A fleeting glance

In December 2013, the author stood underneath wire-netting constructed by Palestinians to protect themselves from garbage and human wastes, thrown onto the streets below by illegal Israeli settlers, often hitting Palestinians. This cruel and puzzling behavior led her to reflect on an imagined dialogue between two girls of eight years old, whose stories haunt each other over time, through their growth into adulthood. This imagined conversation reveals their common humanity, raises questions about the boundary between good and evil and prompts questions about how accepting similarities in family traditions and ethnic practices might help overcome conflicts through peaceful dialogue and mutual acceptance. A moving and touching portrait and slice of life revealed through the girls' eyes, as they witness a horrible and shameful page of history in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, one that shows no signs of ending, creating many innocent victims and an outcast population under the indifferent gaze of the world.

In December 2013, the author stood underneath wire-netting constructed by Palestinians to protect themselves from garbage and human wastes, thrown onto the streets below by illegal Israeli settlers, often hitting Palestinians. This cruel and puzzling behavior led her to reflect on an imagined dialogue between two girls of eight years old, whose stories haunt each other over time, through their growth into adulthood. This imagined conversation reveals their common humanity, raises questions about the boundary between good and evil and prompts questions about how accepting similarities in family traditions and ethnic practices might help overcome conflicts through peaceful dialogue and mutual acceptance. A moving and touching portrait and slice of life revealed through the girls' eyes, as they witness a horrible and shameful page of history in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, one that shows no signs of ending, creating many innocent victims and an outcast population under the indifferent gaze of the world.