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Ayman El-Masri
IOL Correspondent — From Al-Baddawi Camp, Lebanon
When a sturdy man cries before your eyes, then know that his wound is deep and his pain is strong. At that point, you cannot blame him for any action when it turns out that chauvinism has turned into submission, strength has turned into weakness, and dignity has turned into humiliation.
A father of three, Palestinian refugee Radi Abu Radi is one of the former residents of Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp. He declares that he is willing to give up his Palestinian nationality, his land, and his identity. Further, he intends to work on making his children forget the name Palestine because, according to him, "Palestinians have no dignity anywhere; they are stigmatized wherever they go."
"I hope to find a way to travel to a European country where there's dignity and respect for humanity," said Abu Radi.
He wished that a nuclear bomb had been dropped on Nahr Al-Bared at the beginning of the tragedy to eradicate the camp and its people. As he said, this would have been easier to bear than the humiliation, agony, and suffering that refugees live.
A Piece of Hell
I was shocked by his words. But, when I heard his story, I felt that he has some excuse. I will leave the reader to judge after the story of this man is told.
"On May 22, 2007, two days after the beginning of the confrontations between the Lebanese Army and the Fatah Al-Islam militant group, we found that there was no escape from the camp when the bombing got fiercer and started reaching residential areas."
"We left our home — without even changing our clothes — to preserve our lives. We left our work through which we make a living, our memories, and all our belongings. Souls are dearer than all the treasures of the world."
"We left with groups of people from the camp. We were holding white flags out of the windows of the trucks to declare that we are civilians who have to do neither with those groups that have entered into our camp (Fatah Al-Islam) nor with the Lebanese Army. We were declaring that we have no connection whatsoever with the confrontations that took place between the two sides in our land — those confrontations that have nothing to do with the residents of the camp."
"When the truck arrived at a checkpoint, it was subjected to gunfire. The driver was shot; he died immediately, and the truck rolled over."
"But the fact that the car rolled over didn't stop the flood of bullets on us. My son Yusuf got shot in the back; I knew that from his cries that started getting louder. I headed to him to get him out of the truck and give him first aid. My pregnant wife was closer to the door, so she got out before us, but she immediately received a bullet in the head and died right away. She was expecting another baby."
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Abu Radi was silent for some time. He was trying to hold down his tears but was overwhelmed by emotions as he recalled the sight of his wife shrouded on the ground with his wounded son while he was trying to protect the other two sons from the hail of bullets.
He continued, "A little later, the shooting stopped and we got the family out of the camp; the mother's body was sent to Al-Bared and Yusuf was sent to the hospital. As I was shocked, I didn't realize what had happened. I lost my nerves and was confused about whom to turn to."
Motherless Children
Now a refugee, Abu Radi is looking after his three children. They live in a garage in Al-Baddawi, another refugee camp. Naturally, Abu Radi's psychological condition prevented him from doing any work but looking after his children, who now need him more than any time before.
Yet, his suffering did not stop at this point. Yusuf's injury almost caused a disability in his back that requires constant treatment at the hospital and costs up to 1,200 US dollars a month, which Abu Radi cannot afford.
He ran to some humanitarian and relief agencies and some other nongovernmental organizations, but only one association in Tripoli responded and paid part of the treatment cost. Unable to afford the expenses of the months that followed, Abu Radi had to get his son out of the hospital.
By God's grace, on a visit to the camp, a Spanish humanitarian agency studied Abu Radi's case and took charge of Yusuf's treatment. Abu Radi is now going through the necessary procedures to travel to Spain with his children, leaving behind Nahr Al-Bared where he was born. He no longer wants to go back or even hear its news. He wants to forget Palestine, the land of his fathers and grandparents. As for the Arab and Palestinian leaders, he has much to blame on them.
After concluding the interview with me, he turned his face away, hugged his daughter strongly, and his eyes were filled with tears.
Sources:
Translated from the Arabic onIslamonline.net.
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