"Mahmoud is Dead - Mahmoud is Dead", by Ramzy Baroud*
"I wish I could say that Mahmoud died with a smile on his face. He didn’t. He was in so much pain. Moments after his death, hundreds of people broke the siege and rushed to his family’s home .."
Mahmoud Amer Turkman is a friend of mine. He never spoke a word to me. He couldn’t. A bullet left a hole in his throat wide open. He only gestured, but between his hands and eyes, he could do miracles.
I can testify to that. I wrote about it several times in the past. I wrote about it in April of last year when I first met Mahmoud. He was jammed with several other Palestinians in a Jordanian hospital room. He, and one other young man were the only wounded from the Jenin refugee camp that were allowed to leave the Occupied Territories. The distance between Jenin and Amman is a few hours drive. But it took Mahmud 22 days to finally reach his destination. His resilient ambulance driver carried him from a tiny Jericho clinic in the West Bank to the West Bank’s border with Jordan, now controlled by Israel, 22 times. Each time, the Israelis would interrogate Mahmoud. He had nothing to say. Finally he was allowed entry.
He arrived to Jordan after he had lost half of his body weight, waiting at the border. He slept on his hospital bed, light as a feather, lost in what seemed to be a massive hospital gown.
"I wish I could say that Mahmoud died with a smile on his face. He didn’t. He was in so much pain. Moments after his death, hundreds of people broke the siege and rushed to his family’s home .."
Mahmoud Amer Turkman is a friend of mine. He never spoke a word to me. He couldn’t. A bullet left a hole in his throat wide open. He only gestured, but between his hands and eyes, he could do miracles.
I can testify to that. I wrote about it several times in the past. I wrote about it in April of last year when I first met Mahmoud. He was jammed with several other Palestinians in a Jordanian hospital room. He, and one other young man were the only wounded from the Jenin refugee camp that were allowed to leave the Occupied Territories. The distance between Jenin and Amman is a few hours drive. But it took Mahmud 22 days to finally reach his destination. His resilient ambulance driver carried him from a tiny Jericho clinic in the West Bank to the West Bank’s border with Jordan, now controlled by Israel, 22 times. Each time, the Israelis would interrogate Mahmoud. He had nothing to say. Finally he was allowed entry.
He arrived to Jordan after he had lost half of his body weight, waiting at the border. He slept on his hospital bed, light as a feather, lost in what seemed to be a massive hospital gown.