Amin was born to a very poor family in Khan Younis Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip. His family of seven lived in a one room house with Amin the only breadwinner in the family.

Due to his family's difficulties, he decided to quit school early and find work. His father had heart disease and was unable to support the family. Amin bought a few goods and worked as a peddler, selling his goods near the medical centre in the camp. The district where Amin used to work was known as Mandela. He admired Nelson Mandela very much as a prisoner of conscience, and he took the nickname Mandela.

Within the camp Amin was known for his generousity. The medical staff of the clinic tell how he never refused to help them in any way. He used to help the patients in the clinic with their medicines and help them fill out their medical forms. In the afternoon he would come back home, put his sports clothes on, and play football with his friends. He was the goalkeeper in the team.

He loved soccer dearly and dreamt of becoming a professional player. He supported the Egyptian team "Al Ahli" and his uncle, who was the coach of his team, supported "Ez Zamalik" (another Egyptian team). Whenever Al Ahli beat Ez Zamalik he would buy some sweets and give them to his uncle.

His uncle says "Once we were training and I asked Mandela to change with another player. He refused, I insisted and again he refused and not thinking I slapped him in the face. Amin paused and didn't say a word, but his eyes were full of tears and he ran home. In the evening I went to his house and told him I want you to become a professional but you have to rest. You can't play all the time. I apologised, then he kissed me and said: "Forget it. What can I do? This is football."

Amin's father says, "He wasn't that strong, but despite that, he often left everything to help his neighbours. Once he saw an old woman carrying a big bag of flour. He took the bag from her and carried it a long distance. Others were watching what was going to happen, expecting him to collapse, but he did make it to her house. He clapped his hands to shake off the flour, saying, "Thank God, I arrived safely!"

His father says, "Amin was well loved and his friends used to come to him when they wanted to have fun. They used to sit around and talk. I remembered him saying, 'Don't worry father, I will make you proud.' He was everything to this family and this house."

After Amin's death, his sisters left school because the family could no longer afford it. Only Tariq, his youngest brother, continued school. He was very much affected by Amin's death and says, "I'm going to be good the way Amin would have wanted me to be."

Apart from soccer, Amin loved to raise birds. He bought a big cage and put some birds in it. He used to say " I want to make a kingdom of birds, God-willing!" This was only a short while before he was killed.

All of those who knew Amin say, "Although he had big responsibilities as the only worker in the family, he used to say to his family, 'I'm going to build you a beautiful house, with separate rooms for my sisters and brothers and one for you, mum. I'll make you a nice kitchen with birds in it.' He was always thinking and planning for this dream."

His best friend was Samir. Their relationship was going through difficult times but one week before he was shot dead, Amin went to Samir and said, "Forgive me my friend, we will stay friends forever." And they shook hands.

Amin used to say to his friends, "Why do we live amongst stones, bullets and blood? Why do we have no independence and never know safety and security? We live amongst wild soldiers, destruction and martyrs. Are we ever going to live a happy life?"

On the day of his death, Thursday 26 September 1997, Amin woke up as usual and went to work. However when he saw people going to the demonstration he stopped and went back home and asked for breakfast. Then he put on his new clothes and said goodbye to his mother.

Eye-witnesses say that, during the demonstration, Amin was at the front when he saw a Palestinian policeman injured. He ran over to him, grabbed his arm, but while he was trying to help the policeman get up, he was shot in the head by a dum-dum bullet from an Israeli sniper 70 metres away.

Despite his young age Amin regularly used to go with protestors to demonstrate during the Intifada. His sister said, "He used to go with the guys secretly. He didn't let his mother know and once he went wearing his new clothes and came back soaked with blood because he was shot in the hand. He went to the clinic and after the staff treated him, I asked him why he went to the demonstration. He simply said, "Palestine is my homeland."