BY (Updated on May 04, 2010)
The following was broadcast on KUNM FM, Albuquerque as part of a series Youth Speak Out, a collaboration between Youth Radio, Youth Media Project in Santa Fe, KUNM’s Youth Radio in Albuquerque, and New Mexico's Youth Alliance, made possible by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. For more information about Youth Speak Out go to www.youthradio.org/new-mexico.
by Yazan Deek
I was born into a conflict that I did not understand until I grew up. I was just a little boy in the West Bank village Kafar Al-Deek who wanted to enjoy every moment. I saw battles on the news, I saw innocent Palestinians bleeding, dying. It was for me just a movie being shown on TV. I did not understand that it was related to the reality of my life and that I would be living it.
By the time I started school, I knew I could be attacked for no reason. I tried to convince myself I was safe because I had done nothing wrong. I tried walking peacefully to my school, thinking about my dreams to finish my education. I paid attention to my Arabic teacher. But I wasn’t safe.
My school couldn’t protect me from the gunshots one day. The entire student body had to flee. By the time I got back to my house. I could see the many fears in my mother’s face. She was just waiting for me to come back alive or to come back dead.
When I moved to attend school in New Mexico, I found out my childhood wasn't "normal." Today, I can go to my classes without worrying about my safety. I can dream about my future again, and even the future of my homeland.
This year I participated in the Middle East Peace project--it brings together students from the region to discuss solutions. We were assigned host families in Seattle. I met my host sister, Zoe Brown, on Facebook. When I learned she was Jewish, I was sure Zoe’s family would not accept my perspectives about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Almost immediately after the Brown family picked me up from the airport, my feelings started changing. They started asking me about my life, dealing with check points, attacks, and fear.
My host father, Harry Brown, said to me, “My home is your home.” It was an emotional moment. I realized all of my preconceived notions of the Brown family were absolutely incorrect.
I attended a special Shabbat dinner with several Jewish families along with our teacher Eyad Shabaneh, from Hebron. We talked about the conflict and even took time for prayers. Before we started eating, Eyad turned to me and said, “This experience is very unique. This is the first time we are surrounded by so many Jews in a peaceful situation.”
I started to believe if we can do it here then we can do it in the Middle East, too.
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