As Long as my pain is my country's pain... 

I´ve stumbled upon an article that showed me that the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is far from being solved. There is so much hate and resentment between these two religious, political and cultural groups that the only thing in their minds is to exterminate each other. However, it is impossible for me to lie. I can´t sympathize with any sort of idea that in order to justify its actions denies the existence of a cultural and religious tradition. I can not sympathize with Israelis. I simply can´t. 

And you might ask why am I being so biased, and the answer is simple: I can't justify violence, repression, and the idea that it is okay to pretend that everything is normal. The article explains how Samir Awad, a 16 year old Palestinian student, was shot, not once, but three times by Israeli soldiers. The first idea that pops into our minds is that the student was protesting or participating in a demonstration against Israel´s repressive politics, however, he was just hiking with his friends as a way to celebrate the end of his academic year. There is no way to justify the killing of people this young, this innocent, this vulnerable. The Israeli soldiers argued that he was trying to escape when he was captured by them, however, they first shot him in one leg. How fast can an injured child run? They could have chase him but they shot him two more times, one in the back and one in the head. 

As cruel as this may sound, this is the normal and average panorama in Israel. Gaza and the West Bank have become prisons for peoples who were driven out of their homes by intense and continuous fighting. This so proclaimed Jewish nation became what they we afraid of: The Nazis of the Middle East.

But Samir Awad's dead is just one example of the thousands of Palestinians that had been killed by Israeli forces, and the future does not look for the Palestinian people. Samir's death is just an allegory to represent the conflict; Palestinians were shot in the back, not only by the Israelis, but by the entire world community. They were forgotten and ignored, and the world questions itself why did Palestinians resorted to more violent tactics. 

My heart feels the pain of both nations, but as of today, I feel the Palestinian pain as my own. 

Photo taken from the article "New reports details 'brutal' Israeli policies" by Jonathan Cook 

Cook, Jonathan. " New Reports Details 'Brutal' Israeli Policies." Al Jazzera (English Version). Al Jazeera America, 27 Feb 2014. Web. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/02/new-report-details-brutal-israeli-policies-2014226121639588738.html> Feb 27 2014.