I could never have expected this nightmare to become my reality when I was sitting in my small bedroom as a young man two decades ago. While my parents were out shopping in Gaza City, they were taken hostage by Hamas militants. I remember the fear and dread that overtook me as I heard this news. It was a living hell that began for me and my family.
For the first few weeks after their disappearance, we had little to no information regarding their whereabouts or well being. Keeping hope alive through supplication, I beseeched the good Lord for His help in finding them.
My family and I then spent the next eight months desperately searching for any clues and trying to piece together the story behind their kidnapping. During this period, we were not given access to their captors or to the area where they were being held.
We finally got a glimpse of the wretchedness that my parents were facing when two negotiations ensued between the European Union and Hamas. Tragically, the negotiations were unsuccessful, and after two years of stalemate, my father sadly passed away in captivity.
It has been over twenty years since that wretched day, but the nightmare of my parents’ abduction never fully left me. Their kidnapping was much more than a footnote to the ongoing war and suffering in Gaza, it was the essence of it. This is why I firmly believe that it is vital to recognize and tell the stories of those whose lives have been affected by this conflict. They should never be forgotten and their suffering should not be minimized.
My parents were regular people whose lives were taken from them due to no fault of their own. Political conflicts and war do not exempt any group of people no matter how distant or unrelated to the conflict. My parents were among many civilians in Gaza that continue to suffer as a result of violence and conflict. Thus, one cannot talk about the conflict in Gaza without talking about my parents’ suffering and my family’s plight. In this way, their lives will never be forgotten and will live on in our memory.