How I wish I could view life through certain eyes of black and white and that the grey picture which keeps on creeping in would not shake up my opinions to let me know that I do not have the monopoly on truth. How I wish I could manage my life with no questions. The one thing I am certain of however, is that when the media goes away, all those who have lost loved ones will experience a pain so great in the heart that they feel they will surely burst. This pain has no color; it is not Palestinian predominantly green, or Israeli, blue and white. This pain has no political identity and will always be with you no matter what mask you wear on a particular day.
The mothers in Gaza have been filled with dread ever since the rattle of tanks and the booms from the planes started and the rockets were fired at the towns and kibbutzim which are just a stone's throw away from Gaza. She knew that she would have to pay, and pay dearly for the bravado of her leaders. She sensed that she and her neighbors would once again be the victims of politicians from both sides. These leaders have no other way to solve conflict than by war. They know in their hearts that no war ever brings peace.
This mother, just like the one in Sderot, a town so near to Gaza, has no way of protecting her loved ones from the violence. Her children, just like the Israeli children, are innocent and should have the right to be safe and to go to sleep at night without wetting their beds from fear and experiencing terrible nightmares.
So let us look at the black and white through the eyes of these children who for so long are the pawns of people bent on a path of revenge. They scream from their shrouds to stop the killing, but no one hears. All are busy justifying their cause, egged on by their supporters in foreign lands, whose children are not dressed in uniforms or suffering the dreadful life and death of the Palestinians and dare I say the life of fear and dread of the Israeli children. How easy it is not to compromise when your children are not hungry, when your children are free to go to school, and can look forward to a safe future.
And so from a black and white point of view , those who live in towns surrounding Gaza, those who fly the blue and white, feel a sense of relief when they hear those voices announcing the beginning of another war. They do not see the grey of a future filled with more generations of hatred from their neighbors and possibly even more sophisticated rockets and tunnels to destroy their peace of mind and homes and lives. There can be no winners in this madness, only more broken hearts.
So what can we do with all of this grey? One thing for sure is that we have to talk to each other and recognize the needs of the other. We have to face up to the truth that neither side will disappear in a puff of smoke. We will have to compromise for the sake of those children screaming out for safety. We must stop the cycle of revenge, and look for nonviolent solutions. Surely with all the great minds in these two nations, we can come up with a peaceful way to live in dignity.