Give Us Childhood

Children are the most innocent victims.
They do not understand war or politics.
They do not know why they are hungry, why they are cold, why their homes are gone.

A journalist asked parents in Gaza:
“What are the most difficult questions your children have asked you?”

Here are their answers:

“Baba, why don’t we have holidays or decorations?”

“Mama, where is the beautiful sun?”

“Why do they always bomb us?”

“When they bomb our tent, will we burn?”

“After I die, will I hear your voice?”

“If a missile hits us, do we feel pain… or do we die immediately?”

“When it rains, do we drown in the tent?”

“Every day you say tomorrow we will find food, but today we have nothing.”

“Will the dogs who ate the bodies of martyrs turn into humans?”

“When I die, will they put me in a grave with my mom and dad?”

“I want to go to heaven. There is no fear there.”

“Do the pilots who bomb children have children?”

“Do kids who lose their legs grow new ones?”

And finally:
“Give us peace and give us childhood.
Give us food and give us childhood.
Give us childhood.”

Give us childhood.