Debate for Peace

The following piece is by Mariam in Gaza and is from the “Light Through the Darkness” collection.

I am a young mother… My eyes are tired, pale… (from the severity of pain, fear, sleeplessness, and crying). I have two children… Two wonderful, beautiful children… I possess my embrace for them; I own nothing else for them but my arms. I carry for them patience like a mountain and an unending prayer. I cook for them over the fire of memories, and I warm them with stories of a better tomorrow, God willing. Every night, I whisper to them that the light is coming, even if it is from afar. I stay up next to them in the dim light when they are weary, planting seeds of light in their souls and reviving hope in their lives with the simplest of means. I am a mother… I am the Light. I create a life for my children out of nothing, a life born of an undying hope. My children are the tomorrow, the hope, the light for a promising and better future.

I am Gaza… Darkness in Gaza manifests in the power outages, forcing us to spend our nights in the faint light of a cell phone—the only light I possess. And also in the siege, where there is no food, no medicine, and not the slightest basic necessity for a dignified life in Gaza. As for travel, I cannot speak of it because it is now far, far away. It is also in the eyes of my children; they see pain, hunger, and death more than they see their toys. Despite all this darkness, I say… I am a mother… I am the Light… I am Gaza. The light comes from my heart, my heart that knows how to love despite all the pains, screams, and sighs we live through.

I am the Palestinian teacher… I teach my children that education is the light, and it is the strongest weapon against darkness. A question lingers in my mind… Is it possible for the threads of hope to intertwine with the threads of sorrow and pain? After much thought, I say yes, this happens when we write stories of invincible patience. At that moment, hope embraces pain. In this time, I find refuge in my books, and in my letters, I find everything that makes me forget my sorrows.

But… Sometimes despair creeps into my life, and the lights of my heart go out. So, I rise with strength, determination, and persistence to ignite a new light, to draw a new smile, and to build a better tomorrow. Darkness is not an end, but a beginning to test the light within us. And all of this stems from my hope in God Almighty. My hope in God Almighty is the light that illuminates my path, my heart, and my entire life. It is the beam that brightens the blackness of night and the shadows. My certainty is that after every hardship comes relief… And after every difficulty comes ease… For I do not despair of the Spirit of God.