@MahaGaza
Two weeks ago, Nazeeh, my first nephew, flew a kite for the first time in his life.
He is 12, however, and he should have learned how to fly kites years ago. But when he was old enough to learn, the genocide began. For the next three years, the things he learned were how to cut firewood with his father for cooking, collect water, and move from one shelter to another.
Earlier this month, we went to the beach together as a family.
In every break he took from swimming, I noticed him watching boys flying kites.
“Nazeeh,” I called. “Look around. If you see anyone selling kites, let’s get you one.”
His eyes lit up. He jumped up and started asking around.
We couldn’t find anyone selling one. And just as he came back disappointed, I called over a boy flying a black-and-white kite.
“Where did you buy it?” I asked.
“Do you want one?” he asked back.
He told us he made the kites himself from nylon and sticks and sold them to earn a little pocket money. He offered us the kite for very little. So we got it.
For the next few hours, I had to reach back into my own childhood to teach Nazeeh how to fly it.
Every time I let out more string and the kite climbed higher, he would jump and shout: “Higher! Higher!”
I hadn’t seen my little genius this excited in a long time.
Nazeeh isn’t easily impressed by ordinary children’s toys. He is the kind of kid who would rather take things apart and fix them, especially electronics, or sit watching “how-to” videos.
At one point, laughing, he said: “Wow, how beautiful it is to drive something in the sky.” He knew “drive” wasn’t quite the right word. But I knew exactly what he meant.
As I expected, the kite didn’t stay the way he had bought it. The next day, he asked his mother to show him YouTube videos on how to make kites. Then he rebuilt his own.
He used different nylon. He glued a Palestinian flag onto it. And he wrote “Gaza” on every side, preparing it for our next trip to the beach.
But yesterday, his parents told him he couldn’t fly it outside the house.
“Why?” he asked.
I’m not sure what they told him, but I’m sure they couldn’t put into words how Israel’s Prime Minister and Defense Minister have themselves threatened intensified bombing and forced evacuations of areas in Gaza where children are spotted flying kites.
Because, after all, how do you explain to a 12-year-old that one of the world’s most powerful militaries is designating paper kites as “weapons of war” in a completely devastated area?
https://x.com/MahaGaza/status/2091823635409346902