Palestine.. From Beirut to Jerusalem~

This is a book I borrowed from Shifaa. She sort of dug this out from her library to show it to me after the Mavi marmara incident. I sort of delayed reading it since I was trying to finish one of the shopaholic series. But once I start leafing through the pages of the book, I just couldn't get it off my hands~ This book made hot tears running down my cheeks...







This book is actually the account of a doctor's experience while she was working in Beirut as a volunteer in one of the hospital near Sabra and Shatilla. She came to Lebanon amidst a devastating war and when she first set foot on the camps, she was flabbergasted by the aura of agony waft around the refugee camps.. In the middle of the war, the surronding was etched with potholes from bombs, grenades and shells... The homes of the Palestinians and other buildings were reduced into rubbles and ruins.. There were even stench from dead bodies..







Ceasefire was established after the evacuation of the 'terrorists' from Beirut. Only the women, children and old folks were left and the evacuation gave promise to new hope and reconstruction of life. Believing this, the Palestinians left in Sabra and Shatilla gave up their weapons to the authority for the sake of peace. 3 days after rebuilding the camps, a group of militants thrust their way into the camps and start their massacre. Women and children were herd in a stadium and shot dead~ Pool of blood were everywhere; even the newly painted walls are now smeared with the red colour of blood. They were unable to resist for all the strong men were already shove off from the land~





The author described how terrible she felt for not being able to do anything about it. She was kept hostage in the hospital where she was working. Discomfited by the sounds of shots and exploding bombs outside, she waited in horror for the time to be released and face the aftermath of the atrocity.

The most touching part would be the part where she described the kindness, hospitality, generosity and the strength of the Palestinians. She often wonder where did the Palestinians acquire such resilience and perseverance. Everytime war broke, everything they've built were crumbled but the Palestinians always could reconstruct almost immediately after the war ends at an incredible speed.

In the book, the author often mention the incredible people she encountered. Palestinians, Lebanese, dedicated volunteer workers who come from various countries and of various religions and beliefs. I was so touched by their unshaken spirit to uphold the rights of the Palestinians.

A mourning mother who'd loss her family said this..

"We will get back our homeland. Not too soon.. Not too late.. But just in time"

And I was very moved by the hospitals motto

"Treat friends and enemy alike"

And this was proved in an incident where the doctor refused to treat Israeli soldiers and a Palestinian counterpart of hers came to her and said,

"They may have killed my forefathers and my family members, but still they have the rights to have our treatment"

I also admire how the Palestinians accept the deaths of their fighters and honoured them as heroes and never as defeat.. When a war ends, the living children would stand together and held their hands up high and some making peace signs with their hands for they've survived the war.





I really think I should stop now hehe I'm very excited about this book that if I don't stop now, I'll end up writing another book about this book in here hehe



so this book is highly recommended! O yeah~ actually the author tells about her visits in 1982, 1985 and 1987 but I only highlighted the story about Sabra and Shatilla in 1982 so I saved all the suspense about other massacres of the later years~





O0o0o0 Palestine~



*am thinking of buying this book for my own collection =)