“Tell
Me What America Thinks of the Palestinians”
By Rebecca Byerly
Cairo, Egypt
Thousands
of Egyptian soldiers, dressed in black lined the
streets of downtown Cairo Thursday morning. A
shiver went down my spine as I realized Yasser
Arafat must have died. Sitting in the back of
a taxi cab, I wondered if I should speak to the
driver, aware that my American nationality could
lead to a precarious situation. The driver pointed
to the chaos on the street and said “President
Mubarak will come.” He was referring to
the President of Egypt, Hussein Mubarak, and the
entourage of Arab leaders who were meeting in
Cairo to mourn the death of Arafat, the Palestinian
leader who led the PLO for almost half a century.
Living in Egypt, world affairs have a new meaning
as I no longer just watch things happen on television
but actually feel the effects. The point of this
column is to act as mirror for the people of Egypt
and reflect the views and opinions of the people
I have talked with. By recognizing the perspectives
of others we are one step closer to bridging the
gaps of misunderstanding.
Sitting in the lobby of my dorm in Cairo, surrounded
by Egyptians and Palestinians who were glued to
the television, as they watched the casket of
Arafat move through the streets of Ramalah, some
sobbing softly others whispering to their friends,
moved me. I realized I had no concept of the life
Arafat led or the Palestinian cause he represented.
After several conversations with Palestinians
and Egyptians this limited knowledge grew as I
was able to view the situation through their eyes.
“I think the death of Arafat is a huge loss
for the Palestian people, because he represented
the Palestinian struggle and was the only president
who suffered as much as his people,” Aharazad
Elfar, a 19-year-old Palestinian said.
Elfar’s and her friend Dalia Othman, also
a Palestinian, leaned against the wall with the
black and white chaffier draped across their shoulders.
Normally, I felt comfortable talking with these
girls; however at this moment our differences
were obvious. How could I connect with them and
their feeling of loss?
“Both Israel and the US used Arafat as an
excuse not to end the Intafedah and change policies
because they said he was a Palestine terrorist,
with him gone, they have no excuse,” said
Othman. Both of her parents were in Ramalla for
Arafat’s funeral and had been with Arafat
in Beirut and Tunis.
The mood in the lobby was depressive and I was
left to talk with an Egyptian friend who works
in the dorms. Ra’afat Shaheen is a towering
guy with a huge smile and equally big heart. He
sensed my unease and tried to explain what Arafat’s
death meant to the Arab people.“There is
a saying the wind can’t shake a mountain,”
Shaheen said. “Arafat was our mountain.
We lost his existence but as a symbol he is still
here.”
Shaheen did not think Arafat was a terrorist but
was forced to take drastic measures because the
Palestinian people had no other choices. He turned
the question on me and asked how I would react
if someone took away all of my rights. Would I
fight back?
Not prepared to answer Shaheen’s question
I went back to the lobby and sat down beside Aboud
Khalili. He told me about growing up in Ramalla.
His family’s house was on the same streets
as Arafat’s and he remembered when the Israelis
surrounded Arafat’s compound in 2003.
“For us there is no clear future after Arafat’s
death,” said Khalili “There is no
leader who has as much experience or charisma
to lead the Palestinian people.”
Khalili did not hold Arafat responsible for the
Palestinians not having a state. He said, “The
problem was not a Palestinian state but the unequal
characteristics of the state.”
After talking
with these people I was left with many questions.
Though Arafat was the leader of the Palestinian
people and to many a respected figure, he was
also responsible for countless deaths and in the
opinions of many one of the mains reasons the
Palestinians are in the quagmire they face today.
Who will lead the Palestinians people in the future?
How will the dynamics of this leadership change
in order to ensure the prosperity of the Palestinians?
With Arafat gone will the United States and Israel
change their policies with Palestine?
Though I have many questions regarding the Palestinians
and Israel issue and few answers, one thing is
clear. After living in Egypt for the past three
months the Palestinians/Israel conflict is the
backbone of people in the Arab world. Regardless,
of your opinion of Arafat it is imperative we
understand the current situation in the Middle
East will not improve until we reconcile the question
of Palestine and address the Israeli/ Palestinian
conflict.
The most startling question I faced while studying
in the Middle East has been, “Why does America
not help us? Tell me what America thinks of the
Palestinians.” The same question plagues
me now: what do Americans think of Palestine without
Arafat? And what does that answer say about the
future of the Israel and Palestinian conflict?
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