Family is a blessing whose greatness is only truly felt by those deprived of the warmth of their closeness. How many loved ones and dear ones has war separated? How many faces that were once part of our daily lives are now only seen after great effort, or on fleeting occasions that we reach with great difficulty, as if we are traversing distances between hearts, not between places?
We all live in one homeland, we carry the same memories, and we breathe the same air, but the harshness of life and its painful consequences have made us strangers to one another. Asking about each other’s well-being by phone has become a substitute for the gatherings that used to bring us together, and pictures of loved ones and their messages have become a substitute for the laughter that used to fill the air.
A curse, a complete curse, on war, which has left behind nothing but pain, sorrow, and emptiness. A war that stole our security, shattered our most beautiful moments, and taught us that sometimes the loss of a meeting is more painful than the loss of things. The hardest thing a person can experience is to feel like a stranger in their own land… to look around and find no one around, to carry longing in their heart, and to stand before an uncertain future, not knowing what it holds.
How we yearn for simple days that seemed ordinary, but were truly the most precious things we possessed… a gathering with family, a conversation with a friend, a greeting to a neighbor, and a meeting without fear or calculation.
We pray to God that this alienation imposed by war will end, and that He will return to us our loved ones, our days, our homes, and our peace… for some wounds cannot be healed by time, but they may subside when those we love are reunited.
Abu Mostafa