Hadi Al-Hamshari, a Palestinian prisoner spent 16 years in Israeli prisons.
Hadi AlHamshari was arrested by Israeli troops in Tulkarm late in 2003 despite his heroic resistance. They had been trying to capture him since 2000 when the second Palestinian Intifada began. He was accused of opposing Israel because he was an active member of the Fatah movement.
Hadi was deeply depressed when he knew that a cell would be his grim reality for such a long time. “You can’t imagine how weak and fragile you feel when you realize that you have to spend 16 years away from your life, your dreams, and your loved ones.”
Hadi was hesitant and worried about their relationship and the long years that he still had to spend in jail. He was worried about the challenges that Shaza would encounter because of him. He decided he had to talk to her about his worries on the next visit. When he started to tell her his concerns, however, Shaza replied firmly and with her eyes bright, “It’s not allowed to discuss our relationship anymore. We will stand up to this together.”
Shaza spent the next ten years saving Hadi’s salary and her own money. She turned promises into reality. She took daily rides looking for the right piece of land to build their dream house on. She found it and moved forward.
“I didn’t witness these days,” says Hadi. “She sent me pictures of every step she took, but only five pictures are allowed for every prisoner per visit. She kept me informed from the moment she bought the land until the house was built. We discussed every detail from the colors of the paint to the number of rooms to the choice of the furniture. I never doubted that we would live together in our house and make our own family.”
When Hadi came out of prison, he found a surprise waiting for him, his fiancee was 17 years old when he was arrested, but she waited for him, in addition to saving a sum of money, she bought land and built a home for them.
Works Cited:
- https://www.facebook.com/QudsNen/posts/after-16-years-in-israeli-jails-hadi-al-hamshari-from-tulkarem-was-released-on-f/2168703936583510/
- https://wearenotnumbers.org/home/Story/Love_in_a_time_of_jail/
