Hakmah Al-Namroti, 88, is one of few living Palestinians who experienced the Palestinian catastrophe (Nakba) 65 years ago. She is originally from Yazur village near Jaffa, and now lives in Bureij refugee camp in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
Talking to Hakimah, one almost doesn't believe she is 88 years old, as she still has a vivid memory of the 13 year old girl who, along with her family, has been displaced from her home by force.
"It was Ramadan and we were on fast," Hakimah starts narrating her story -the story of every Palestinian refugee.
"The Jewish gangs ordered us to leave after our village was showered with shells, so we fled to Almasmyya village then to Beit Jabber towards Aajoor village till we reached al-Faluja where we remained under siege for six months with an unstopping Israeli shelling."
"The Egyptians reached to an agreement with the Israeli Moshe Dayan to deport us from al-Faluja towards Beit Hanoun as it is next to Gaza, then the UN housed us in one of its hospitals and issued a certificate of birth for each of us," she continued.
Social life back home
Haja Hakimah described their life in Yazur as saying "it was very simple as we depended mainly on framing especially wheat, corn, olive, and citrus which we used to export outside the village."
Meanwhile, she interrupted her story starting to draw a picture for her beloved village. Then she followed recalling their breathtaking village "it was teeming with marvelous trees; houses were made of clay and covered with palm leaves…"
Asking her about their social life she added "we were united; relations among people were like gold in its brightness; we shared happiness and sadness together"
"I do believe that one day I will return to may home; who can ever relinquish his right of return!" She affirmed that "what has been taken by force shall be returned by force as well"
New generations
Her 12 year old grandson was talking with great enthusiasm on how he inherits the love for his origin town from his grandmother.
Confidently he said that "he is sure that they shall one day return back home"
"Maybe my grandmother would not be with us but the day of return to our beloved Yazur will come sooner or later." He added.
Abed al Hadi didn't experience Nakba; however, he understands every single word his grandmother utters as he experienced much more difficult situations.
Israeli crimes didn’t stopped since 1984; however, they're taking new forms of aggression.
It is not very hard for a kid who has witnessed the Israeli hostiles against Gaza in 2008 and 2012 to comprehend what Nakba did. It will not be difficult for him to realize that Israel is the same goblin who tried to kill his ancestors 65 years ago.
Apparently this monster has not fed up yet and he will continue killing Palestinians.
Nonetheless, new generations will not surrender; they will fight back and pledge not to concede a grin of Palestinian land or even a drop of or a valley.
