Fatima, wife of freed prisoner Majd Barbar… a story of freedom that arose after two decades behind bars

Like the difference between heaven and earth. ” This is how the difference seemed to be when Fatima, the wife of released Jerusalem prisoner Majd Barbar, received her at her home 4 years ago while in Israeli jails, and the days before his release. of her.

Fatima Al-Jazeera received the year 2017 to prepare a story about her family on the occasion of the day of the Palestinian prisoner with traits of extreme misery and sadness, and these traits changed to a joy and a smile that did not erase his life when we received it. a few days ago to prepare another story about her and her husband. The discussion revolves around a two-decade march of pain and hope, titled “Love and Loyalty”.

In a traditional Palestinian dress, Fatima greets supporters and sits next to her husband who recounted the chapters of her long history, from her childhood to her youth and her absence behind bars for 20 years and ending with her release. about two weeks. to find his two sons, Montaser and Zeina.

Majd Barbar was born in 1976 in Jerusalem and he said that, like other children, he matured prematurely due to the daily arbitrary practices of the occupation of the Holy City, which forced him to resist. He was subsequently arrested several times, the first when he was 13 years old.

The arrests continued until his arrest in 2001, two weeks after his wife gave birth to their daughter Zeina, and he and 4 others were accused of forming a cell that brought a car bomb from Ramallah to Jerusalem, in addition to making hand grenades and other charges, none of which Majd admitted.

Regarding the harshest chapters in his history, he said it was the period of military investigation which lasted over two months during which all forms of physical and psychological torture were practiced, and his wife was brought to an interrogation in order to exert pressure. confess to him the charges against him.? “.

Exchange agreements … a ray of hope for prisoners

On the swap deals, Majd said it was the desire of all prisoners, especially those with high sentences, but he was more realistic than others and did not give his wife hope that he would be part of the liberators of any agreement.

Despite his release, the concerns of more than 4,000 Palestinian prisoners still haunt him, and he was determined to elaborate in addressing them, saying that at the level of their inner lives, they insist on steadfastness and steadfastness in the face of the arrogance of the jailer who tries by various means to empty them of their patriotic and militant content. Publicity

“On the other hand, the released prisoner added:” On the other hand, prisoners are constantly concerned about their image in front of their Palestinian society in light of the continued attempts to overshadow the issue of prisoners and reduce it to the question of the salary and rank that prisoners can get, because they always claim that they only want the release of all positions.

The external concern that haunts the sleep of prisoners – according to Majd – is the division between the two biggest poles of the Palestinian arena, Fatah and Hamas. The truth is that the prisoners want to put an end to this file as soon as possible, since this unity is a condition for victory, and we cannot see ourselves as enemies of each other and say, drop the occupation. , the language of betrayal and exclusion is rejected, and we must see the occupation as the only enemy for all of us. “

Meet an orphan

We did not overlook the details of the orphan reunion that brought Majd to his daughter Zina for a while inside the prison to take a memorial photo, and about that reunion he said, “I didn’t sleep that night and tried to prepare to meet my daughter, who was still a baby when i was arrested. (My parents, I did not carry you, let me carry you today?) We embraced and the specter of this meeting continued to accompany me inside the prison for a long time.

Majd was released five years after that reunion and again hugged twenty-year-old Zina without the jailer’s malicious looks, and he has hugged his eldest son Montaser, who is preparing to finish his college law studies in a few weeks.

The Israeli intelligence services did not like the joy of Tahrir Majd and the people of Jerusalem gathered around him, so he summoned him the next day, but the latter refused to attend, so a great force took over. stormed his house during his celebration, arrested him and brought him in. in court the next day before his conditional release.

Fatima listens to everything Majd says and watches him as she recounts particular family details, and sometimes laughs and hides the pain and oppression of 20 at other times, and when it comes to her turn. to speak, she said her husband was The sentence has ended, but the scars left by her husband’s arrest and forcibly depriving him of her and her two children will not be erased.

Fluently and spontaneously, she said her preparations to receive her husband began a year ago with the restoration of the house and the renewal of some of his possessions, and others were keen to keep them as Majd did. left so that he feels a sense of belonging and comfort when he returns home

“The best part of the preparation is when I started buying new clothes for Majd and completely moved away from the brown color that we won’t all be wearing because it is the color intended for prisoners in the prisons. I also started to prepare my Palestinian dress, with which I will receive my husband, and I made sure to embroider it in Gaza to support the women there. “

She pauses for a moment then says, “I’m talking now and I barely believe Majd is sitting next to me, and when I watch the videos that were widely released the day I released him, I’m surprised.” because I was not aware of everything going on around me .. I felt that I was not walking on the floor at the time, and I did not see or hear anyone other than Glory ”.

Killing the family joy in being free by deliberately arresting Majd twice since his release, Fatima said, “The first day of glory with us at home, and the next day he was gone again… I can’t describe how I felt. with my son Montaser months ago and the Prosecutor is the same. I felt that I had fallen into a deep well and that I could no longer get out. “

“Fatima Al-Majd” – as she likes to be called – concluded her address to Al-Jazeera Net with a sentence she uttered after a deep sigh, saying: “Oh Lord, every woman and mother prisoner lives and feel the joy that I experienced, and on prisoner’s day, I hope serious work will be done to whitewash all prisoners from prisoners. “