Mother's Day in Gaza: A Time for Sorrow
As Mother’s Day nears, many Gazans are remembering their lost loved ones, reports Asmaa al-Ghoul.
![Mother of al-Aqsa TV cameraman Kawmy mourns during his funeral in Gaza Strip The mother (2nd R) of al-Aqsa TV cameraman Mahmoud Al Kawmy mourns during his funeral in Gaza Strip November 21, 2012. Hospital sources said that two cameramen working for al-Aqsa TV, including Kawmy, and an educational programming director for the al-Quds channel, both affiliated with Gaza's Hamas government, were killed by Israeli air strikes in their cars on Tuesday. The cameramen were killed in their car not far from the main Shifa hospital in Gaza city while the al-Quds programmer director was killed](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2013/03/RTR3AONF.jpg/RTR3AONF.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=exWCn0p5)
On Mother's Day last year, 5-year-old Ronan Arafat picked a rose on her way back from the nursery and offered it to her mother. This year, however, Ronan will not offer her mother a rose. She will not grow another year; she was killed by Israeli warplanes as they bombed their house in the south of the Zeitun neighborhood in Gaza City on Nov. 14, 2012.
Her mother, Nisreen, says, “My daughter was martyred on the first day of the war. Our house is located in a big agricultural area. I remember hearing that day news about the assassination of Ahmed Jabari, so I brought my children together and got ready to go to the house of my family. And the moment my son Jalal and two daughters Maria and Ronan came to me to help them get dressed, the house disintegrated under heavy shelling.”