Sometimes you lead a life that others consider as futile and silly then something happens that makes a turning point and changes all the equation.
Heba hendawi
Amid all the calamities and atrocities that surround us every day on all social media platforms, I find people talking about the blessings that lie beneath the adversities. How can there be a good outcome in all the bloodshed, tears and destruction taking place in Palestine? Are people just trying to convince themselves that there is a light at the end of the tunnel or is it a self-defense mechanism to withstand all the terrible and brutal killing of innocent civilians and children that is taking place?
A whole generation of children and women in child bearing years are being targeted and terminated. On the other hand, a new generation far beyond this land is reborn. Sometimes you lead a life that others consider as futile and silly then something happens that makes a turning point and changes all the equation.
We have a generation that is addicted to screens since the day they were born. They are surrounded by mobile phones, iPad, PlayStation and many more screens. Hours let alone years were spent idly in front of cartoons and video games. Parents were happy at times for the freedom they got out of this distraction and angry at times when it turned into addiction.
Then this very generation that is deemed as useless and good for nothing wakes up one day to horror beyond imagination. Photos of children torn into pieces or screaming for help shocked them on these screens that they used before for entertainment. Those young technology gurus are aware of the authenticity of the photos they see and the videos that break their hearts. They are assured that this is not created by artificial intelligence. This is real!
How can there be a good outcome in all the bloodshed, tears and destruction taking place in Palestine?
Over a span of days and weeks they watch the terrifying silence of the world and see themselves in every child and every torn family. Surprisingly, they reach a turning point. This idle generation that we accused for ages of being disconnected from their history, family and homeland woke up. The young people that took pride in abandoning their mother tongue, dressing, talking, thinking and adopting other nation’s lifestyle faced a shocking reality that caused them to question what they were doing. The idol they had about the morality and humanity of their role models collapsed. They discover that they starts they once adored are happy with the brutalities. They lost their belief in the western model of equality and justice. This heedless reaction about what is going on to children in Gaza electrocuted their minds.
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They decided to speak up for the oppressed. They used the technology that distracted them before to be their tool to deliver the truth. They used all the social media platforms to deliver the message in all the languages they bragged to speak fluently. As angry as they are, they decided with full personal will to appreciate their homelands and back up all the products and local eateries and choose them above all other places.
We, the older generation, are honestly surprised by their awareness, enthusiasm and determination to defend and consolidate with their fellow Arabs. They no more fell ashamed of their history but on the contrary they are reading more and willing to learn what they used to ignore.
The social media is a blessing after all. It brought people together and raised the awareness of a generation that is taught differently and is more open minded that their parents. I think the terrible days that terminated a generation gave birth to another. A phoenix is resurrected shrugging off all the dust of worthlessness and despair and looking for a fresh start of a deep sense of responsibility.
Published under the International Cooperation with Middle East Business
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