Words of Surprise
A sudden announcement surprised the participants in the hall. The organisers decided to show US President Barack Obama’s speech to the participants of the debate in order to enhance the views of the teams and make the whole event more interesting and lively. Amal and her team mates were not so enthusiastic towards Obama’s speech that was about to be delivered around 300 kilometers south east of Gaza Strip in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. “Let’s see what the new US President has got to say. I hope it will be somehow different from the speeches made in the past by American presidents,” Saarah said with a hint of optimism in her tone.
“I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalaamu Alaykum!” said Obama in the opening lines of the speech he was making at Cairo University. There was a round of applause from the audience in Cairo. The people present in Al-Aqsa University’s debate hall were pleasantly surprised as well.
Amal, along with many other people sat and watched silently Obama’s speech. His acceptance of Islam as a religion of peace and civilisation’s debt to Islam forced smiles on many people in the audience and prompted whispers. His acknowledgement of a mixed religious background raised a few eyebrows and left many curious to know more about the president who is insisting on a new chapter of relations between America and Islam. What will he say about Palestine? Has he got something to offer to our nation? Many similar questions like these lingered on the minds of hundreds of students present in the Al-Aqsa University hall along with millions others who sat in the cafes of Gaza and patiently watched him delivering the speech.
The look on the faces of people changed completely when US President Obama spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his speech he stressed on the need for a separate Palestinian state while underlining the fact that Israel cannot guarantee its security by pursuing policies that draw the ire of Palestinians and neighbouring Arab states. “Just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel’s security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be a critical part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress,” the American leader said in his speech.
Mixed Response
As soon as the speech ended, the audience got ready for the debate competition. Some people in the hall were surprised by Obama’s speech. Amal also felt the hint of optimism. “I think that he has the intention to bring about a change. I hope that he helps the Palestinians form their independent state. But I’m not sure if Israel is ready to grant us independence and end the occupation,” the Palestinian student replied when I asked about her initial response to the speech. “Anyhow, he wants to start new relations with Muslims. He used many references from Holy Quran as well. This was the major attraction of his speech,” she elaborated.
The debate competition kicked off very soon. The competing teams debated on issues like reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, Palestinian right to resistance, return of refugees to their lands, role of Egyptian government in helping Israeli occupation and Barack Obama’s policy towards the Middle East. The female debaters got involved in hot, free flowing debates that raged for almost two hours before the judges wrapped up the competition. The US President’s speech in Cairo gave a new impetus to the contestants to debate and put their oratory skills to test.
Amal threw in a few gauntlets along with her team mates. She locked her team in an intense debate over the role of Hamas in Palestinian resistance movement and its influence on Palestinian society. “Even Obama underlined the fact that Hamas enjoys the support of Palestinians,” she insisted in her debate. Regarding use of violence by the Palestinians, she expressed her utter surprise. “He should direct this to Israel not to the Palestinians. They use indiscriminate force against us. We civilians have done nothing against the Israelis except for peaceful demonstrations that are crushed by brutal use of force by the Israeli army,” she insisted while she concluded her case.
What Next?
The judges walked out from the hall to a private room to discuss about the outcome of the debate. Amal and her group also left the hall. They entered a nearby garden and began discussions about their exam that were about to start in two weeks time. The discussions prolonged, intensified and the buzz about the debate competition somehow faded. Flabbergasted, I tried in vain to draw their attention towards the outcome of the competition.
“We will keep on debating about the issues. The batch before us delivered an outstanding performance last year and won the competition. But what really happened? Did anything change?” Mariam raised a few questions before me. Saarah joined her in no time. “The debates here don’t matter at all. The debates in the Legislative Assembly in Ramallah (Occupied West Bank) are futile. The summits held in Cairo and other Arab capitals are a waste of time. Nothing productive has ever come out from them. Nothing has changed for us,” she rumbled in a fearsome tone.
I looked towards Amal anticipating a few optimistic words. “The debates that really matter are held in Washington and Tel Aviv. The leaders of America and Israel wield the real power and can change the fate of this region if they really want to. Making speeches is one thing but objective change is entirely different.
“Its been four months since Barack Obama took charge as the President of the United States of America. Its also been four months since Israel stopped bombarding Gaza. Has anything changed since then? You know the answer very well,” she replied in a soft tone and started staring in the sky immediately.
So, for Amal, which means ‘hope’ in Arabic, is there a real hope in her life as well as millions of other Palestinians living in Gaza and Occupied West Bank? Why does everything from culture, terrain, landscape, society and even human emotions change when we enter the borders of these subjugated territories? “Someone has stolen the words hope, change, life, happiness, dignity etc. from our lexicon. We still want to know why,” Amal told me while moving her fingers on the soil. The strong wind was blowing away the sand from the ground reminding us that nothing stays the same forever…
