“Batman, Prayers and Prison, Part 1”

“Batman, Prayers and Prisons, Part 1”

With his chin resting on his fist, Azadeem thought as hard as an 8-year-old could at the most important question I asked him…  “Batman!” he finally exclaimed in response to my favorite superhero question.   He made his arms into wings (does Batman do that?) as he grinned pretending to be his hero.  “Ah!” he interrupted his own fantasy, “and my dad” he spoke in Arabic.

Azadeem, a.k.a. Batman

I was apprehensive when I interviewed Azadeem.  A bright kid… He likes computer games the few times he got to play them (the racecar ones were his favorite), karate and jump rope.  Those were the easy questions; but how do I ask an 8-year-old about life in a refugee camp under occupation? 

Azadeem grew up in Askar refugee camp with his 3 siblings.  He hasn’t known another home in his life.  I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said a carpenter.  “Whys that?”  I responded.  After Azadeem spoke, the interpreter laughed at his response and replied, “He said because that’s what his dad does.”

Askar Refugee Camp

I asked the interpreter what kind of ID Azadeem has, which was Palestinian.  As you remember from the last interview, Palestinian IDs are as good as a monopoly passport in the United States.  That means Azadeem would need special permission to leave, something that isn’t common.  Azadeem is confined to the West Bank.  I asked him if he could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?  I offered the suggestion of Disneyland (a popular 8-year-old dream), but he didn’t know what that was.  Instead, he replied, “Israel.  I want to see the sea.  I’ve never see the sea before.  Maybe Jerusalem too.”

This made me curious.  Did Azadeem know his status within Palestine?  Does he know Palestine’s status in Israel?  I turned to the interpreter, “Can I ask him about the occupation?” I asked.  He turned to Azadeem without responding to me and asked him.  Azadeem shrugged his shoulders.  The interpreter asked again...  Same response. 

Azadeem thinks the refugee camp and living in an area controlled and limited by Israel is a standard life every kid lives.  He doesn’t know that Israel only allows electric and running water certain days a week.  He doesn’t know if he tried to jump the fence to get into Israel he will be shot on the spot.  He also doesn’t know that his family used to live in Lut (a city in Israel), but after 1967 Israel took over that land.  Israeli’s live in his former home.  Azadeem lives in a refugee camp. 

“His dad just got out of an Israeli prison a month ago,” the interpreter said.  “Want me to ask him about it?”  Before I could even think about the magnitude of that sentence, I looked at Azadeem, still half smiling since his Batman adventures.  Living in a refugee camp isn’t fair to an 8-year-old.  Neither is anyone’s parents living in prison.  I grew up in a suburban middle to upper class neighborhood with all the amenities an 8-year-old could have: SEGA Genesis (remember that?), playstation, a trampoline and a racecar bed.  I should be Azadeem, but I’m not.  How did he get the short straw and I hit the jackpot?  Life isn’t fair, especially in Palestine. Nonetheless, Azadeem is happier than most Americans his age.  He lives in a tight knit community- one that is bound by the bonds of their stories.

Askar Camp

“Yes.  Yes I do,” was my response to the interpreter.  Azadeem was asked the question.  My eyes were locked on his, expecting to see his face to change to dismay.  Much to my surprise, Azadeem’s demeanor didn’t change, I’m guessing due to the innocence of being 8. 

“I prayed for him to come home.  I missed hugging my Dad, and I was confused why he was in prison.  Sometimes I was angry, but it’s okay.  I just prayed that I could hug him.” 

Azadeem got his wish 1 month ago when they released his father from an Israeli prison.

Want to know the perspective from his Dad? Or why he was in prison?  Find out in Part 2, where I got the chance to interview him.