“We feed the love of Palestine to our children with milk,” began Palestinian refugee Abdel Razaq Abu Houimel, residing at the “Jerash” camp north of Jordan, expressing his unwavering belief that “diaspora will not prevent the dream of return.”
The story of Abdel Razaq (73), also known by his kunya “Abu Ramzi,” carries a beacon of hope amidst a painful reality endured daily by Palestinians. It demonstrates the resilience and determination of a people unwilling to surrender their homeland, burdened by the injustices and tyranny of Israeli occupation.
Abu Houimel clings to a key and a document dating back to the 1920s, passed down by his late father in a message insisting that return to their home is “inevitable.”
Document dating back to the 1920s, which is a land deed (Tabu) (Anadolu Agency)
Keys and Deeds
In his home at Jerash camp in Jordan, also known as “Gaza camp,” which houses about 35,000 Palestinian refugees, Abu Houimel spoke of his reasons for holding onto the keys and land deeds (Tabu) of properties they had to leave under the shadow of occupation.
Born Abu Ramzi, one of the camp elders within a one-square-kilometer area, in 1950 in the Bir al-Sabe region (southern Palestine), he experienced the Israeli “aggression” forcing his father to move to Gaza.
After the defeat of 1967, his father was again compelled to leave the Gaza Strip towards Jordan, as recounted by Abu Ramzi.
Regarding the war on Gaza, Abu Ramzi noted, “The goal is well-known; they (Israel) want to empty the Strip because Gaza is the sole place striving to revive the Palestinian cause, which is against their objectives.”
Since October 7, the Israeli military has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that has, until Thursday, resulted in 18,787 martyrs and 50,897 injured, most of whom are children and women, alongside extensive infrastructure damage and an “unprecedented humanitarian disaster,” according to Palestinian and international sources.
Abdel Razaq Abu Houimel: diaspora will not prevent the dream of return to Palestine (Anadolu Agency)
Instilling the Love of Palestine in Our Children
The septuagenarian Palestinian held a large iron door key and a tax receipt from 1928, cherishing them as a child would for comfort and affection, explaining that he received them from his father before his passing at the age of 85 in 1994.
He elaborated, “This receipt was for corn taxes paid to the British Mandate government, valued at 6 Palestinian pounds, and the key belonged to the storeroom where we kept wheat and barley.”
With a hint of nostalgia, he continued, “We had sheep and livestock and thought little of the military drills performed by the Jews back then. However, treachery is in their blood; we were suddenly faced with killings, torture, and attacks on us and our homes, leading our families to leave with the hope of a prompt return.”
To further prove their hope for return, Abu Ramzi said, “My father had two wives. After the Jewish attacks, he hid their gold under a tree, where it remains buried to this day.”
He highlighted his determination to keep the key and tax receipt, stating that “It’s not only me who does this; all the camp residents do the same. We will return to Palestine with a 99% certainty.”
Concluding with a sense of intergenerational commitment, he added, “I received them (the keys and tax receipt) from my father, and I will give them to my children, who in turn will pass them to theirs. We feed the love of Palestine to our children with milk.”
A Hope for Prompt Return
Speaking of the events that led to their displacement, Abu Ramzi recounted, “I lived through the wars of 1956 and 1967 and migrated to Syria, Libya, and Iraq.”
He then narrated, “The conditions in 1967 were no less harsh than today; there was a group of Jews of Indian origin who would kill children under the age of seven.”
Holding on to these possessions with hope, he said, “We keep them in the hope of returning soon. In the camp, residents still cling to customs and possessions they brought with them, and even the clothes are still present.”
Expressing optimism for the future, he declared, “Victory from Allah is imminent, and the freedom fighters in Gaza are on the peak of liberation. Most of them were born in the nineties, and barely any are over the age of thirty, except Yahya Sinwar (head of Hamas’s political bureau).”
Referring to a younger generation’s defiance, he emphasized, “We have a generation that cares little for Israel and have promised that by 2027, Israel will cease to exist, and by Allah’s will, we will pray in Jerusalem.”
Gaza camp, initially established as Jerash emergency camp in 1968, became a home for 11,500 Palestinian refugees who left the Gaza Strip due to the Arab-Israeli war in 1967.
There are 13 refugee camps in Jordan, constructed in various stages, housing around two million people.
