GAZA ~ THE DAY AFTER THE BOMBS STOPPED

This is a tribute to the people of Palestine who continue to live in horror and squalor imposed upon them by the Israelis who have stated they do not care about world opinion as they carry on with their genocidal policies months later. Still they kill, starve, kidnap and play deadly games with these people. However now the world watches and, even if the governments are spineless, the people of the world are behind the Palestinians.

They are an inspiration to us all, for as has been said, in the eyes of the Talmudic Zionists, we are all Palestinians at some level awaiting the touch of their unkind hand.

I have collected hundreds of photos of Palestine before, during, and after, the hell visited upon them by Israel. These images are testimony to the strength of the remarkable Palestine and I itch to share them. May we all endure with such grace and fortitude if such horror comes to us.

I decided to show the people of Palestine on the day after the bombing stopped. Purposefully I have left out the dead and dying. Throughout my posts I have put plenty of those.

I wanted to show the destruction that people returned home to and how it effected them as life began to resume some sort of "normality" without the immediate terror of fire from the skies. Normal may never come, especially since Israel refuses to allow the people means to rebuild.

Here I show only the people, their sorrow, relief, shock, and, through it all, their resilience. Sameh Habeeb captured their amazing strength despite the horrible odds they still continue to face, courtesy of their vicious neighbour. Thank you, Sameh, for allowing me use of these images. As always I recommend enlarging these thumbs for the true depth of each image to sink in. These are very high quality images.

Photographs are courtesy of Sameh Habeeb, Humanitarian, Peace Activist, Journalist, who lives in Palestine.

Surveying the damage to their neighourhood.

She awaits the refitting of her prosthetic leg in a short time.
During the siege she went without.
Her young husband still awaits his;
his legs were stolen a few years ago during the Intifada.

A brigade of young men working on creating a
better camp life for themselves and their families.

Young boys waving the peace sign.
Happy to be outdoors again.

Brothers.

"Can you help us?"

An extremely contemplative youth
yet somehow he seems to be at peace for the moment.

Always the peace sign, this from an Elder on dialysis.

The optimism of making lists amidst such a behemoth challenge!

Schools are crowded since so many were bombed out
because Hamas runs the education system,
but the children are happy to be together again.

"I worked hard all my life for my family.
Once we had fine home and fancy car.
Gone! Now I am back to a donkey!" this old chap stated.

Such pain as the horrors and losses
of the past weeks continue to hit home.

A strong old woman selling her goods in the city.
Such people are the soul of Palestine.

The Pieta of Palestine.

A shrewd assessment in the mind of this young Bedouin girl.

An Elder, contemplating; this is not his first Nakba.

Sitting in the sun and taking comfort in toys
that survived the demolition of all she knew.

Grieving lost ones.

Surveying what remains of the family farm.
There will be milk!

As any mother or wife can attest, there is always laundry!

Their chicken business bombed, 35,000 terrorist
chickens dead, the sons attempt to catch the
dozen or so survivors to rebuild the family business.

The face of an new orphan.

While this beautiful grey eyed girl tries to understand
her grandmother gives thanks for surviving.
(Enlarging this thumb is recommended, her eyes are incredible!)

Cleaning up the scrub from what was once an orchard.

What have these eyes seen to produce such a look?

Spirits are high!

A sweet smile, just happy to be going to school.

Sitting in the sun. Waiting ~ for what?

"Insha'Allah, we will rebuild. I do not know why
they bombed my home. But we will rebuild."

Smiling trust and curiosity, innocence
and suspicion on the faces of these three brothers.

I'm digging a hole!

Mother and children in the old home.

Back to the ancient mode of transportation.

"We survived. We are the lucky ones.
It is good to sit in the sun and know we will not have to run."

"Where are my toys?"

Chocolate!

"My home is gone. My garden is gone.
So much to do before the cold returns."

Children are the future.

"We Palestinians are strong and will survive this challenge, Insha'Allah."

Ah, on the bus and going somewhere.

"Take this camera away now."

Standing to the side,
watching food supplies still burning. Hungry.

Beginning to clear a place to live on his farmland.

Allah will protect us.
Men giving thanks for what did survive.

"I was a fighter once. Now I resist and rebuild. They will not break us!"

Where to begin?

Ah, the freedom of a bike!

Assessing what remains.

An Elder speaking to her family.

And contemplating, perhaps praying for strength.

Sameh Habeeb, fatigued of spirit from all the things he has seen and recorded over the past weeks. A remarkable young man to have gotten his work out for the world to see when the Western media was blocking all real imagery of the Israeli carnage.

A young lass with an eye to the future.

A flower of Palestine still but a small bud.

Whatever she has suffered, she knows she is treasured.

Quite possibly she is what gives her father the strength to carry on.

Brothers and a sister out scavenging for what they can find to rebuild.

No driver's license required for the family horse.

Grandmother, facing the new reality, strong with the
inner knowledge that they will survive.

Another young survivor, the future of Palestine with a smile.

A family matriarch, bent over with age,
perhaps a bit apprehensive of the camera.

Such resolution and acceptance on
this wise old woman's tattooed face.

Checking out the neighbourhood,
once full of fertile groves and gardens.

Two exuberant schoolgirls, giddy with the joy of still living.

A shy toddler, her soul ancient from what she has experienced.

Beautiful twins, their sad eyes hinting at the hell
and long sleepless nights they have lived through.

Men in their pony cart with a load of scrub brush for cooking fires.

A wide smile, it is over for now.

"We still have a view! It is not much but it is ours."

"My family will survive!"

Two charmers, giggles and sorrow.

"My wife is with our baby. We have our family to live for."

"It was hard and I lost my uncle and
Grandmother. But we are all still here."

This jaunty fisherman looks pleased to be
heading out to the "freedom" of the open waters.to

Sweet young boys expressing hope for their future.

A sister and her brothers,
clowning about in glee to be out in the sun.

A young lad, just smiling.

Grandmother and a lad bringing home food for their surviving animals.

Ahhh! Water! Fresh water!

Girls have been carting water home in Palestine for thousands of years.

Peace. Soon I will go to dig in the tunnels again, Insha'Allah.

A flurry of boys rejoicing in the soil of Palestine.

Airborne

In Palestine, the boundless energy of children is an eternal gift.
It is the lifeblood of the future.

Although, the mothers who must launder
might have second thoughts upon occasion!