are given democracy and choose to elect leaders who continually bombard a neighboring country with explosive rockets -- WHAT DO YOU EXPECT AS A REPONSE, EXACTLY? Flowers and chocolate? A guilded copy of the Quoran?
/no quarter for those who purposefully select self-destruction.10 Jan 2009 12:31:35 GMT
From what I understand, the people of Gaza had a democratic election and elected people from Hamas to be their leaders. Then those leaders, for reasons that seemed perfectly valid to them, chose to launch missles at Israel. Now Israel is responding with military force.
I guess the Hamas leaders either have to 1) destroy Israel or 2) learn to deal with them peacefully. I think Ali Baba would choose option 2).10 Jan 2009 12:35:10 GMT
Can we please get some material on here that represents both sides of the conflict.
10 Jan 2009 12:36:32 GMT
All I can do is send Love,Light and prayers for everyone their especially for the children.Peace and Blessings for All.Prayer for Peace.
11 Jan 2009 17:12:21 GMT
The killing of 250 children by the Israeli Army, is this not a war crime, an atrocity? What view does the Inernational Court of Justice in the Hague take?
11 Jan 2009 17:17:26 GMT
I have seen comments here whose writers are justifying the killing of innocent Paestinian civilians including whole families by the Israeli bombardment on highly dense areas in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has been caegorized as a terrorist organization specifically for killing civilians. If we all agree to this principled approach then this Israeli killing machine will also fit in such category and should be referred to as such. For me, a terrorist government is far more frightening than a terrorist organization. There is no justification whatsoever for killing civilians and international law including the Geneva convention says so. To pressure Hamas to release an ubducted Israeli soldier, Israel who chose not to risk the lives of a few soldiers in a military operation to release him has imposed a strict seige on the Gaza strip with its 1.5 Million civilians for the last 18 months preventing the entry of basic humanitarian supplies and rendering 80% of the population completely dependant on foreign aid and boosting the buisness of smuggling across the borders with Egypt; to the innocent civilian in Gaza, this is collective punishment. Israel could have negotiated the terms of the truce without launching such a war except for it needed more winnning cards for the negotiations, war being a "loud part of negotiation" and Hamas needed the rockets as their own winning card and the innocent civilians in Gaza and Israel are paying for this bloody negotiation with their own blood.
11 Jan 2009 17:18:51 GMT
While more than 800 Palestinians have been killed, it is the image of three starving children recently found clinging to their mothers killed by Israelis that has been seared into my brain.
May God, the most Just, Compassionate and Merciful, give the Palestinians patience and endurance during this severe trial. May He grant them continued courage and strength. May God strengthen peace-loving Jews in America, Israel and around the world who are raising their voices against this massacre and these horrifying crimes against humanity. May God guide the Israeli and American leadership to liberate Palestinians from their occupation. May God help all of us be just.11 Jan 2009 17:20:27 GMT
Pierre, this is a humanitarian news website. There is no humanitarian emergency on the Israeli side of the border. It is unsurprising, then, that most of the coverage is of Palestinian suffering.
Steven, your claim that the Palestinians were "given" democracy is incorrect. The first Palestinian Authority election was held in 1996, and was 'home-grown' rather than imposed on, or organised for, them. Incidentally, your reference to the Qur'an is yet more evidence of the lamentable inability of "Western" people to distinguish between Arab and Muslim. Could've been a guilded copy of the Bible, couldn't it? And Mr Stanley, that is somewhat like blaming all Americans for the policies of the Bush administration. 56% of Palestinian voters voted against Hamas in the 2006 elections. However, I can well understand that Hamas' electioneering was greatly helped by the fact that a large proportion of Gaza's population is barred from returning home to what was once their own land, taken by Israel with no compensation. The dream of being at home again is a powerful motivation. That is definitely not to say that I condone any of this fighting - however I can understand both viewpoints. They are both wrong, though. On top of that, both Hamas and the Israeli government are responsible for countless war crimes. "It's difficult because of the population density" is no excuse. Ms Walker: precisely.11 Jan 2009 17:23:10 GMT
Incredibly sad that the leaders of these two nations march blindly toward confrontation for years and we all acquiesce until it becomes a horror show. 1) the palestinians must recognize the Jewish state and start preventing rather fomenting terrorism and 2) the Israeli must unimprision Gazans and allow them the unalienable freedoms we take for granted.
11 Jan 2009 17:24:17 GMT
Hundreds of innocent people are getting killed and the idiots on this blog are talking about measly rockets that barely killed anyone. It is because of unjust people like you that innocent children and women are getting killed. Everyone has a right to defend themselves, but no one can justify the mass killings that Israel is performing on the people of Gaza. God be with them. To those who lost their lives, may they rest in peace.
11 Jan 2009 17:25:50 GMT
I read the first paragraph and was close to tears and even now I am struggling to hold back the tears. I don't know the answers because the world doesn't want to listen, if it did then our political leaders and religious leaders would find the will somehow to put an end to the endless atrocities sucking the life and soul out of our world. Mankind can choose to make war or it can choose to live in peace. Like Eva, I can only pray, pray for divine intervention, to hope and keep faith in a loving god who loves us all.
13 Jan 2009 09:27:51 GMT
I am suffering for the people of Gaza, especially the children--those left orphaned, mutilated, displaced, hungry, traumatized. And the dead; and those who died slow, unspeakable deaths because help couldn't reach them in time. My heart bleeds for them.
This is no longer a DEFENSIVE ATTACK. It has now become an OFFENSIVE ATTACK. And no amount of "every country has the right to protect its citizens" rhetoric can make this situation right. You don't protect your children by murdering hundreds of others and mutilating thousands more. That's not justice; that's not even eye-for-an-eye. That is WAR CRIMES, plain and simple. And Israel will one day have to answer for the carnage and destruction they have created in Gaza. I know that when all this is over, people need to line up and do all they can to help the victims of this horrific attack--whether sending donations or physically going down there and counseling children. The world is watching. And the world is angry. Just look at all the demonstrations taking place, from Los Angeles to Japan.15 Jan 2009 16:38:39 GMT
ALL of the power to provide peace and security is up to the Palestinians. If Hamas had not continously terrorized Israel for 3 continous years, if Hamas had not launched the rockets, Israel would have never dreamed of attacking. Why do Muslims insist on condoning terror but never taking responsibility for their actions, or the consequences? Why did Hamas hide arms, ammunition, rocket launchers, and mortars in schools, mosques, and highly populated areas, if not to provide human shields and innocent victims for people like Julie to wring their hands over? The blood is on the hands of Hamas and radical Islam, unprovoked, cowardly terroist attacks and cowards hiding behind human shields consisting of women and children has become the face of Islam to the world.