The Odyssey into the heart of Palestinians

History is always written by victors. Instead of being documented impartially, it is usually being reported under the influence of some sort of ideology. Therefore, as a history and political science major student, it is imperative for me to view things as impartially and discreetly as possible.

In an era filled with information, with such vast information that it is arduous for us to distinguish accurate information from fake information, it is paramount for me to see eye to eye what really happened. With this in mind, I decided to fly to Palestine, to see what really happened, to see whether the news media, regardless of their political stance, is impartial or not, and most importantly, to document what happened so that I would be able to showcase the genuine situation of what Palestinians are facing day by day.

Before I came to Palestine, I thought the situation would be quite perilous. With the fact that I am a tourist, I feared I might be robbed by some random people on the street (As my skin color explicitly distinguishes me from local inhabitants). I even fear that my skin color might make me a target of some sort of extreme racial group, as I do not look Arabic at all, and there aren’t that many Asians traveling to Palestine.

Nevertheless, my experiences in Palestine and the excellence center have proven me utterly wrong. Contrary to my expectations, people here are so lovely that I have been greeted with a smiling face daily by people I do not know. They are so benevolent that they even treated me falafel balls when I said hi to them. In the center, my Arabic teacher, Miss Haya, taught me with patience and kindness even when my Arabic was pretty atrocious (Arabic is very sophisticated). Even though my Arabic pronunciations might not be comprehensible and even embarrassing, she taught me how to pronounce the vocabulary one by one with love and care. As a language teacher, Miss Haya's passion and devotion to her students are why I continue to learn Arabic after trepidations and obstacles. Overall, We are like a family in the center, where we congregate for breakfast, live together, go on field trips together, and spend our time in Palestine together. Even though some of the experiences might be daunting (as it is normal for a human being to be despondent after witnessing and hearing some of the most melancholiac and disturbing stories from people suffering from the atrocities being inflicted by some settlers), I have learnt more about appreciation and also treating people around us with affection and respect as we would never hope something like this would ever occurring upon anyone of us, including our worst enemies.

Everything happens for a reason and thank you for being one of the reasons that motivate me to continue on my goal. Everything wouldn’t have been so great without this center, Alhamdulilah.