The Palestinian/Israeli struggle is one that is near and dear to my heart, as my father is Palestinian, which makes me, half Palestinian as well. But because I was born in Africa and raised in New York without a religion and no Arabic speaking skills to show for it, I’ve always felt somewhat removed from this important lineage.
In 2002, Israel started building the barrier–part concrete, part chain-link fence–to prevent suicide bombers crossing over from the West Bank. When it is finished, it will be more than 400 miles long, zigzagging deep into Palestinian territory. The Palestinians like to say, true or not, that the wall can be seen from outer space.
Thanks to a group of Dutch and Palestinian activists, people can now immortalize their words on the wall without a passport. For $40, you can compose a message at www.sendamessage.nl, and a trio of Palestinian graffiti artists will spray your words on the wall and e-mail you a photo as proof. The only restriction: no messages of hate or anti-Semitism.
When I read this, it was a no-brainer. I was going to get a spot on the longest open letter on the wall in Palestine for my father. I received photos of my leter yesterday which were emailed directly to me and directly to my dad, as a surprise.
This is the email I got from him:
Dools, this is something, I want to talk to you but I am still crying and I do not want to cry in my office, it is so moving, it touched my heart deep and proper, thank you sweet heart, one day you will see it and you will understand how beautiful that part of the world is. Love dad…