Palestinians continue to create life from death

Yes I left, but Palestine has not

I was unable to recognise him from the pictures on social networking sites. Neither could I recognise him from the hospital pictures of him dead. I went to his funeral after the Jumaa prayer, where thousands had gathered. Suddenly, I saw a poster with the martyr’s name, Nader Mohamed Idriss, written on it. I was really surprised, since I had only seen him a few days before in the place where he became a martyr.

Nader was fatherless from the age of 12. He was an activist and I got to know him one year after the 1987 uprising (Intifada). He continued to be committed to the struggle until his last days. Nader was poor and peaceful during his life. He was employed in the shoe industry, which became unprofitable after Chinese goods conquered the Palestinian markets.

Nader’s last pictures were taken when he was a volunteer. He helped transport and package donated goods to the people of Gaza from the people of Al-Khalil. Some of the people who accompanied him said that he had brought a bag of flour, intended for use in his house for baking, to give to the Palestinians in Gaza since he lacked the money for a donation.

Nader was assassinated in cold blood by an Israeli army sniper who shot him in his heart. Activists with the Human Rights Defenders (HRD) organisation filmed Israeli snipers using silencers on their weapons. Nader is gone and he has left his wife and seven children facing the dangers of life alone. He has gone, saying: “Yes I left, but Palestine has not.”

Creating life from death

For Palestinian artist and activist Bushra Shanan, the afterlife appears in her creative work. She has turned photos of death and destruction into living pieces of art. Bushra, a HRD founder, said that the scale of devastation and crimes being committed in the Gaza Strip has psychologically affected her. She decided to reflect this through graphic paintings, like the one in which killed children are flying towards heaven. In another, she has painted Gaza surrounded by a huge snake hungry to swallow her. Amongst her other paintings, Bushra depicts stones weeping over the destruction.

Israel wanted to turn buildings into ashes, to displace the civilians living in them and to put pressure on the resistance through collective massacres, but the result is that Palestinians are still calling for freedom, breaking the siege and opening all the crossings, including the only one that links Gaza to the West Bank. They are calling for the liberation of the prisoners released in the Gilad Shalit deal, who were vengefully detained again, and also for the fourth group of prisoners who were scheduled to be released under the agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, nut never were.

Hamas in Gaza has called for the building of a Palestinian sea and airport. These are simple human demands that be must met so that we do not remain under Israeli control in the name of a security that is killing Palestinians daily and in a way that says Palestinians themselves have no right to either security or freedom, while on the other side the Israelis must have everything and the victim must protect the occupier and the controller.

The always creative Bushra said that she has established a group of friends in a campaign named “let a child smile”, which aims to sell paintings for the benefit of Gaza’s children. She has called on all her Palestinian friends to deliver her message and to help Gaza to rise once again. Bushra believes that art and painting are a form of resistance that must be used to serve the Palestinian cause.

Resistance and boycott way to unity

The Palestinians continue to be united after the failure of Israel’s campaign of genocide and mass destruction intended to undermine the will of the Palestinian people. Israel could easily be condemned for war crimes if there were any justice in the world. To boycott Israel, many youths have established campaigns calling on people to use local Palestinian products instead of Israeli ones. Palestine has been turned into a big workshop and many merchants have been seen emptying Israeli products from their shops.

Gaza’s injuries have provoked every Palestinian and created in them the desire for all Palestinians to live in unity in our lands occupied since 1948. For those in the West Bank, Gaza and even the Palestinian Diaspora, this unity coalesces in the blood of the martyrs in the same way that Bushra paints about life and about the Phoenix bird who rises from the ashes after many thought that he was dead.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.