Forget me not, the story of separated Gazan Christian families
Recent clashes between the Israel Defense Forces and the terrorist group Islamic Jihad revive concern for the civilians, both Israeli and Gazan, caught in the crossfire. Gaza health officials report that almost half of the Palestinians killed in the recent attacks were civilians. Conflicts like these, combined with the dire economic and humanitarian situation in the war-torn territory of Gaza, render it almost uninhabitable. Those who are able to escape, many times do, even if it means leaving their families behind. This was the case for Khaled and Amir, two millennials from a Palestinian Christian family of five in Gaza.
Forced to choose between survival or keeping their family together, Khaled and Amir, made the difficult decision to leave their parents and younger brother, seeking a better life in the West Bank.
Khaled, 27, is now working in public relations at a college in the West Bank. He loves networking and introducing new people to one another. He'd like to study International Relations or Peace and Conflict Studies and already holds a BA in English literature. In his spare time, he enjoys reading practical theology.
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“My dream is to be a peacemaker,” says Khaled. “Starting with Palestine and then going out to the world with this. Christian teaching motivates me to be a peacemaker because I grew up surrounded by constant violence and I never saw it as the solution to our problems here. It frustrates me a lot when I see people rejoicing in the killing of others. I believe it’s the teachings of Christ that prevented – or I should say – protected me from joining armed groups in Gaza.”
Khaled’s younger brother, Amir, 26, is married, has a two-year-old son, and his wife is pregnant with their second child. Amir says he couldn’t imagine raising his young family in Gaza. “I want to give my family a stable life. My dream is simply to raise my children safely and freely in the West Bank and for my parents and younger brother to be able to join us here.”
Khaled and Amir’s parents are in their fifties and still live in Gaza with their youngest son, Louie, 16. Their father, Elias, works as a pharmacist at a Christian charity and their mother Suzan works in a government office. Suzan does not get paid, however, because the Palestinian Authority no longer controls Gaza.
Asked if there's one thing the brothers want people in the United States to know about the situation of the Christians of Gaza, Khaled said, “I don't want for them only to learn about us but rather to feel with us as our brothers and sisters. I want them to look at us and help us. I want them to help us change our society for the better, by which I do not mean only the financial situation.
Amir chimed in, “And I want Americans to know that, as a Palestinian, I feel there is more of a future for us Christians in the West Bank than in Gaza. In the West Bank you can work in freedom to do the things that you love in the future.”
While the young men have the full support of their parents and Louie in their decision to stay in the West Bank, they miss their family that remains stuck in the Gaza Strip. But the first reasons they mention are not the severe population density, extreme unemployment, and terrorism, but something much more simple.
“It’s important for us to be together as a family. We have the custom of gathering around the table for every meal and eating together. For me, as simple as this is, it means a lot. I don’t know how I can stay in the West Bank without my family because they mean the world to me.”
The Christians of Gaza have persevered under the most arduous circumstances. The witness they give to Christians in the West is not only a witness of survival, but of Christian faith, hope, and love.
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Amanda Achtman is a political staffer to a Conservative and foreign-policy minded member of Canada’s parliament. She studied political science in her hometown of Calgary, Alberta and recently completed a master’s degree in John Paul II Philosophical Studies at the Catholic University of Lublin in Poland. Amanda is an alumna of the Philos Project’s Leadership Institute trip to Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan. She currently leads the Philos Canada Chapter and is also an Israel Policy Forum Atid Convener. @AmandaAchtman
