H’mm, these are the words of my friend Ahmed Pal from Gaza who last week was 20 days from graduation when his university was bombed.

Ahmed and I became friends around October 2007

when he set-up the facebook group

which seems to have doubled its membership this last week to 33,000.

Here he is now wishing you a Happy New Year:

It's a simple legal dream to graduate and to start my way in life, i was supposed

to graduate in 20 days. Maybe i was worried about finding a job, regarding

the siege here in Gaza and how hard is to find one.

But now it would be silly if i think further than staying safe with my family,

2 nights ago they bombed my university the IUG, i watched my future, my

hard work burning infront of me. Whatever the reason they say, it doesn't

matter, the real reason is the same, to kill - to destroy and to leave pain.

We have realized a long time ago, that being a Palestinian and living in

Gaza Strip, is something different, we have to stand the hard situations

and keep going, i have big faith we will rebuild the IUG again and I’ll

graduate, maybe not soon, but it's my ambition and Israel cant stop

that, neither by war nor by threatening.

New year...New bombs

At this moment while I am writing this note,

news from all Gaza strip telling that Israel bombing

everywhere, using ground, air and sea...

Last night people all over the world celebrated the new year 2009, here we

were sitting in the dark, trying to avoid the windows, holding our radios trying

to catch news about where these bombs land… this massacre doesn't seem to have

an end soon and its just getting worse, we are supposed now to send messages to

friends and relatives wishing them happy new year… But instead we call, asking

how their night was and if anyone got hurt!!!

But still I really wish this year can bring us peace

and the siege will be over, and happy new year for everyone.

Personally, I feel it is very much a case of:

Window Into Palestine