Dreams of the sea

(Photo: Sunrise at The Dead Sea)

Imagine this. Your homeland is dusty, rocky, dry. Almost a desert. Only the strongest plants survive the summer that lasts for months and allows no rain to fall. Within less than an hour's drive, you can reach the sea shore. The energy of the waves and the wind blowing through your hair makes you feel alive. Here, you can breathe. Or so you have been told. In the endless mythic stories about a sea that you have never been allowed to visit.

A baking, hot summer is a reality in Palestine. A limitation to water resources is a reality in Palestine. And so is dreaming of the sea. Even though the furthest distance from the West Bank to The Mediterranean Sea is only about 70 km, many Palestinians have never seen it. During the short time I have been here, I have read children's poems about longing for the sea. I have heard stories about children who would go to the roof top of their houses to get a view of the ocean. These children cannot see the ocean anymore. Now, their gaze is blocked by a grey concrete wall. Being in Palestine, it will not take you long to realise that the dream of the sea has become a part of the Palestinian identity as a symbol of the longing for freedom and the end of occupation.

Mufiid, one of my co-workers at PYALARA, told me that not so long ago he went to Turkey with a group of young volunteers from PYALARA. This was his first flight ever. And the first time many of the children saw the sea. They had been thrilled by the sight of it. Gazing at the foamy waves, one of them had asked Mufiid: ”Is this really the sea?”

Imagine young children gazing at the sea, wondering if it always so blue. And try to keep this image in mind next time you go swimming.