from Mohammad S. Arafat

He entered the office of the passports in the airport in Holland wanting to travel back to Palestine. The officer took his red Palestinian passport from his Palestinian hand and she stamped it. She asked him without a thought” What is your lovely country, Palestine or Holland? ”

“The difference between both is like the difference between the Mother and the Wife.” He smiled.” I can get the wife by choosing her according to her beauty and behaviors, but the mother is another story. I cannot choose her, but I own her and she owns me. I can rest only in her lap. I can cry only on her chest. She is only the one who wipes my tears out when I cry. She stands with me when I`m in distress…. I just pray to my God to take my soul over my Mother Palestine”.
The officer smiled and closed the passport and asked him” We hear that the Palestinians live in bad circumstances over there, so why do you love Palestine?” He retorted” You mean my mother?? Oh well, Maybe my mother does not have the price for buying food, water and medicine, but her humanness is my food, water and medicine. Her heart`s beatings treat me..”.
“Could you please describe Palestine for me?” The officer asked in amazement.
“My mother is not blonde as others,” He smiled another lovely smile,” but you will love her hair and face. Her eyes are not green like the westerns, but you will feel safely if you look at them. He flesh is not as white as others, but it`s shiny. Her clothes are too simple, but she is proud of herself. She does not use gold and silver for her beauty, but her beauty is in her Olive trees and wheat spikes. The Thieves have stolen her, but she is still smiling!!!”
The officer gave the passport to him and said” I see Palestine in T.V and Media, but I don`t see what you described for me!!”
“You saw Palestine as it`s on the Map,” He breathed,” but you did not see Palestine into my heart. You did not see Palestine in our hearts as Palestinians. You did not see how steady she is when we are suffering. You did not see how she sacrifices for the sake of her children. You just see the appearance and you believe it, but you forgot the proverb that says, Appearances are deceiving,”
The officer nodded her head down and entered in a long wave of crying over his words begging him to complete his speech…

Mohammad S Arafat (Mr. Pen) — ‎with ‎Mohamed E. Haneya, Abed ElHadi, Ahmed Obaid and 43 others‎.‎

— feeling Nothing….

Note: please notify if  source of the above picture is known so that permission can be granted and acknowledged. Thanks, John

A Quick Letter to the Head of the Security Council!!
For the Desk of:
His Excellency, Mr. Bankemon
The head of the Security Council
New York
USA
From the Desk of:
Mr. Pen
A Gazan Victim
A Palestinian citizen carries the hoarse voice of the people of Gaza to let the world hear it.
Dear Sir,
Thank you for letting me take just ten minutes from your precious time. Thank you for allowing me to have the rights to write this letter for you, your Excellency.
Dear Sir, I don`t know where to begin and even how to begin writing you this piece of words. I don`t really have enough power to let my pen write the suitable words for you, your Excellency. Dear sir, I`m a simple citizen from Gaza, Palestine like anyone lives in this stricken city, if it`s a city. We have the same pain and the same suffering. We have the same status and we all are one belongs to our widow mother Palestine.
Dear Sir, I know and everyone knows that we have the rights to speak up and to seek our stolen freedom. We have the rights to live like anyone in this world and to find our imprisoned joy. We also have the rights to breathe clear oxygen and to eat the least food. We have also the rights to travel and to study like any simple citizen. And those rights, of course, are called human rights and everyone must have them. So where are those rights? Sorry sir if I made you angry at me, but that`s because I`m forced to say that. Forgive me please.
Dear Sir, what shall we do to get our rights? What shall we do to live like others? Why are we prevented from life? Are we from another planet called a planet of strangers? Are we slaves? Why is it inevitable to live under control? All Gazans and I have many whys to ask, but my pen would be exhausted from mentioning them.
Dear Sir, I used to live, like all the families in Gaza, with my family in safe and sound under a simple home. Everything was alright and we were happy enough. But from the beginning of the current brutality on Gaza, I would never call it a war, I left my home. I left my books and my pens. I left everything that I used to live with. I left what made me happy . Why does that happen? Are we terrorists? Are we murderers? I don`t think. Dear sir, I`m sorry if my words annoyed you, your Excellency, but please let me tell you what happened with me as a Gazan like what happened with most of the families here.
Dear Sir, before leaving my home, I have seen what no one would see or even dream of. I have seen what made me sick for more than a week. Shall I tell you what I have seen and witnessed? Sorry if you don`t want to hear, but my pen forces me to mention it.
Dear Sir, I was sleeping in my bed dreaming of my prospective future, like anyone in Gaza, that I would build. I was dreaming of getting the master from any great country like USA, UK, Turkey or Malaysia. I was dreaming of how I will feed my family when I get a suitable job outside Gaza after lacking the jobs here. That beautiful dream was interrupted by my mother when she cried out a warning at me in a morning during this aggression” Wake up dear son and hurry up”. I woke up directly without a though and rushed towards my window. I slapped my forehead when I saw the massacres in front of my eyes in our street. The skies were as dark as the moonless night even if it`s day. The atmosphere was full of gunpowder, so that forced me to close my nose. The black burnt bodies of women and children were spread everywhere in that desolate street. Women where running without their babies not knowing whether they would die or live. Elders were creeping like children not finding anyone to help them. The men with their black faces were looking for their lost children under rubble. The homes all round my home were destroyed. My attention got rapt after what I have seen. Suddenly, my dad came quickly and picked me up and then we rushed towards the stream of the refugees. We began our tiring journey as others to an unknown safe shelter to stay in.
Sorry dear sir for making you sad, but I just want to know why that happens to us. Are we animals? If we are animals, I think there must be institutions for the animals` rights. If we are not animals, so who we are? Why does that happen? Sometimes I think of making suicide or hurting myself. I feel that I`m hopeless in this life here in Gaza. I feel that I have no goals from living this life. Shall I live or die? What shall I do, your Excellency? Shall I make a suicide or shall I wait? If I want to choose the second choice, until when shall I wait? What can I do? Please I need your advice, your Excellency. It`s not just me saying that, but all the families in Gaza are in the same position of suffering and even more than I suffer.
Dear Sir, I want to know when the innocent Gazans and I will achieve our dreams. Will I get the master in one of the big countries? will I get a good job? Please advise me and let me know what to do.
Dear Sir, sorry if I stayed too long writing my words. Sorry for annoying you again, your Excellency. But please let me ask you the last question that all Gazans wish to hear its answer from you, your Excellency. Dear Sir, until when will we stay under aggression? When will we get our least rights? When will we get our human rights? When will we get our stolen freedom? When will our children get their imprisoned childhood? When will they smile and live like others?
Finally, I would appreciate you, your Excellency, for paying your precious attention to my simple letter.
Thank you very much
A bunch of greets from Gaza, Palestine and its people.
Mohammad Arafat (Mr. Pen)
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From Mohammad Arafat

Living in Gaza has many different pictures and scenes. It has tragic sad pictures and happy ones. No one can doubt that many Shakespearean tragedies happen in Gaza. Torturing is still torturing, killing is still killing, besieging is still besieging and bombing is still bombing, but that cannot prevent us from speaking about the beauty of Gaza. Away from talking about political speech and the traps of it and the bad things that it results, I want to mention and to speak about the beautiful side of the young Gaza, so I made a debate with my heart leaving my mind a side. We began to look at and to flip all the pictures of this city, the sad and the happy, and the good and the bad until we found a beautiful picture that portrays the beautiful simple life and the atmosphere of this Holy city. We finally agreed to write about that picture to show the fabulous sweet side of Gaza. We chose that picture which can let readers fly and swim in the core of imagination that they will never get bored of.

Gaza is a city located 19 miles north of Egypt. It’s considered as the only way that links Asia with Africa. Many ancient traders talk about the profits of this city and the importance of its place. It has a long golden shore with a beautiful glittering sea called the Mediterranean Sea. This sea has an old seaport called (Mina’ Ghaza). Many tourists and visitors come to this city to enjoy its fabulous beautiful places like the Al-Emary Al-kabeer Mosque in Sheja’eia lane, barqouq castle in Khanyounis, Al-Basha castle museum in the middle of Gaza and especially the seaport in the west of Gaza. The simple life of Gazan people is accepted although there are many wars and clashes can interrupt their life and their children’s. They live as others as nothing threat them because they know their fate so they have no fear.

When Gazans wake up every day at dawn after hearing the caller of the Al-Fajr prayer and having ablution, they go to the mosque asking God to pour from his mercy on them and their families and to give them the appropriate livelihood they wish. The atmosphere at dawn freshens prayers’ spirits and minds. The fresh breeze expels the sad atmosphere in Gaza lanes and replaces it with a happy one. Purity of prayers lightens the dark street that the power abandoned.

In the morning and after an hour from dawn, the white pure Gazan moon disappears saying good bye to the orange young sun after shaking his hands and hugging him. The sun lightens the dark silent innocent homes and shelters of poors asking them to begin their lively day. It appears and welcomes the energetic proud workers that go to their work and the hopeful little pupils that go to their schools to begin a lovely day of working and studying.

The sun lightens the nests of the cute tiny birds pulling them to fly out their nests and to begin a concert full of twitting and chirping and to start a trip full of happiness and vital work. Children of those birds wake up after a long journey of sleeping and dreaming of the breakfast ,that they will have, under their mothers’ smooth light bodies. The mothers fly under the fading sun of the morning after awaking their children looking for some worms and grains for the breakfast on the brown fertilized lands and among the old long trees of olive, orange, and lemon. They look for their targeted food among the Gazan farmers who wipe the sweat from their heads by their tired hands and among the rusty axes that the farmers use for plowing the lands.

After filling their stomachs with live worms and fresh seeds, the mothers go back to their nests safely hopefully that the food is enough for their entire families. In the afternoon and when the trees have no shades, the fading sun turns into firing ball that warms the pure glancing Mediterranean Sea water forcing the swarms of fish to wake up and to travel happily towards the golden wet beach of Gaza for the fishers to fish. The fishers begin their fishing by the name of God so he offers them the flaring fish that they and their families dream of.

Before the sun gets exhausted and tired and before he prepares his luggage to travel, he watches the workers who go back to their homes finding their children waiting for their hugs and kisses. He then waves his hands to them saying ,see you tomorrow.

In the twilight, the sky turns into red and the sun becomes so tired so he disappears asking the moon to appear dancing under the sparkles of the stars and lighting the dark homes and lanes in the clear night in order to let the innocent Gazans sleep and dream as they want and as they wish.
This is a simple life of Gaza

Done by: Mohammad Arafat

The only pain that the Israeli Government and it allies, the arms manufacturers and suppliers feel is in their pocket. It is reported that shares in an Israeli based company have risen sharply during the conflict between Israel and Gaza. As with earlier attacks on Gaza arms manufacturers like Elbit Systems regard it as a laboratory for perfecting their trade in death and destruction. One such system called om/elbitmain/area-in2.asp?parent=3&num=36&num2=36″ title=”Perfecting Hermes drone system”>Hermes has reportedly been used on Gaza.

Engines for drones are manufactured here in the UK in Shenstone, West Midlands at UAV, only a few miles from where I am sitting and where regular vigils are held with prayers and meditation in solidarity with past and future intended victims – many, many innocent women and children right now in Gaza.

Many businesses world wide invest in Israel activities on stolen Palestinian land and some are getting increased attention. French based Veolia is one such attracting attention from Dumpveolia. Veolia are getting worried and appear to be moving away from their Israeli business.

This week in Birmingham a demonstration succeeded in closing a Sainsbury’s store in Union Row due to their sourcing of goods from occupied territories. Demonstrators have returned to UAV in Shenstone.