Mohammed and his Birthday Cake

Today when I logged on to facebook, I saw images plastered of a teenage boy celebrating his 17th birthday. In the picture there was the god-awful fruit sponge cake that looks delicious on the outside but is sugary and moist on the inside. The teenage boy was called Mohammed As-Salayma, from Hebron, and although he looked older than his age, nevertheless you can see the youthful look on his face.

‘Today was Mohammed's birthday, #IOF shot him dead as he was going to get a cake to celebrate with his family. Mohammaed is the brother of Awad Slaymeh who was liberated by Hamas- Occupation exchange deal and deported to Gaza’.

It was horrible to imagine how this teenage boy who was celebrating his birthday had no clue that it would be his last. There are few events that one looks forward to in their lives and birthdays are one of them. It was suppose to be a celebration of his life, yet it was a mourning for his death. 

Although Palestinians die every other day and at times society is jaded to the increasing toll of martyrs, still it was a dark reminder that we too can lose our lives in a split second. The image was astounding, this was not a militant or a ‘terrorist’, this was simply a 17 year old school-kid who was celebrating with his friends. The pictures are all of his birthday party, there is cake, jello, school kids and friends. This almost resembles the countless class birthday celebrations I had while I was still in school. He reminds me of my school days, where any birthday was an excuse for the class to have cake and celebrate, play a couple of ‘happy birthday to you’ songs and maybe dance a little. This picture brought a wave of nostalgia and childhood memories, yet my memories did not have a sad ending. 

 Later on, Mohammed’s ‘killer’ so to say was revealed. This really was the most astounding and shocking part of the story. The Israeli soldier was an attractive 18-20 year old girl who embodied a typical youth in this day and age. Her information was revealed and out of curiosity, I glanced through her facebook profile. 

Here you have a young woman, lounging by the pool with her friends having a couple of martinis and enjoying life. Is that the face of a murderer? Is that the face of a killer? I don’t know. Her profile resembles many of my friends’ profiles, pictures with friends, on the beach, having fun. There is no hint of any militarism or politics. She seemed like a typical profile on facebook. Then I wondered, how can she sleep at night knowing she shot a 17 year old boy on his birthday? I don’t know. There is no malice behind the question; it is simply curiosity. I started to put myself in her shoes, how would I react if I shot a 17 year old boy? How would I be able to cope with taking the life of another human being? How would I be able to return to normal life knowing that I have destroyed the lives of his family and loved ones? 

This event just confirms the devastating consequences of the continued occupation. You have a typical 18 year old girl hailing from a militarized society, trained to see the other side as the enemy and shed her humanity in the process. You have a 17 year old who was the victim of this process. Who is to blame? Should we blame the Israeli girl? Does she bear complete responsibility, or is the Israeli army responsible for this mess?

I do not harness any hatred or anger towards this girl, rather, my disgust is directed at the continued occupation, colonization and the lack of accountability. The system has to be dismantled and humanity must take precedence. We must not forget our humanity, even if we have entered a morally deficient institution.

R.I.P Mohammed.