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![]() PERSONAL STORIES ![]() Right: Mousa Mousa was born to a simple Bedouin family. He had two brothers, one younger, one older. His mother died when he was fifteen. His father married again and had two children. The family was forced to leave Beer A-Sabe' where they originated from during the war of 1948, and became refugees in Gaza. Mousa's elementary studies were in Deir Al-Balah and he later dropped out of school because he didn't enjoy it. He became a shepherd, occasionally working in the agriculture industry. Mousa had lots of friends in the neighborhood. His friends remember his complete calmness and silence most of the time. He was respected by all around him for his courage and honesty, and his willingness to always help his friends. His friends remember how they used to tease him by hiding the little food he took with him while shepherding. When Mousa turned 20, he began to think about getting married to a relative whom he loved very much. But his family was very poor and he had to add a room to their house and furnish it in order to get married. He also needed enough money to pay the dowry for his bride, as is the custom in Bedouin tribes. So Mousa began to think of changing his work in order to earn more money. His father was also hoping that Mousa would marry because he had lost his eldest son, Shafiq, a year earlier through illness and Mousa's youngest brother was still in school. Mousa thought of working within the borders of Israel, but this was very difficult because the Israeli authorities wouldn't give him a permit. Mousa and some of his friends were thinking of breaking through the barbed wire around Gaza in order to enter Israel to find work. Although it was very dangerous, they had no choice because of the difficult situation in Gaza. One day, they made it through the barbed wire and were able to enter Israel. An Israeli patrol noticed them and started to chase them. They all ran in different directions, but the soldiers grabbed one of the friends, who was then arrested and detained for four months. Mousa was to die while he was still in prison. On Thursday 26 September 1996, the day the bloody clashes began in Gaza, Mousa was harvesting on the farm where he was working, when he heard the sound of gunfire and saw tens of protestors falling one by one, either injured or killed. Mousa couldn't stand aside and watch his own people being murdered, so he joined the protestors. Shortly afterwards, when they were near the Israeli settlement of Kfar Darom, he was shot in the chest with live ammunition. He died instantly. The medics on the scene were unable to help him in any way. In the late afternoon of the same day, he was buried in his village. His father couldn't say a word or make any movement throughout the funeral. The shock was more than he could bear. Mousa never felt comfortable in enclosed spaces and loved to go out alone every day with his sheep and enjoy the nature that surrounded him. He used to wake up before sunrise, prepare something simple to eat such as a piece of bread and a couple of tomatoes, and then go to the barn to check each sheep and goat one by one to make sure that they were in good health. He knew each one of his herd and tended the sick ones until they became well. Mousa liked to go for long walks to the eastern edges of the area and to look towards the far reaches of the land, to look to his old home, Beer El-Sabe'. The land about which his father told him that they used to live in and harvest before they became refugees. He was saddened when he thought of Palestinians not able to have freedom of movement like the sheep. Instead he saw only barbed wire separating the surrounding settlements. He saw the land with his eyes and his mind, but he could never physically reach it. He used to hear about peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but he could never believed in it. "What kind of peace is this?" he used to say, "if our land is still confiscated and we cannot return to our homes?" Back to PERSONAL STORIES or on to the NEXT STORY |