Note: Pictures of Najwa to come!
Najwa reminds me of my sister. She's smart. She's articulate. She speaks from the heart. As she spoke, I couldn't help but think of how this thirteen year old girl would have to beat all the odds to make something of herself. She was still a child.
"What childhood? What childhood?" My imagination had run wild with me, and she corrected me like the woman of wisdom she has become. More than correcting, though, she was asking. She searched my eyes, hoping that I would give her an answer. Maybe she wanted me to trivialize her suffering. Tell her that she was normal. I couldn't. In my eyes she found only profound sadness and despair. Her eyes glazed over and welled up. She pitied me. And all I could think of was my sister, and what would have happened to her.
Najwa wants to be a doctor. That's what she said when we asked about her hopes and dreams. Her brother looked at her as though she was crazy. Everybody knows that Najwa is an anomaly. Everybody knows that even in a world of strong wills, she rises above the rest. In the past year, Najwa has been interviewed for the movie "Jenin, Jenin", and spoken in several high-profile events. And yet, everybody knows all of the odds are against her, and so they see her hopes and dreams as being truly unfulfillable.
I don't know what will come of Najwa. I wonder what would have happened to my sister if all of her hopes and dreams were crushed by the warped reality that is the occupation. I hope Najwa's potential is realized. I want to help her realize it, but I know I can't. All I can do is sit back and pray that the planets align and the dice are lucky.. Then and only then will something come of the girl with so much potential..
tarek : )