Word: jamila
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Jamila, Boutros and Mona have been at the home since it opened. Now 16, 16 and 17, respectively, they are considered elders, and have assumed the responsibilities of parents to the younger ones. They are sitting on a bed in a "family room"-all beds and dressers. Jamila, though in pigtails and sneakers, looks older than the other two. Her parents were killed in an Israeli shelling of Tyre. Boutros' father was killed when the Phalangists raided his poultry farm. Mona's father was killed after Tel Zaatar was destroyed...
...Jamila observes that by losing their parents they have lost their childhood as well. Like the girls in Belfast, these three have had to grow up quickly. Asked if they believe that they have gained anything by such experiences, Boutros replies, "Power." His face seems amiable for the answer. What he means by power is something specific: "To regain our homeland." At that all three talk at once: "First we were driven from Palestine in 1948"; "The Israelis tried to exterminate us." "It's not their land. It's our land," says Jamila. Her voice is urgent...
Whom do they most admire in the world? "Beside our great chairman, Arafat," says Boutros, "there are Ho Chi Minh and Castro." For Jamila it is Lenin: "Because he made a new world for his people. He made them like themselves and work together." The question of the future is raised, and the three of them talk of Palestine's certain glory. Jamila offers something more: "I would put an end to the use of all nuclear weapons...
...level of suffering among these children seems to be in direct proportion to their level of optimism. Aida in the West Bank and Joseph in Belfast are far more soured on life than are Boutros and Jamila in Lebanon, who have more to be sour about. This is not surprising; adults who have endured hardships often manage a more optimistic view than their experiences would justify. What is surprising here is that some of the children who have suffered the most are not only the more optimistic; they also show the greatest amount of charity toward their fellows, including their...