Dear Boys

My boys.

Hi boys. It’s the night before I go on my trip to Palestine. You have both asked me why I’m going so far away and the answers are many. First and foremost, I want to go see family I haven’t seen in years — since I was about your age! That’s a long time ago. I want to get to know my uncles and cousins and their kids and friends. I also want to see where where your Taita (grandma) and Sido (grandpa) grew up. I’ll actually be in the same house where Sido Adeeb lived until he was 18 years old and where I was baptized when I was less than one year old. Isn’t that cool?

I also want to go see some very special places. There are many of them in Palestine, including the area around where your grandparents were born — Al Bireh near Ramallah. I’m also going to go visit some really historical and religious places like Jerusalem and Bethlehem and Nazareth. I hope to also go see the Dead Sea and put my feet into the Mediterranean. I hear the beaches there rival any in the world and I want to see them first hand. Unfortunately, many of our family members who live there can’t do the same, but hopefully that will change one day.

I also want to experience first-hand the amazing people of Palestine. I know many amazing Palestinians — family and friends. But I really want to see them in their homeland and experience what they experience on a day-to-day basis — both the good and the bad. There are many obstacles they have to endure under the political situation that has been upon them for many decades. But they endure and live life and enjoy life, even under the pressures of occupation and limits of freedom and human rights. I have lived here all of my life, and we are fortunate to all live here where there is freedom. But to really appreciate it and understand all the realities, you need to experience it. I hope you can experience it soon with me one day, too.

That’s why I’m going so far away.

Love you and miss you.

Dad

P.S. I’m also going for the food. Lots and lots of food.