By Palestine Chronicle Staff – Gaza
Meet Arkan, his name means ‘pillars’, pillars of faith, pillars of hope, and the pillars of steadfastness. Arkan has just joined the struggle for freedom.
The first voice that Arkan heard, as soon as he was born, was the whisper of his mother. And the first feeling he experienced was the gentle kiss of an exhausted woman, malnourished, surrounded by her children, in a cold tent, in a refugee camp in Rafah, south of Gaza.
Meet Arkan, his name means ‘pillars’, pillars of faith, pillars of hope, and the pillars of steadfastness. Arkan has just joined the struggle for freedom.
The moment his father, a poor refugee from northern Gaza, held him, he made the call for prayer. “This way”, the happy father told The Palestine Chronicle, “Arkan will grow up to be strong and filled with faith.”
As tens of thousands of Gaza’s children have been killed, wounded or are missing under the rubble of the largely destroyed Strip, Arkan arrives to spread hope in the devastated refugee camp.
Refugee women from across the camp came to the tent to help the new mother cope with the heavy responsibility. They shared whatever crumbs of bread, extra blankets, and water.
The Palestine Chronicle visited the family and reported on the moment Arkan came into the world.
Arkan is yet to be registered with an actual name and a birth certificate, as Israel has destroyed all government facilities in Gaza and shut down or bombed all hospitals.
So, for now, his name is Arkan, his parents are displaced refugees, his birthplace is a tent, and his homeland is Palestine.
(All Photos: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)
The joy of new life – and dread for the future. This cruel war can be stopped today. Governments around the world must halt the flow of weapons. Make bread, not bombs.
Prayers for Arkan and his parents and family. May you all survive this aggression of the occupiers and grow up steadfast in a peaceful Palestine State.