“Blessed are those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God” (Jesus)
That’s what came to my mind as I met Ibrahim… a child of God…an amazing man…an inspiration, challenging and encouraging…
I could seat for hours hearing the countless stories of Ibrahim…stories of people who pass by… stories of his family…stories of his travellings …stories of wisdom…
He’s a small man, but with a huge huge heart ☺ …he’s hard on accepting compliments, but that’s what I see in him…a man after God’s heart… he recognizes that all the time, that it’s by God that he does all he does…
he also makes sure to say that if it wasn’t his wife’s support, he could never do everything he’s doing… he’s a gentleman as well…
It was not hard to find him…I just had the name of the place where he lives and his first name…a friend told me about him and told me he has an open house… so we went to that place to check it out…we were in a small park having a break and some lunch and I just went to a guy and asked if he knew Ibrahim… I didn’t know who was him at that time, so I had no idea if many people would know him or not … but they did, immediately they pointed out directions to his house…and so we went…we end up knowing after that 12000 people who live here are his relatives ☺
I felt welcomed as I came into the house… We met his wife first who told us to meet him on the 1st floor where he was…
He received us with a warm hug and soon we were seating, talking and having tea…
Ibrahim is a Palestinian Arab, a Muslim, whose family live for more then 1400 years in this land, now called “no man’s land” … because of that he has no citizenship, no passport, but still, he has been travelling all over the world speaking in many places about Peace being possible…for that he has to use some papers to replace a passport… in “no man’s land” people have no rights as any other human beings on earth…
he has 2 sons in USA, and because they left for more than one year, they cannot come back anymore to live in their family’s land…they can only come to visit with a 3 month visa like any other tourist… “why?” I asked… he doesn’t know as well… Who can understand ?!!! Ibrahim stands for justice and peace, even when most of people have no hope on justice and peace…
Above all, he Loves people…he loves everyone and helps everyone who needs help, despite their nationality, their belief, their culture… everyone is a “neighbour” for him…
sometimes he even gets in trouble for that, but he doesn’t worry so much with troubles☺ He often uses this expression while sharing his stories : “ Life is beautiful”, “people are beautiful” … and he doesn’t seam to keep any anger or bitterness towards anyone… he just laughs of many situations… coz many are really unbelievable…or just too ridiculous to be true…
In his OPEN HOUSE he hosts all sorts of people, young, old, all sorts of nationalities, all sorts of beliefs… because he believes we can all COEXIST without the need of hurting each other in behalf of our differences… and he makes sure every one feels welcome and at home…
many times his opinion is asked by radios, Tv and newspapers…and his message remains the same : PEACE is possible by Loving one another…
When he was asked who wan in the late war in Lebanon, he simply answered: “No one wins in any war…besides the ones who make business out of it… no one can give back to a mother her child who got killed…no one can give back to a wife her husband who got killed…”… and his speech goes on in a way that makes you wanna cry…he's also really worried and scared about the future in the Middle East, because of all these weapons that are being used.... they are terribly poisoned and soon people will have many sicknesses, like leuchimia and others... the air in the Middle East is being poisoned and no one talks about it !!!
He believes in Peace because Peace happens everyday in his house around his table…but unfortunately we don’t hear about this stories on our Tv’s, radios or newspapers…
he’s a wonderful cook as well…and an amazing host… he delights to see everyone around the table , eating and talking… and on this table are Jewish, Muslims and Christians, Israelis and Palestinians, and they all eat together, they get to know each other and many friendships are built around this table…and that’s the Message : PEACE IS POSSIBLE, when we all give a chance to know each other and realize we are all humans, we are all brothers and sisters in this world…
And on this table there’s LOVE… and that’s beautiful…yes, people are beautiful !!! Life is intended to be beautiful !!!
I could write so much more about this man … I feel so motivated, inspired and encouraged by him, but this is getting too long already so I’ll stop here…
Maybe you’ll meet him somewhere on this earth… maybe here, maybe in your country… he wants to go back in India to ride an Elephant ☺ coz he missed that last time he was there…
And by the way, he likes to spend the night in the Metro station in Manhattan … someone invited him and offered him a room in a 5 start hotel to spend the night, but soon he got bored with the 4 walls around him…he just loves being with people, so he went to the Metro station nearby and spent the night speaking with homeless people, drug addicts and drunk people...
so you might be surprised if you meet him ☺
One thing I know, I will never forget this man…
PEACE
SALAAM
SHALOM
PAZ
(click on the tittle and check his web site and other peacemakers in Jerusalem)
I left this with him... I saw it in U2 last tour...Bono used this on a white cloth in his head...COEXIST !!!
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