Why are we asked to forget the past which the world views as non constructive for a peace solution, while  Israel makes plans to  construct a wall  to make us forget our future as well. How can we be asked to forget about 530 villages that were depopulated and destroyed, and how can the world not remember the 6,400,000 displaced Palestinian refugees, scattered around the world. Does giving a Home Land to the Jews means we have to become homeless?

Israel is refusing to implement UN Resolution 194 and many other resolutions related to the question of Palestine. Until this moment Israel is not allowing Palestinian refugees to go back to their homes, instead Israel is bringing in Ethiopian, Russian and east European Jews to take the places of the Palestinian refugees in clear violation of international law.

I remember when I was a kid in elementary school, I used to wait for the summer vacation to come back home and see my grandparents, my whole world was in that neighborhood in Beit Sahour  which  I never wanted to leave. I still remember the seeds of olives and almonds in my grandfather’s hand which are now trees. I remember the taste of my grandmother’s special bread that would not taste the same anywhere else in the world, and how can I forget the smell of the soil of my land when it rains.  I still remember the rock in my hand that I used to throw at Israeli jeeps that drove by our streets, and I remember the tears of my grandfather when the soldiers broke into his house and took one of his children.

I studied at a university in Spain. While I was there I noticed that the whole world was not that neighborhood my grandparents lived in. I found out that there is something different in this country from the first moment. I was on the bus there were no writings on the walls and we could drive with no hassle from checkpoints and no one to humiliate us. Simply there was freedom.  That was when I decided that I did not want to go back home, that was when I decided that I did not want to see the tears of my grandfather again, that was when I decided that I wanted to build my future here.

While in Spain I met some Palestinian students. I inquired about their future as Palestinians. When they told me that they were always planning to go back home I was confused.  In my mind I was thinking, “What can bring them back home when they are as free as a bird, when they could simply go anywhere and do anything they wanted to do.”

I am a Palestinian and because of that I am very stubborn; this innate sense all Palestinians have. The Israeli occupation has taught us not to forget, and I realized, after school, that I cannot forget and there is no way I could forget my belonging to this piece of land. What is in your memory as a kid stays forever, no one can ever make you forget. How can someone be so offensive and ask me to forget my past?   

My experience abroad led me to work in a non profit organization that is dedicated to obtaining independence through non violence approaches, and raises awareness throughout the international community. During my work I found my dream, that is, to bring Palestinians back to the land of their ancestors. This led to the creation of Birth Right Palestine Heritage Tour, a gift I hope to give to the Palestinians. This program was inspired by birthright Israel, and as they have the right to bring Jews from all over the world to Israel, so should Palestinians from all over the world return to their home, Palestine.

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3.20 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."