“Let me tell you what they did to my uncle. See, he was 20 when…”
“I remember it exactly. I lost hope after 273 days…”
“Deena slowly went crazy after her husband was shot….”
“You will never, ever, be the same after seeing what white phosphorus can do to the human body...”
“Heaven is three hours of sleep a night—oh, except for the nightmares, which are often. Hell is everything in between…”
“We are a damaged people. Look around…”
“You international visitors are odd. You have these day planners where you write down all your goals and activities. You believe in your future, even while you are here. As for our future, I deny it—I’m an atheist about the future...”
“I saw you at a distance at the shaheed tent. It was good of you to come and offer condolences to the family who lost their son. I go to a tent once, twice a week...”
“Susan Sontag should have come here, to be with us, to put on Waiting for Godot…”
This is a chapter from my novel, Dear Layla Welcome to Palestine, based on two trips to Palestine I took, and trips my friends and former students took there.
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