The young boy jumped up of the bed joyful, as he had a dream. He dreamed that he went back to al-Sawafir village, a village which his grandparents left because of expulsion in 1948. Yusuf, 13, dreamed that he was walking amongst orange trees, holding the key of his house, which stands for the right of return.
Yusuf got used to sit with his grandfather and grandmother, who were telling him about the memories of the old times, and about life in Jaffa.
Yusuf learned to love his land; he memorizes much information on his village. He deems his existence in Gaza as a temporary thing, so he keeps two pictures of al-Sawafir village.
Back to Safad
Yusuf is not an only case. Leen al-Askari, 11, resides in Saudi Arabia, alongside with her family. She is from Safad village originally. She talked to Alresalah correspondent via Skype to narrate her story.
Once she talks about her village, one feels like Leen is above twenty because she knows a lot about Safad.
"I used to listen to my father's speech about Safad, when I was too young," said Leen. "But as I grew older, I started searching Safad on internet."
Leen felt sorry for her village due to the fact that Israel is Judaizing its landmarks. "My biggest dream is to go back to Safad and to see nature there."
Leen feels that the Palestinian Cause is very distinctive, said she, pointing out that she talks to her classmates about Palestine.
Tears fell down her cheeks. "Tendency invades my heart; I feel tender to Safad." "I wish I could visit it."
Dreaming of Kokaba Village
Nour Abu Raya, 14, Gaza resident, feels like she is an expatriate, and intends to go back to Kokaba village. She memorizes a lot of information on Kokaba, which she found on the internet.
As usual, she sat with her grandfather, who narrated his life, while being there. "I memorize every single detail of the village due to my grandfather's description." Occupation has come to an end.
