By Mais

#HumansOfSNS

I don’t remember much about my first time fasting Ramadan, but I remember receiving a pink shirt as a gift for fasting for two weeks when I was 7. By that age, I started understanding what Ramadan means to me: it is about handling the suffering and hunger of a long day to receive the gift it affords by sundown. The gift is not an ugly shirt (I always hated pink) but it is the whole atmosphere that wraps the month up and the lessons it gives me every year.  

For this blog post we're sharing the reflections of three of our volunteer speakers from Palestine on the holy month of Ramadan, as they reflect on what this time means to them and its significance during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently in its third and worst wave in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Next week we will have a longer piece from Mais about her experiences of Ramadan this year.

It was at the age of 20 when I realised my vocation in this world would be. At the time, I was serving in the Israeli army as a teacher of soldiers who had completed only a basic education (literacy, mathematics, etc.). I fell in love with the teaching profession and it was clear to me that I would adjust the course of my life so that sooner or later I would realise this dream for myself.

This year we’re taking part in The Big Give Christmas Challenge which means that all your donations will be doubled!

We were very sad this month to hear of the passing of Lord Jonathan Sacks and Dr. Saeb Erekat. Here at SNS, part of our learning about the conflict is examining the lives and efforts of leaders like these in trying to promote dialogue, negotiation and to find a way forward on the difficult path to peace - both among our British communities and in Israel-Palestine. They modelled attempts to understand others, whilst also showing leadership and being clear about their own beliefs and views.