Stolen Childhood

Crazy you are if you think that we live in peace unless you know the meaning of the word. Such a word carries many meanings beyond its letters and each one of them tells stories about wounded nation called Palestine.

What has happened with me and my family is a drop in the ocean of what Palestinians suffer.

It started when a new settlement sat up in about 500m above our home, and the series of suffering has started.

At first, they didn't do anything and the area they controlled was restricted, but by the time it expanded more and more, and they prevent any one to rise up the mountain.

Many days of my life were full of settlers' attacks .The first time they attacked us was a very dreadful day. As any other day in summer vacation, my brothers spent their time in playing with our neighbors, then suddenly they started shouting that there are some people who are chanting in Hebrow, for the first moment, no body believed them. Curiousity in my father lead him to go and see who those people were. Before reaching them, they started throwing stones to him; so he stepped back, then they followed him as my uncle and my brother went to see my father. When settlers saw people, they went back to their setelment. 10 minutes later, the attack renewed, but this time they were armed. I don't deny we all were afraid and we closed all doors and sat in the guest room which is the safest room as it doesn't have windows have a view outside. Settelers reached the house and started shooing and breaking the windows and trying to beak down the doors. One of them jumped up the roof and as the former tried to break the door down. After all damaging they made, military army finally arrived, and settlers left and went back. When we went out, all small trees were cut, hive was moved from its place, glass was broken.

A couple of months later, they came back with another kind of attack. We were sitting home peacefully enjoying our time with our relatives. As my younger brother Ahmad was playing outside with my cousin Qusi, who is 4 years old, suddenly without any alarm, Ahmad was coming back to bring Qusi home, 2 men were running towards them trying to kidnapped them. My brother carried my cousin and ran down to our neighbors' house although he is small in size, then our neighbors called to inform us that they are ok. Tell this moment I don't know how did Ahmad act in this way, in every time I think about that, I put myself in his place trying to think what would I do, I turned speechless doesn't know what to say. As usual, military Army arrived after all destruction settlers had made without offering any help but "Calm Settlers Down" to leave us in peace...&the legend continue.

Tasneem