Our organization, Alrowwad, works with the Palestinian youth, and that has been our enduring mandate since we founded it in 1998. People often ask me, why, given the severity of the politics surrounding the Palestinian struggle, would we not aim to tackle other, more pressing, issues – like the economy, human rights, socio-political transformation or even the resistance? Are we, and our organization making the best use of our energy, intellect and resources by focusing on children? The answer probably lies in our name – Alrowwad translates to “pioneers for life” in English; and, being committed to our children’s life is what we’ve chosen as our work. We want our children to know that they are loved, and that we care about them; we want to tell them that they are important, and that they shouldn’t be mere numbers on the lists of martyrs; we don’t want them to be maimed and physically handicapped for the rest of their lives, or perish in Israeli prisons. And, yes, like parents everywhere, we want to see our children grow up, change the world and create miracles; we want them to be proud of what we achieve together, and we want to celebrate their successes and achievements. And, when the time comes, our youth should be walking in our funerals, and not the other way round. It is through our work with our children that we have created hope for Palestine’s future.
By Abdelfattah Abusrour
Growing up under the violence of occupation
It is not easy to be a…
