#the last paragraph can be taken from 1948 or 2023 and you wouldn't know the difference

[tamarrud]

Suha writes: when my sister was little, she used to pronounce amu (uncle) as abo and my uncle muneer thought it was the cutest thing ever. so it stuck and it was our collective nickname. we'd yell abo when we saw him and he'd yell back abo before we raced to each other's arms.

abo was the spoiled baby brother of nine. his father died when he was a year old. when he was 8 years old, the zionist army shot him in the leg twice. he was one of the first children brought to the united states through @thepcrf to receive treatment, but he was never able to play soccer like the rest of the kids again. he lived with us for a while in the states before moving back permanently to gaza. his favorite movie of all time was blue streak and until the last time i saw him he would say "what you gonna do with one shoelace?" and i'd respond with "floss your ass?" we'd then spend the next 10 minutes quoting and laughing at his favorite lines. he'd always rent a fancy car and sneak us away from the crowded family home to take us to the newest popular shawarma and knafa joints in gaza city. i remember during one of those getaways he told me that my dad was not only his brother, but his father. he swore he would name his son after my father in accordance with our tradition of naming one's firstborn son after their father. and he did.

today, abo was executed right before his mother's eyes by the merciless zionist army. the soldiers raided our family home and forced themselves into my grandmother's bedroom. she said he was trying to explain to the soldiers that she was his mother and no one was there when they suddenly and ruthlessly shot him in the neck. he exhaled a faint "يما" (mama) before collapsing to the ground. and that was it. he's gone.

my devastated and heart shattered grandmother was not even given a chance to say goodbye. she begged them to let her take her son's body with her. instead they expelled her from her house and forced her to leave her baby boy's precious body behind. then they abducted her two other sons and her grandchildren.

#when i tell you my heart is broken.... #the last paragraph can be taken from 1948 or 2023 and you wouldn't know the difference #palestine #gaza #israel