Guava
In Jabalia: First Bite,
Last Breath
By Sami Abu Salem
writing from Jabalia
22 October 2004
Electronic
Intifada
The
seeds of guava were still between 13-year-old Saber Assaliya's lips
when an Israeli tank shot him in the waist. The boy was playing in a
nearby orchard at the southern tip of the Jabalia Refugee Camp, in the
north of Gaza.
Craving ripe guava,
Saber and his cousins headed to the orchard close to his house. He was
happy, sporting a new hair cut and new clothes.
"Dad, look,
it is a new hair style. Is it nice, dad?" Saber asked his father,
soon after he had his fresh haircut and minutes before being murdered.
On October 3, Saber
was showing off for his neighbours and cousins the hair gel he used
for the first time. He joined a group of children playing and helping
their neighbour collect chickens after Israeli bulldozers destroyed
his chicken coop.
Saber's cousin and
eyewitness Mohammed Assaliya, aged 13, said that Saber was eating guava
when three bullets hit him in the waist.
"The owner
of the destroyed farm asked us to help him collect the chickens; some
of us were helping him and others were playing football," Mohammed
explained while revisiting the scene of the crime.
Mohammed was scared
when we walked among the guava, orange, and olive trees where Saber
was murdered. Mohammed stood and looked at the place were the Israeli
tank was positioned, kept silent for awhile, then pointed and said,
"there, the tank was there."
"Saber was
standing near us, he picked a guava from a tree, and he had just taken
his first bite when an Israeli tank began shooting. Soon we ran away.
Saber tripped, fell down, and shouted, 'Hey, hey, help.' We did not
reply. I told him, 'You are joking,' but when I looked at him I saw
blood pouring from his waist while dust covered his new clothes and
his gelled hair. The seeds of guava were still in his lips," Mohammed
recalled.
"The owner
of the chickens carried Saber in his Volkswagen. Instead of carrying
chickens, he carried Saber," he added.
Saber's 42-year-old
father, Ibrahim, who works as a photojournalist, said that his son was
happy in the minutes before his killing.
"During the
incursion into Jabalia, I spend three days and nights at work, and [Saber]
asked me on the phone to come back home, for he missed me ... he asked
for pocket money and went to the barber," Ibrahim said.
"Saber had
his haircut and a shower and wore new clothes. He was so proud of his
new haircut and styling gel. His clothes also were new. [Saber said,]
'Dad, look, I use hair gel and have new hair style, it is beautiful,
yes, yes, it is beautiful, isn't it?'" Ibrahim recalled.
The last moment
Ibrahim spent with his son was just ten minutes before Saber's killing.
After showering, Saber chatted and drank tea with other family members.
His talk focused on hair styles and clothes; his mother was also happy
about the new haircut.
"I left the
house and he was strutting among his cousins and friends in the area.
Ten minutes later, I was informed on my mobile that Saber was wounded.
Soon after, I headed to the hospital, but I found him lifeless,"
Ibrahim said, evoking the last moment he spent with his son.
Saber was an excellent
football player, and enjoyed watching matches on TV.
"Lots of things
died with him," Ibrahim said. "Just two weeks ago the coach
of the Jabalia Youth Football Team asked Saber to join the team. Saber
was so addicted to football; he wanted to be an international footballer."
Ibrahim mentioned
that Saber suffered psychological trauma because of the previous Israeli
attack on Jabalia in March 2003.
At that time, Israeli
tanks were stationed near the family home and intense gunfire and missiles
killed at least eight citizens and wounded scores of others.
Ibrahim explained
that Saber's story is a long one. "When I got married, I suffered
sterility for eight years. I received intensive medical treatment. I
remember, I was heading home after a hard day of work, and I was astonished
to see several people gathering near my house. My heart leaped up when
I knew that they were coming to congratulate my wife for her first pregnancy.
"After eight
years, Saber's first scream filled the hospital. I was extremely happy;
I distributed sweets for all medical staff and patients in the hospital
and the to those in the neighbourhood. I followed all the details of
raising Saber," Ibrahim said while tears filled his eyes. "And
in just seconds, the Israeli tanks turned him into a memory."