- Palestine
- August 26, 2008
- 10 minutes read
The Awesome Palestinians
Last night I did something I usually don”t do: I planted my eight-year old son in front of the TV and ordered: watch. It was the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games. We watched over two hours of amazing choreography, high-minded symbolism, cute children, huge screens, thousands of performers (basically men doing the heavy lifting and women the pretty dancing). We commented, argued, admired, and shrugged as the spectacle unfolded in front of our comfy sofa.
Then the parade of nations began.
We stopped our snacking and waited.
We blushed when the
We groaned when the commentator described
We snickered when the commentator pointed out that the two women flag bearers for the UAE delegation happened to be the prime minister”s daughters (he concluded: “but that maybe a coincident.” (then we fumed for continuing to be the butt of jokes)
We frowned when the
We were deeply saddened by the uniforms of the women on the Hungarian delegation.
But we mostly waited.
There were huge nations and small ones (the population of one participating country was 46,000 people). There were bullying and bullied countries. We patiently waited.
Finally, they appeared. The Palestinians.
Now jumping on the sofa, pointing at the screen, and screaming “
They appeared for a few seconds. The Cuban delegation followed and the Palestinians disappeared from the screen.
We know they may not win any medals, but they already won. For despite the occupation, the closed borders, the divisions, the poverty, the misery, the lack of official support, the lack of facilities and the empty promises, they came for
My son and I cheered for this, not for an abstract nationalism or an “us against them” idea. We cheered for the tenacity of young women and men who insist on dreaming of a better future.
When it was obvious that we will not see more of the Palestinians, we settled down. My son, breathless and flushed with excitement, turned to me and said: “They were awesome!”
Yes, they were: Nader, Ghadeer, Hamse, and Zakiya. We thank you for your awesomeness