Omar

Omar was only five years old when the civil war broke out in his country . His family consists of his father , mother and two little brothers , his brothers were four and two years old respectively. The father had to flee the country and run for his life when his political part lost the war , even though he was not a high profile political figure. The father left to the neighboring country leaving them alone to face their destiny. He told his wife that he will go to a safer place and support the family from afar . Omar's mother was an illiterate person , therefore she was a full time housewife. He was left alone to look after her three children , a helpless mother was abandoned with no one to return to . She accepted and shouldered the responsibility, and like other others on the planet , they sacrifice for their children and love unconditionally. They only thing she could do is to pray to god to not abandon them . She didn't lose faith in god as she believed that god never let's a creature go hungry, even the the bird in the sky can find its way and survive, except that she had no wings , unlike birds which can fly long distance without a passport or a visa . She started growing vegetables and herding sheep to support the family .

She sometimes goes to help the neighbors with their farming to get some food to feed her little children even though she sometimes heard the most vulgar words coming from other women of the village, she used to say that this abandoned woman is cursed because she was forsaken and that her mother was not praying five times a day therefore god punishes her daughter in this world and the mother is burned in hell . She used to hear these things regularly and felt like dagger penetrating the bottom of her hurt , she used to tries to stay strong all the time and think of her little ones that need to be fed as her eldest son is going to shool this year , yes , he is growing up and the responsibility is growing too , the pressure and stress is getting greater and heavier on the poor mother . She sometimes reminds and comforts herself that this is temporary and the darkest moment is before the dawn .

She tells herself that god will not abandon me , god will not punish me because of the wrong deeds of my mother , god is just , he never puts anyone in suffering for the mistakes of others .

Omar now is seven years old . Two years past and no news from his father . Omar is now in the first grade , he wished that his father is holding his hand in morning and take him to school , like other parents do , even once . He sometimes asks himself: why couldn't I have a father like other children to plant a kiss in my cheek and say have a good day ? Why can't I let other classmates to see him coming to pick me up from school ? Why can't I have the basic right in life ? I don't need pocket money or candy or an ice cream , I just want to feel that I have a father that I belong to .

Omar realized that he has to help his mom , he is now 10 years old , he thinks much bigger than his age , he reliazed that he has to shoulder some of the responsibilities and help his mother either in doing housework or herding the sheep. He goes to school in the mornings and herd the sheep in the afternoons . The affection for his father now becomes less powerful than before, he got to know that he has little brothers to support and care about . His brothers did well in their studies as well , and the mother dedicated her time for her children. She kept some hope that the father of her children will one day comeback or even send her news about his whereabouts. She kept asking in vain , she asked people that travel to that country, all the replies she got was that no one knows anything about him . Omar graduated from college and became a great surgeon but unfortunately his mother died of heart attack a month after his graduation. She sat beside him on his graduation ceremony telling him that the most beautiful thing in her life is that seeing him becoming a surgeon, this feeling heals all the wounds that life threw in my way . She hugged him tightly and drops of the tears formed in the corner of her eyes.