A statement before leaving home

A statement before leaving home

I decided to go with my children to walk in the old city, and we will try to pray in al-Aqsa (they say they don’t’ allow people under forty, so they might likely not let us in ((a very wishful after forty thinking. You know I enjoy being mistaken by an under forty woman)).

I want to declare that we are unarmed. Not any weapon, nothing will ring on us inside their checking machines even in our underwear. No knives, no shaving blades. I do carry my car keys. I do understand if the Israeli army\soldier\police\settler\arabist\special force\ whatever gets suspicious. The key is sharp after all.

One of my daughters got knocked in her swimming class at the edge of the pool so that she will be walking a little bit with some abnormalities. Please know she is not hiding anything in her pants, not in her shoes. She is very tall, so it’s just God-given height.

I will be accompanied by their friends. Don’t panic they are only two. I do also understand that a gathering that exceeds one may look suspicious. But you know, I get bored walking with two teenagers explaining to them the heritage of Jerusalem and what my grandmother taught me when I was a child passing through its alleys. They don’t like my lecturing attitude. So I thought hanging out with four teenagers half of them are not mine will give me my space of wandering with my contemplations.

I have to confess that yes, Jerusalem gives this sense of reflection. It is not personal or provocative. I grew up on this set of emotion. It is not because you are claiming it or you are interested in it. You can have it all. I don’t care about any place. I just want to be able to feel life.

In case one of those teenagers behaves mischievously, please don’t take it as provocative or as a karate move to hop on you and stab. No Palestinian kids lack good behaviors usually, and they are uncontrollable outside. I cannot spank or yell and kick their Asses in public you know. It is against the law. But I promise I will give them hell and kick the hell out of their Asses if you allow us to get back home alive.

One of my daughters is you know young. She is a bit of letting me say passionate, and since the burning and killing of Abu Khdeir, she hasn’t been particularly fond of your uniform. If you ever stop us and she shows some attitude problem, please remember she has just turned thirteen. You know teenagers. It is not personal. It is not that she hates you. It is not that she resents you. I swear she does the same to me.

If you saw us taking pictures and a lot of Selfies. We are not documenting anything. You know it is just this silly new us in this words. Kim Kardashian’s has just published a book of Selfies. We have obsessed stupid people of this social media have –to-tell-it-all. I am primitive, and all that I can reach is Facebook and Twitter, but these terrible children are beyond integral.

We want to pray in al-Aqsa. So when you make us recite some Quran if we ever made it to that test. Please don’t provoke us. Your presence in average days on those gates is horrible enough. We are Muslims, we are from Jerusalem, and yes we want to pray. You know people do that.

Oh, we will be carrying a bag, it could be plastic, or you are aware that environment-friendly ones (for this occasion I will try those, in case you kill us we will appear to the world as environment-friendly and may this will attract some attention). In this bag, we will have those costumes we use for prayer. You should know by now that we are some non-conventional Muslims who do not wear veils, and oh I wish I could enter the mosque without it. But what should we do? This particular treatment usually boosts my confidence. I never feel blond except when I enter the gates of the mosque.

I am not sure what could also provoke you to think that we are the terrorists that haunt you, but in case we missed a point of understanding, and we misbehaved, or you were prompted, and you couldn’t handle yourselves and what appears from terror from us still made you shoot. Make it quick, please.

Those public executions with tens of bullets all over the bodies are too much pain for you and us. It makes you look as fascist Nazis in a combination of a full commitment to Zionism. The world could justify your acts more if you are less savagely in the way you kill us.

One bullet in the chest is capable of killing us. We Palestinians die quickly. Don’t waste all those bullets on our bodies. We want to be able to ascend in one piece.

In case we don’t come back alive …

I just want to say that we never planned to be martyrs. And we never left our home as terrorists. We were just a family who wanted to make a walk through the old city on a Sunday afternoon and pray (we usually use the opportunity of going to the ancient town to pray)

I will be a bit of concerned about my kids, but for me, I reconciled with the idea of death a long time ago, so you will only be contributing to a higher cause. So don’t feel bad. We firmly believe that life, as death is in the hand of the Creator …Not You.