Ayed's story

I live with Ayed - this morning he told me some of his story.

Ayed's grandfather was head of the village - a Sheik. He had land, sheep, cows, and grew wheat and vegetables.

When the Israelis swept in, he fled with his family firstly to Jordan and then back to the Refugee Camp here at Aida. He got a job working as a labourer for UNRWA, the UN relief agency which runs the camp. He unloaded milk, flour and other goods for the families in the camp. 

From Sheik and landowner to labourer, from the most respected leader in the village, to the least in the camp took its toll on his self-respect.

Ayed's father, Mohammad, stayed on at home instead of continuing his education, to help the family. His brothers, Jamil (now in the US), Ahmad(now in Jordan) and Mahmoud (now in Arabia) all went on to get degrees. They were not here when Israel registered everyone in 1967, so lost their citizenship. Jamil has US citizenship so can return occasionally, but the others have not been back since 1967. Ayed has never met Mahmoud.

Ayed's uncle, Jamil, managed to get Ayed's father to America, and this enabled him to get a residency permit there. The main benefit was that all his sons aged 18 or less also got this right, even when they returned to the Camp. 

Ayed is one of six brothers. The eldest, Waleed, runs the shop across the street from here. Said went to work in Saudi Arabia to support the younger brothers in their education. Farid qualified in the US as a Civil Engineer and now runs a chain of restaurants there. Khadr became an Electrical Engineer and works for a Telecoms company in Florida. Ayed also went to the US, but in the middle of his first year, Said lost his job, and so Ayed was left to manage. He worked full time in a restaurant, changed his degree subject to Maths and Philosophy and did his studies in the evening. The youngest brother, Nadal, got a Masters in Law at Columbia University and now works at the Badil Centre here in Bethlehem. 

So, despite being reduced to nothing, Ayed's family have succeeded in getting qualifications and building new lives. Some have made great sacrifices to help the family. Like many other Palestinian families, some have moved elsewhere to find new lives. Other still cling to the hope that one day they will be free. The Palestinian culture is that families stay together - Ayed is sad that his family is being dispersed and that they are not allowed back into the country.

My dream for Ayed is that his children will get to paddle in the sea. Surely not too much to ask. The children have never seen the sea.  

I would love to be there when they do.