Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

At the bridge over the Jordan River, Father and other men hoping to return home are separated from their families to be questioned. After two days of waiting and receiving aid from International Red Cross workers, Ibtisam, Mother, Basel, and Muhammad cross without Father and ride busses back to Ramallah. They worry about Father. They also fear that their home has been destroyed and are thankful to find it intact. After being gone for four months and 13 days, their garden is dead, and their water supply has dried up. Ibtisam finds the shoe she could not get on when they fled. The family borrows oil from their aloof neighbors, the Mahasreh, to open the stiff lock on their door. Inside, they find evidence that guns were fired into the house. Ibtisam feels unsafe. They have no matches to light the lamp and spend the night quietly in the dark.

The next day, despite Mother’s prayers for God to aid them, the children fail to find any matches outside. At sunset, however, Father returns home bringing matches and food. A truck refills their water supply. Father has a new truck-driving job, helping rebuild war-damaged roads. Ibtisam, now four, plays with her brothers and is happy the family is home and together.