Let me prepare you in case you are expecting a Hollywood production, with background music and celebration, cries of gratitude, broad smiles and praise. It’s not there friends. You can put on your own background sound. When you grow up in a world filled with violence and poverty, simply waking up for another day may be all the gratitude you can display. The endangered and impoverished life becomes a sideshow for the privileged masses – our standards lower, our expectations lower. This is the starkness of living in multiple worlds on one planet.
Musab was 12 years old when he was orphaned last summer during the ravaging of Gaza. He lost his mother in 2011 – killed by Israeli missiles and then lost his father in June 2014 – killed in his home during the pervasive bombardment. He still lives in Gaza and last year we started helping in the most basic way. I hope he and my children outlive me in the harsh years that follow.
How does one donate dignity, compassion, love… God, how do I put the perfume back in the bottle. My dollars are as wasted as my English words, and while the former puts food on the table, ultimately, it is not what is needed in Gaza or Syria. At best, it is monetary landline to let them know the world is listening and watching and in some cases, we hope, praying.
Cash without compassion, is the bitter slake of charity. The well-being of humanity begins with a divine compassion. Help me to tie the bow of charity for Musab with your empathetic awareness and well wishes. I know for a fact that the money gets there – but we need to be sure something more arrives. Please give me something to tell him, so he knows his home is more than a smoking 25 x 5 mile strip of isolated land worth no more than a tax deferment on some spare american currency.
