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Letters from Gaza

November 15, 2006

Beit Hanoon … Blood and Tears

Wednesday was the first day of the orientation workshop for the new group of coaches. This was the beginning of the new Public Achievement cycle. About 40 young people were invited for this workshop.

The same day Beet Hanoon was going through a new massacre. Tens of the family members were killed or wounded when a barrage of shells by the Israeli occupation forces tanks and artilleries hit people in their homes.

I was watching the news in the morning before going work when my colleague phoned asking me if we should have our workshop after what happened in Beit Hanoon. It is too hard to express my feelings when I saw the pictures of shreds of flesh and stains of blood everywhere. Little kids, women - it is horrible to see this every day every day. The week before the Israeli killed more that 60 people in Beet Hannon.

There were twelve people from Beet Hanoon and Beit Lahiya and Jabalia that were supposed to attend the workshop. I went to the office even though I was not sure if people would come. I have been waiting for some time when about 40 people arrived. They were overwhelmed with sadness. We started the workshop by talking about the events and shared the sadness together. During the day the group created safe space and time to discuss, interact and work together.

For me it was different. I was watching the group while they were sharing new experience in the small world they created. In few hours the gathering was shining and giving hope. This made it hard for me to understand all contradiction in this world. How we can make it safer for them? When are they going to be given peaceful time with little hope of better future?

By the end of the day we asked the participants what they liked about the experience. They said, “thank you for pulling us away from the heavy sadness and freeing our mind of all bad thoughts – at least for a while.”

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