World in Turmoil

The air raid siren goes off. It deafens us. We cower under concrete matchboxes that we call our homes. This happens every day, it is supposed to be a common occurrence. Yet, it terrifies us. The onset of death fears us. Every day on the TV news warns us about the air raids. They inform us of the political tension and the cases in other areas. We hear it with bated breath. We are just kids.

I am a Palestinian 16-year-old and I hear the sound of explosions and houses disintegrating, raising dust, killing babies and grandmas alike. I am worried about my mom and my dad. My grandparents live far away. And the mere fact that I might not be able to see them again scares me. We couldn’t even gather during the holy month of Ramadan. We didn’t want to risk contracting covid nor did we want to attract attention to the house. We spent the entire month scared for our safety.

Aaliya, my best friend, is in the hospital with her leg broken. Her neighbour's house had been obliterated and she was caught in the rubble too. She was stuck under the remains of the house, covered in dust, her leg numb with pain for almost 4 hours. I went to visit her, and the sight of her made me cry. She was unable to move. She held my hand as she told me not to cry. I could recall, our favourite pastime was picking those tiny, pink flowers called bougainvillaeas. We used to gather a lot and throw it over our heads. Then dance in joy as a pink shower came down on us. The reality hits me now. We will never be able to dance. Not with her leg like that. The pink flowers now fall limp on the floor as the building crumbles. They are stamped on and crumpled as people run to their safety.

I also crumple sometimes. When I hear the siren go off, my vision dims. It feels like I fell through the ice into black water. I find it hard to breathe. The room spins. Spots form in front of my eyes. The walls are crushing me. I suffocate, and when I try to take a step, my leg gives away under me. There is a complete absence of light or warmth. Dread hits me as I think I will never again experience happiness.

AIR. I NEED AIR.

My mom can only hold me when this happens. She strokes my face trying to calm herself down while muttering prayers. The first time I experienced a panic attack, my mom thought I had taken drugs. I did not know what was happening to me.

Panic attacks happen to most of the kids in my class now. It has seemingly become a sense of pride. We come to class and boast of how we survived two of these on the same day. We know this is not right, but this has become common. My brother has nightmares every night, even after the ceasefire. You can hear him gasping for breath and screaming in the dark night. Not only the younger children, but our parents also suffer from trauma. Why has this become our reality?

It has become hard to concentrate on schoolwork due to this conflict. Though we want to grow up and help our country, we have lost all motivation to learn. The boys are encouraged to join the military and take up arms against this cause. They cannot help but believe that it is brave if they are arrested or if they fight. That is what they are told, after all. But is it really? Why do they have to give up their childhood to appease political issues?

What have we done to deserve this? I want to go outside, without worrying about not returning alive. I want to go to school with all my friends and enjoy my childhood. At our age, we should be joking around and having fun. We should be making priceless, happy memories that we can tell our kids. Instead, we are making memories of the war. It is depressing that kids become mature due to the nature of war. We are scared but at the same time, many of us have become numb. What are we supposed to do? We are incapable of helping our people.

Every time a house near us crumbles to rubble, we fear that we are next. Have you seen those videos about the air raids? All those homes crumbling like they are rag dolls. Imagine the people in them, the fear they felt at that moment. Whether it be for themselves or their loved ones.

What have we done to deserve this? Why does this happen? Why do people think that it is all right to send missiles over and kill children? We have not done anything nor do we carry weapons. Every night before we go to sleep we pray that the war will end soon. We do not ask for much, just the end of this war. Is war necessary? And all those countries supporting Palestine or Israel or providing weapons, shame on you too. Why are you not trying to intervene? Why are you not trying to stop the blood bath?

I understand that there are politics involved. I can fathom that we have a history of conflict, but do we not live in a modern era? Why can’t each country understand the other? Why do the residents of each nation not realize that we have to stop the war to handle our disputes? How long has this been happening? Since I was born, I have not seen a moment of peace in our country. This is the fourth-biggest war since 2008, alone. We are not going to get anywhere like this. Our history of conflicts has not brought any change to the situation, it has become worse instead. Ceasefire may have been proclaimed, but unless we can solve our issues, this war will never end. For an end to this long-running carnage, we need a solution.

Where is the need to kill innocents in both Israel and Palestine? Can countries not discuss their differences through words without hurting their citizens? Why is it that though I might play with an Israeli kid, I cannot fight for them without being a traitor to my country? I do not want to be enemies with anyone. I want to play outside, in the blinding sun, with all my brothers and sisters. I want a future for us.

But I will not fight for it in the way that our leaders are, because the pen can be stronger than the sword. It is cowardly to fight with arms and involve innocent people. I wish for this war to end, and I speak on behalf of my Palestinian and Israeli brothers and sisters.

- A 16-year-old girl from Palestine

This was the heartbreaking story of a girl from the conflict-stricken country of Palestine. The world has to realize that war is not the only way to solve arguments or issues. There are other approaches. Why do we normalize the deaths of naive and innocent children?

Our world is in unimaginable turmoil. Every corner of this world is suffering, and it has to change for the better. And though we cannot all be heroes with capes, we can try our best. We have to make the world a better place for ourselves and future generations.