It was 1987, and the first intifada was underway in Palestine. Perhaps, you have seen it before, either on TV, newspapers, or from a documentary a teacher used to play in your history class: the image of Palestinian teens throwing rocks at heavily armed Israeli tanks.
Peace Please: Either the answer to the Palestinian question is one state or two, "If we're going to live in peace, I don't mind."
For Amjad Al-Asmar, it was reality he had been living with for 21 years in the West Bank. And because one morning, he witnessed Palestinians throwing rocks at an Israeli military bus in a flea market, he was beaten until he passed out. Al-Asmar woke up again in jail with both hands tied behind his back, being interrogated.
“Who threw the stones?” a soldier asked.
“I don’t know,” Al-Asmar said.
A punch in the face.
They broke his teeth. After 16 hours without food, Al-Asmar was taken from jail and dropped in the middle of the highway around 1 a.m. At that point, there seemed to be no chance for survival, but he was lucky. A Palestinian firefighter saw him laying helplessly on the road and brought him home.
Similar to other Palestinians, Al-Asmar longs for his right – the “right to be a human being,” which he has never experienced under Israeli occupation. There needs to be an intervention, he says. The U.S., for him, is a father of all nations. And if fathers can provide security for their families, then the U.S. could do the same for Palestinians and Israelis who have been longing for peace all their lives, says Al-Asmar.
(Amjad Al-Asmar works for Sharek Youth Forum, a leading Palestinian organization run by youth for youth. Its mission is to enhance Palestinian society through youth empowerment. Want to help? The Palestine Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation operates in Bethlehem, Palestine, to help the Palestinian community. ANERA also works to improve lives of refugees in the Middle East.)
Wow. This is really powerful. It leaves me feeling kind of helpless though. I feel for this guy you’ve talked about, but what could I do to help? Do you know any organizations to donate to or volunteer time for? Putting a call to action in a post like this would help the reader feel less depressed.
Wow, Sarah, you’re so quick. I didn’t even think anyone would visit my blog at this time. Thank you so much for the suggestion though. I totally forgot about that as my mind was so occupied by the story. I’ll add the information and I might post about what you can do on the blog, too.