Faris Odeh and How one life can be a calling to arms for Thousands , page 1

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(Why does this photo have that watermark on it? It belongs to The Associated Press? Right???)

Faris Odeh (Arabic: فارس عودة‎, December 1985–November 9, 2000)

A picture of Odeh standing alone in front of a tank, with a stone in his hand and arm bent back to throw it, was taken by a photojournalist from the Associated Press on October 29, 2000. Ten days later, on November 9, Odeh was again throwing stones at Karni when he was shot in the neck by Israeli troops. The boy and the image subsequently assumed iconic status within the Palestinian territories as symbols of resistance to the area's occupation by Israel.

Odeh was born in the "sad part" of Gaza City (as my friend liked to put it), where he lived his entire life with his parents and his eight brothers and sisters. Odeh was an daredevil. He was fond of risky stunts, and once jumped an eight-foot gap between the roofs of two four-story buildings.

When the Al-Aqsa Intifada began in September 2000, Odeh started skipping school to take part in the action. The boys parents tried to get Odeh to stay home but sadly were unsuccessful. Apparently his parents were fond of Physical Punishment so I guess that couldn't have helped to keep the boy home.

At times his mother would have to go to sites of the worst fighting in search of her son. Only to find him at the front of a crowd nearest the Israeli Troops.

On October 29, Associated Press photographer Laurent Rebours captured the iconic photo of Odeh, who, according to a subsequent AP story, "reveled in his role as the most famous rock-hurler" at Karni.[4] Odeh's 17-year old cousin Shadi, a Palestinian policeman, was killed during a confrontation with Israeli troops on 1 November. "When that happened, Faris said, 'I swear I'll avenge his death,'" Anam Odeh told the Post. "He went to Shadi's funeral wreath and placed a snapshot of himself in it. He said the wreath would be for him, too."

On November 8th, 2000 he was at the front of a group throwing stones at tanks when Soldiers opened fire. As he crouched to pick up another stone to throw he was hit in the neck and left to die as the other kids in the group scattered. Sadly that's exactly what happened, he died.

According to United Press International (UPI), tens of thousands of people attended Odeh's funeral. His father told UPI: "He is a martyr, and this is what he always wanted to be, a martyr for the sake of Al Aqsa."

He fueled a cause. He's been called the "Palestinian everyman".

We are all called to fix this crazy world. Yes, all of you.

How will we do it? Time will tell. If we can learn one thing for Odeh's life it would be that, Any injustice, no matter how "small," should not be acceptable. Remember those words.

- Drew

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org...