FEAR

Fear is our worst enemy. It never tires of plaguing us. It even coerces some of us to our deaths.

People’s beliefs about death govern the way they live their lives. They believe in false notions about what death will bring, and this can cause them to devalue life.

Living under years of occupation has diminished the value of life among the Palestinian people. Life feels so miserable and worthless that death seems merely to be a change, not a loss. Young men are eager to go and fight, knowing they will likely be killed, because this would not be a loss to them. It would be an escape, and may be viewed as glorious in the eyes of fellow Palestinians.

Israel has successfully convinced us that our lives and our deaths are equivalent. Thus, we rush to our deaths and make it a race, singing for martyrdom and dancing in its name.

They snatched from us the spark of life; it lost its value in our souls. When young men wrapped their abdomens in explosive belts after the Second Intifada, Israelis didn’t understand that snatching the meaning of life from one’s soul makes it easier for that person to sacrifice the body. Living in that state of humiliation, oppression, and suppression changes the nature of our souls and robs us of our joy for life.