Palace without freedom

After finishing the 2 weeks of volunteering at Gaza, we

were invited by the director of the Lajee center to his
house to have dinner. Shala lives in a house near the center
with his wife and his four children. The house has four
floors, a very large living room, kitchen, the main room has
its own bathroom and on its giant terrace his four years old
daughter can ride the tricycle and take several turns
around. His three years old son plays with the dozens of
toys that are scattered on the floor.

From the terrace, the tallest building that can be seen is

the Israeli watchtower. At night, a light coming from the
tower and points from left to right and illuminates Shala's
terrace from time to time. It is a light that reminds us of
the lack of freedom, not only of this upper middle class
family that lives in a kind of palace, but of the many others
in the refugee camp that live under tight control night and
day.

We need freeeom!
The Brave Prince
(Heart Touching Stories on Humanity)

A prince was very kind and generous. He always used to distribute his
wealth among the poor people.

One day, he decided to get more wealth. Now, he had heard about a
gem which could fulfil everyone’s wishes. It was in a faraway land.

The prince set off to get the gem. It was a very long journey. Finally,
the prince arrived there.

The people did not like him. However, he did not lose heart. He met the
king. The king told him that his kingdom was in trouble.

A giant was troubling them. The prince said, “I will kill the giant but
you will have to give me the gem in exchange.” The king agreed.

The prince fought with the giant and killed him. The king gave the
prince the gem.

The prince came back to his kingdom. From then on, no one was poor or
unhappy as the wish-fulfilling gem fulfilled everyone’s needs.

May the fulfilling gem fulfil my wish too.. Save and free Palestine!
Potatoes, Eggs and Coffee Beans
Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she
didn't know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It
seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a
high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot
and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil without saying a word to
his daughter. The daughter moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After
twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a
bowl. He took the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it
in a cup.

Turning to her, he asked. "What do you see?" "Potatoes, eggs and coffee," she hastily replied.

"Look closer", he said, "and touch the potatoes." She did and noted that they were soft.

He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-
boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

"Father, what does this mean?" she asked.

He explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity - the
boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

he potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The
egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling
water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique.
After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly.
So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance
away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the
youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered
with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms
that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.
The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and
fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only
one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one
season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that
life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your
summer, fulfillment of your fall. Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season. Persevere through the difficult patches and better times
are sure to come some time or later.