Said Siam is dead and so what ?

Said Siam was my age. It is always special to hear about people who were born the same year as oneself but into a completely different reality. There are lots of circumstances in life that we do not control and it begins with what place on earth and to which family we are born into. We make lots of choices along the way as we are growing, but the options differ from person to person. What we are taught as children both from our parents and the surroundings color the paths of our lives.
My path has been mainly “green” while Said’s path got stronger and darker “red” as he went along.
To Hamas in Gaza he was number three in the leadership and in charge of more than 12.000 Hamas gun men. He was the one who pushed for the bloody Hamas coup in Gaza the summer of 2007. He was feared by many as a merciless killer.
Said was born in a refugee camp in Gaza. He was close to Hamas founder Ahmad Yassin (who was assassinated by Israel in 2004) .He was imprisoned both by the Israelis and by Fatah for illegal activities and he was considered an enemy both of the State of Israel and of the Palestinian Authority. Fatah is celebrating his death while Hamas has promised revenge, and the one who informed the Israelis on Said’s where about was one of his own body guards. With other words; his life was about killing until he himself got killed.

By many young men supporting Hamas he is considered a martyr and as such a hero and an ideal. There is no lack of new potential “Saids”.

“How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? “
And the answer is that it is still “blowing in the wind” and that this wind is constantly gaining speed and is turning into a hurricane….

Elin Elkouby