Wild Thorns

Wild Thorns gave a very grafic picture of what it's like to live on the Gaza Strip under Isreali occupation. Usama is very idealistic and comes home on the pretext of losing his job and coming home to care for his mother. Being a Freedom Fighter he doesn't seem to really harbor any feelings of kinship with any of his family or any need to take care of them. He is constantly finding fault as if this will justify what he is going to do to them when the Freedom Fighters attack the busses. He plans to bomb the busses taking people into Isreal to work for the Jews. The Freedom Fighters feel this is a betrayal to their people.

His cousin Adil is the oldest son and the responsibility of taking care of the family has fallen on his shoulders. He is constantly reminding himself he has nine mouths to feed and the kidney machine also that is keeping his father alive. He has given up on the family farm and believes no one else in the family knows. Each one seems to be rapped up in their own world and can't seem to see what is happening with each family member. Their father is bitter and blames everyone because he is dependent on the kidney machine and cannot support his family. This makes him feel useless and not needed.

It's hard to imagine living in fear the way these people do from day to day. The Jews raid their homes and blow them up if they feel the people living there have helped the Freedom Fighters in any way. The prisons are diplorable and it seems the people are lucky if they make it to their cells still alive. There seems to be no justice system on the Gaza Strip other than what the Jews in charge will allow them to have. Even the children are taken from the streets and put into these prisons at the will of the Jews. The Freedom Fighters feel justified in what they believe will help free their people and country from occupation, but it's hard to justify murder by blowing up busses with innocent people on board.