Answering the Unanswerable

When groping for hope is the best you can do

Out of all of the daily atrocities in Gaza, Mahmoud became fixated on this toddler, miraculously pulled alive from under a collapsed wall. He wrote: "What is the child's fault? Why was a missile launched by Israel to bomb him and his family? Why don't the presidents have the heart to stop this genocide?"

Of course I could offer very little solace or explanation, but I had to say that I had zero confidence that Trump would do anything positive. After some more lamenting and “I don’t knows,” the conversation segued to talk of the future. He asked whether I thought, when the war was finally over, if they should rebuild their lives in Gaza or try to go abroad. That he was even allowing himself to think of the future at all I took as a good sign. I told him if I had to bet, they will have no choice where to go and will probably be expelled into the Sinai, that some efforts were probably being made now to force Jordan and Egypt to accept them with promises of billions in Qatari aid.

I added that it seems to me that the only thing left for Gazans are memories, but that the Palestinian diaspora was strong and it is the relationships between Palestinians that makes them one people—no matter what land they are living on. He has relatives in Egypt, and I imagine they'll end up there, and then thought he should then apply to go to Europe or Canada. There is no hope to immigrate to America while Trump is still President, but in any case, it will take several years to get to the front of any immigration/refugee line and he’ll need all that time to learn English or French (or both to increase his chances.). I suspect he hoped to hear that I would sponsor his family. but I just don’t have the financial means required to sponsor a refugee family — even if the door hadn’t been slammed shut in any case until at least 2029. (There is no question of just sponsoring him. He will not leave his family, nor would it be right for him to.)

I advised him that circumstances beyond his control will probably determine his immediate future, so it’s pointless to agonize about what choice to make, he just needed to do the next indicated thing right now. I reassured him that I will remain by his family’s side no matter what. Meanwhile, I asked him not to approach the food aid distribution sites, and he had no trouble agreeing to that. He said they call it "Humiliation Aid", and they all despise having to trade their dignity to have a chance not to starve. (Because he has our financial aid, he has the luxury of buying on the black market.)

I feel like I just groped for hope to give him, but it is very important to him to have someone who at least tries. He is carrying such a burden for a 20 year old, and I can at least offer a fatherly ear, and my best guess at what he should do. He always finishes our conversations with: "I don't know how I can every repay you" and I tend to respond along the lines of "Helping you stay alive is probably the most important thing I've ever done."

I mean it.

MCO 2025

P.S. If you would like to buy me a cup of coffee, by all means.
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If you would like to help me help Mahmoud and his family, @markolmsted at Paypal, or @Mark-Olmsted-4 on Venmo.