Raziyeh Sa’adati
From the series “I write to be the voice of Gaza”
Children mirror whatever you offer them. It only takes a single glimpse of a behavior for them to replicate it precisely. This truth has become my guiding principle, making me intensely mindful of my conduct whenever I am with them.
During the twelve-day Imposed War, while I was with my nieces and nephews, whenever we heard the blast of an explosion or the thunder of air defenses, I made a conscious effort to act with greater composure. I taught them a simple nursery rhyme and told them, “Whenever the sky roars, recite this verse so our rockets will strike Israel faster.” The children, at the first hint of any sound would immediately say, “Auntie, what was it you said? Tell us the beginning.” And then the three of us would chant in unison:
At dawn, as twilight falls / Fire the missile, little one calls
We would repeat that couplet over and over. From time to time, one of them would propose we sing the national anthem as well, and we would continue singing until the sounds of war would finally cease.
Children mirror whatever you offer them; this is a universal truth shared by all children across the world. The children of Gaza have only ever known an unyielding passion for life, even when explosions have shaken their streets without any answering roar of defense. Surely, the parents of Gaza’s children have also taught them a song to recite when near or distant sounds echo through the air. They sing “My Homeland” at the top of their small lungs, hoping the chorus of their voices might overpower the growl of rockets. These days, they treat play, the very essence of their joy, more seriously than anything else.
Children mirror whatever you offer them, and these children have learned how to play from a world that has played recklessly with their lives. They have understood perfectly that anything in this world can become a plaything. Even a large truck, sitting idle in a corner with its heavy, coarse pieces of metal and springs, can be transformed into a seesaw. Children see the truths of the world exactly as they are meant to be seen. They see everything as a toy, for “The life of this world is nothing but diversion and play [Quran 29:64].”
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