内容摘要：“We are not interested in a lot of things,” Otieno said. “We just want the body of our son so we can bury him here at home. Just that.”

“We are not interested in a lot of things,” Otieno said. “We just want the body of our son so we can bury him here at home. Just that.”

I wish them and their loved ones well. I will miss their wise ear and, from time to time, their helping hand.Some of them are Jewish, some are not. I do not begrudge their choice. They have exercised their prerogative to decide who can and cannot be called a friend.

I once met their litmus test – the one we all have. Now, I have failed it.I know that some of my former friends have deep ties to Israel. Some have family who live there. Some may be grieving, too, worried over what comes next.I do not ignore their fear or uncertainty. I do not deny their right to safety.

This is where, I suspect, we confront the unspoken cause of the irreversible divide.Israel’s security cannot be achieved at the expense of Palestine’s freedom and sovereignty.

That is not peace, let alone the elusive “co-existence”. It is domination – brutal and unforgiving.

This kind of loss, profound and lasting, gives way to clarity born from rejection. It sharpens your appreciation of loyalty and authenticity in relationships.“There is nothing here – no schools, no health clinics, no water and no electricity,” al-Khatib said while sitting on the ground in his tent near what remains of his home.

The conflict, which erupted in 2011 following al-Assad’s brutal suppression of antigovernment protests, killed more than 500,000 people and displaced half of Syria’s pre-war population either internally or abroad, with many seeking refuge in Idlib province.According to the International Organization for Migration, more than six million people remain internally displaced.

A glimpse into the people, places and daily life in Palestine before the 1948 Nakba.Long before lines were drawn on a map and city names were changed, there existed a land full of people who lived in bustling cities and remote villages, where markets overflowed with diverse voices, and farmers tended olive trees rooted deep in the hills.