Muhsen Abu Khudier has awaited this Memphis summer day in spirited anticipation.
Today is his wedding day.
The proper arrangements have been made, and many people have been notified as Khudier prepares for one of the biggest moments in his life.
But he will not marry on this summer day.
He is told it is too dangerous.
Half a world away, Khudier’s fiancee is trapped in the clutches of the ravaging violence that continues to rage near her home in Jerusalem — which lies within the war-torn region of the West Bank — the effects of which have imprisoned her in her own home.
Just two blocks away, a Jewish family huddles together as the continuous roar of helicopters and gunfire make it impossible to sleep.
Today marks the tenth month of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and the tenth year since former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhaz Shamir accepted a U.S. formula for a sustained peace pact with Middle-Eastern Arabic nations. It also exemplifies a typical day coping with issues that are spurring a “lifetime of turmoil” for some University of Memphis students.
Khudier, a graduate student majoring in bio-medical engineering at The U of M, said the feeling of “hopeless uncertainty” he experiences is shared with many students and Memphians that are oblivious to the fate of loved ones still immersed in the hostile and segregated region.
“It is difficult for many to understand the plight and dangers these people face, but the conflict is having an impact on many people in this area that must fear for their families on a daily basis” Khudier said. “On a typical day, there is no certainty that a person will make it home from school, or that their house will even be there when they arrive.”
On Monday, a 15-year-old Palestinian was killed following an alleged grenade attack on a Israeli military post, bringing the death toll to an estimated 661 in the 10-month melee of violence.
Khudier, who bears the evidence of the violence in the form of three gunshot wounds he sustained while living in Palestine, said he fears that the possibility for a peaceful resolution is quickly diminishing, and the conflict could serve as the flashpoint for increasing tensions between larger nations if the violence is not resolved.
In the intermingled and clashing population of the West Bank, a joint survey by Israeli and Palestinian researchers found that nearly half of the dispersed population said they expect the conflict to continue for five to 10 years. However, nearly 73 percent on both sides of the segregated population support a process of reconciliation.
“Imagine how you would feel if a member of your family was being dragged away or killed by people of different background and religion that occupy the land all around you,” Khudeir said. “The magnitude of injustice and cruelty that the region has endured is out of control and incomprehensible.”
While Israeli government and the Palestinian people continue to grapple with a lasting resolution to the conflict, some members of student organizations at The U of M are taking a progressive stance on the issue.
Last April, members of the Friends For Palestine student organization at The U of M marched in New York “to tell the world loudly and clearly that we support justice for Palestinians.”
In addition, the Jewish Student Union holds weekly prayer services in remembrance of those that have been killed in the conflict in hopes of a peaceful resolution.
Despite some conflicting viewpoints between the two organizations, members of both have implemented a platform for peace by sponsoring and attending open lectures and seminars to discuss the issue at various locations around The U of M and the City of Memphis.
“We are an organization comprised of people from different backgrounds and religions, but we are bound by the hope of peace and the preservation of the rights of people,” said Khudier, a member of the FFP student organization at The U of M.
