5 000 Sons and Daughters

Hello Friends,
This is a blog post I started working on two weeks ago. At that time I was swamped with a group. So here it is. Maybe not as current as I like, but I sill think there are some important point.

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International and local media was a buzz this week with the release and return of Gilad Shalit. For those who do not know, Gilad Shalit was a soldier in the Israeli Military and was captured by Hamas five years ago. This week Hamas and Israel implemented an agreement for an exchange of Gilad Shalit for over 1000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.

The international media shone a spotlight on Gilad’s release. His every minute and word captured for the world to see. Pictures of him and his family glared on our television screens. If the world did not know Gilad Shalit before his release, they certainly do now.

Yet, I ask you my dear readers, can you name just one Palestinian prisoner that was released? What about just one Palestinian prisoner out of the 5000 still remaining in prison?

The international media was absent from the Palestinian stories of the release. They did not hear about Chris Bendak’s upbringing. Nor did they report on Sami Younis who is 78. The story of Nael Barghouti, who has spent more time in Israeli prison than outside, was also ignored by international media outlets.

The media also failed to tell the stories of the families impacted by such a release. They did not capture or listen to the father from Aida refugee camp who thought his son was going to be released. When the father saw his son’s name absent from the list, he suffered a heart attack, fearing he may never get to see his son free in his life- time.

Gilad was portrayed as a hero fighting for his country, who was kidnapped and suffered as PoW. What about the Palestinians, how were they portrayed? The international media also portrayed many of those released as criminals and/or terrorists.

I need to be clear, I am happy that Gilad got to return home, unlike many Palestinian prisoners that were exiled to Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, or Syria. And, if there was any proof that Gaza is an open-air prison, many were exiled to Gaza although their homes and families are in the West Bank.

I am happy that Gilad has been returned to his mother. I remember my friend’s mother from Dheisha refugee camp. I remember the sorrow in her eyes the first time I met her and the endless joy that radiated on her face the day her son was released. I am happy for Gilad’s mother and for the 1000 Palestinian mothers who will sleep better now that their children are home.

Yet, I am also reminded of several other Palestinian mothers; the mother who I met over a year ago whose son had been in prison for 17 years. I remember how tears streamed on her face and her sobs were inconsolable, that her son was still in prison. I am reminded that there are still over 5 000 families awaiting the return of their sons and daughters and the international community remains silent on their demands to be released.

So yes, tonight I am happy that 1 001 people were returned to their families. But I wonder what it will take for the remaining 5 000 to also gain their freedom.