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Friday January 21, 2005
Today is the start of my fourth month in London. I just finished my final exams for the first semester last week, January 13, the day upon which I came into this world 19 years ago. A phone call came from Ramallah... I heard my mum singing: "Happy birthday to you" and my dad wishing me the best.
Living in London during this period is not as simple as it might be. And being away from my family, friends and everyday life in Palestine is harder and harder day by day. Nevertheless the time has came to put pen to paper. What have I achieved in these past four months? What mistakes and progress have I made?
Well since my arrival and especially since the examinations I have been thinking a lot about how important it is going to be for me to end these three years successfully. This means with a good degree from my university and a strong grounding in my subject, so that I can return to my country and participate in the development of this field of science.
Of course success is not limited to studying alone - having fun and gaining experience of everyday British life plays a major part too. Developing ways of thinking and organising were two of the main factors in the development of the first nations. Studying the English culture and understanding the context within which it thrives will hopefully spark off new ideas in my mind which will help me to play a small role in creating the Palestinian state.
That is me in London, but what is going on in my country? A lot of information is coming out, some encouraging, some less so.
If you believed the press you would have expected the death of President Arafat to create a power vacuum, ultimately leading to a state of chaos. But this assumes that Arafat was managing the country as some sort of one-man show. The successful transfer of power over the last few weeks proves that this was not the case. The death of our national leader proved there was a system, and furthermore that it was functioning. The power was passed smoothly into the hands of other leaders, such as Abu Mazen, in a peaceful and democratic way. Those predicting civil war did not found themselves in an easy position.
The second most important event of recent current affairs in my homeland was the election of a new president for the Palestinians. Seven candidates took part in the election, with Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) winnning with 68% of votes. In his first speech on January 16, he said: "The people have spoken for the end of occupation and the democratic choice, for the continuation and consolidation of development and reform".
"The people have voted for the rule of law, order, pluralism, the peaceful transfer of authority, and equality for all. The people have chosen just peace, ending the occupation, and coexistence based on equality and international legitimacy".
Thirteen thousand national and international observers were there witnessing the elections. Never in history has such a large observational corpus been launched. But why? Simply to over-convince the Israeli prime minister that he has a legitimate, mandated partner on the other side to negotiate with.
These Palestinian elections make me return to the pages of my own family's personal history... January 1996, the first presidential election in Palestine. The candidates for that presidency elections were two: one was Yasser Arafat, the other Samiha Khalil. She won 9.8% of the votes. She is the first woman in the Arab to contest a presidential election. That woman was a true innovator. She opened the door for pluralistic presidential elections in Palestine. I'm proud to make this announcement: "That woman was my grandmother - she passed away in 1999."
— The Guardian
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