Two Gaza brothers celebrate wedding on family's debris

by Saud Abu Ramadan

BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip, July 22 (Xinhua) -- In a bid to challenge the hard economic and social conditions, a Palestinian family on Wednesday night celebrated its two sons' wedding on the debris of their destroyed home in northern Gaza Strip.

The multi-storey construction of the al-Za'anin family in the town of Beit Hanoun was destroyed in an Israeli air raid during a 22-day Israeli military offensive that ended on Jan. 18. Thousands of houses were destroyed, and tens of thousands became homeless.

Despite the humbleness and simplicity of the wedding ceremony, the shambles that were the house of the al-Za'anin family were enmeshed with joy of finally starting a new life.

As the two bridegrooms, Mohamed and Mahmoud al-Za'anin, walked through the crowd of relatives, friends and neighbors at the party, women sang traditional songs with beautiful words that tickled the hearts of unmarried young men and women.

According to the town's wedding tradition, the wedding participants go to the bridegroom's "Zaffa", or the wedding procession. In Beit Hanoun's main street, a group of young men clad in traditional uniform danced and teetered with joy before going to the wedding place.

Al-Za'anin family erected a tent on the rubbles of their destroyed house, as tent has been a symbol of Palestinians' historic suffering over the past six decades.

Saber al-Za'anin, one of the wedding's supporters, told Xinhua that the idea to hold the wedding ceremony on the ruins of the destroyed building was to show that the Israeli occupation destroyed their home.

"We insisted on holding the wedding to send a message to the international community, to the peace lovers, even to Israel, that in spite of all what we went through, these people emerge from under the rubble, remove the dust and hold their wedding ceremonies."

He said, "it's time for our people to regain their rights and live their normal life. It is unreasonable that our people are still displaced and live in the Diaspora all these years."

The 24-year-old bridegroom Mahmoud al-Za'anin didn't care so much about a wedding in a tent, which became an alternative to the apartment that he and his bride have been dreaming to have one day.

Speaking in happiness, Mahmoud said, "this is really a historic day for me ... I have always dreamt to have a big distinctive wedding, and here the day comes where my family and friends celebrate with me."

"In spite of wounds and pains that we suffer from, we must find a way for joy, in order to let the world know that the Palestinians are people who love life and rejects injustice and occupation," he said.

Mahmoud and his brother's wedding ceremony was widely covered by local media, and hundreds of residents in the town gathered as the wedding procession passed through the main street of Beit Hanoun, which has been subject to frequent Israeli army incursions.

The bridegrooms' mother said she didn't like the idea to hold the wedding on the debris of the house at the beginning, "because every mother would like to see her children getting married in a nice and comfortable house."

"But due to our situation and destruction of our house, I finally accepted holding the wedding in such a way I was convinced that life would never stop," said the mother with a smile on her face.

"Our dancing and singing are not only to show our happiness, but also a challenge to the bitter circumstances," she added.