The British newspaper "The Guardian" published an article on the killing of Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Aqleh, in which it stated that the late woman embodied the suffering of the Palestinians and was a symbol reminding the world of their existence and a lifeline for the Palestinians in the diaspora.
The article - prepared by the American journalist of Palestinian origin, Arwa Al-Mahdawi, who is commenting in the Guardian - stated that Abu Aqila was not just a journalist, and that the word “icon” did not fulfill her right, as she was the journalist who documented displacement, and she was the voice of the Palestinians and a symbol of Palestine.
Al-Mahdawi began her article - which was published by the newspaper with Awan, "In order to realize why the killing of Sherine Abu Akleh was a very devastating event, you have to know what it means to be Palestinian" - by talking about her and other Palestinians' suffering, especially in the diaspora, due to questioning the existence of Palestine and looking at the Palestinians with suspicion. .
She said that the "Palestinian citizen is constantly told that he thinks he exists, but he does not exist. I am Palestinian and I used to say that I am: half Palestinian through my father. But today I refuse to split myself in half, and this has been told to me many times."
She added that the best example of this is that when one of her colleagues heard that she was Palestinian, he addressed her by saying, "Linguistically, there is no such thing as Palestinian, and there is no such thing as Palestine."
Referring to the Western media and the Western world's dealing with the issues of Palestine and the Palestinians, Al-Mahdawi says, "The Palestinians are not recognized for their existence unless they are extremists or armed, then no one disputes our existence, and no one disputes our brutal and terrorist nature. There is no question about our existence when we are a target Reprehensible, we exist when we are criticized, but we are non-existent when it comes to human rights.”
Al-Mahdawi added, "There is a narrative version of what is happening that says that there is no peace in Israel/Palestine, because the Palestinians are terrorists who do not want peace. But there is also no peace because the Palestinians are a fantasy and Palestine is a made-up idea. So we exist and do not exist, which is a complicated matter."
Sherine symbol and identity
The writer - the American of Palestinian origin - said that she presents these examples because it is difficult to understand the extent of the severity of the killing of Sherine Abu Akleh and why it shook the Palestinians to the core without realizing what it means to be Palestinian.
She elaborated on the challenges facing the Palestinians in the diaspora, noting that what it means to be Palestinian is to question the validity of your existence on a daily basis and to be erased, bypassed, and distorted.
She added, "For Palestinians in the diaspora - like me - being Palestinian means getting used to looking at you with suspicion just because you answer a question: Where are you from? For example, when my family moved to New York when I was young, someone on the architecture board heard my father say that he was Palestinian. He joked that he should not hold terrorist meetings in his apartment. When I started studying law in London, I was exposed to many jokes about suicide bombers. Anti-Palestinian fanaticism had become so common and widespread that I was afraid to mention my Palestinian identity when strangers asked me about my country."
Al-Mahdawi believes that Sherine Abu Aqleh was the embodiment of courage and the suffering of the Palestinians, and she did not have these qualms, and the imperative with which she concludes her reports, "I am Sherine Abu Aqleh, Jerusalem, occupied Palestine" is clear and does not contain confusion or apology for existence and identity, but only the truth.
Therefore, Shireen's presence was "a reminder to the world that the Palestinians are not an abstract philosophical concept that makes their existence a subject of discussion, but rather that they are human beings who deserve to live in dignity. For the Palestinians of the diaspora, Abu Aqila was a lifeline, and she is now gone."
She pointed out that the Israeli authorities not only killed Abu Aqila, but also desecrated her funeral, as the Israeli police attacked her funeral and beat the crowds who were attending her funeral and tried to remove the Palestinian flag from over her coffin.
Several journalists also misrepresented her memory when they reported her death by speaking of her killing during alleged "encounters", lending credence to the changing account of the Israeli authorities, which they considered better than that of eyewitnesses.
Finally, Mahdawi said she saw that “the best way to honor Shireen Abu Akleh’s memory is to ask you to think about this: If the violence that occurred during the funeral of a beloved Palestinian was committed at a time when the Israeli government realizes that the whole world is watching it, what happens to the Palestinians? Ordinary people at the rest of the time? The violence documented by the media during Abu Aqila's funeral was not an anomaly, it was just another day under occupation."