Mervat Rishmawi

My mother and D Day

                                                                                     

On 6 June 2019, we as a family, commemorated the first anniversary of the passing of our mother: a mother for five, and grandmother for seven. Beautiful, dignified, elegant, smart, selfless, humble, and resilient woman. Her beautiful soft silver hair captured the years of endurance since the date she became a refugee in 1948, exactly 70 years before her passing. She loved Palestine, and adored everything that the nature in Palestine offered.

At the same time, on 6 June 2019, Europe, USA, Canada and other countries also commemorated the 75^th anniversary of D-Day, which was pivotal towards ending the Second World War, and stopping the advance of the Nazi regime.

I was listening to the news and watching TV rightly reiterating through these commemorations the importance of the efforts by those soldiers who fought the war, as “they gave their lives so that we live in freedom”. At the same time, I thought to myself: while this was happening, and Europe was regaining its freedom, Palestine was losing its own. Palestine was slowly plummeting into violence, discrimination, and war, that lead to the deprivation of millions of Palestinians of their homes and properties. In 1948, millions of Palestinians became refugees fleeing to several Arab countries as well as the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a result of a war in Palestine that Europe had played a significant negative role in. My mother and her family were among those displaced and became refugees. They fled their house in Jaffa under fire, and headed towards Gaza; part of them fleeing by land risking being shot, and the other part fleeing in a small boat crossing through the raging sea.

My mother passed on 6 June last year, the same day that D Day was being commemorated. Until the last days of her life, she was scrutinising news seeking a glimpse of hope that the world may be doing something so that the situation in Palestine is resolved. She passed away bitter but with the hope that one day soon, freedom, justice and peace will be achieved for Palestine.

Freedom, justice and peace: the same values for which the World War II was fought. They are the values echoed in the 75^th anniversary of D-Day, and those who fought for them in Europe are celebrated and honoured. However, strangely, many in Europe, the USA and others, believe that Palestinians should give up their fight and hope, and accept the current reality of the illegal and cruel Israeli occupation. But the 75^th anniversary of D-Day reminds us of the words of Winston Churchill “we will never surrender!”. Yes, we will never surrender our hope and efforts for freedom, justice and peace in Palestine!