PALESTINE Memories of 1948 - Photographs of Jerusalem | Page 133

study in Egypt. I even financed a car so that they could
run a taxi in Cairo and thus pay for their studies.
Since Brazil limited bank transfers to $300 per
month, on the occasions when I earned more, I asked
friends to send the money. Some months, my mother
received as much as $900, others she got nothing at all.
After a few months, speaking and reading a bit of
Portuguese, I passed my driving test, and therefore
received the official title of “bus driver” and obtained a
permanent residence permit in Brazil. With that docu-
ment, I could rent a room and my life changed. I said
to myself: why continue working for someone else, it
would be better for me to try to buy a bus! I talked it
over with a sergeant who thought it a very good idea
and so he acted as guarantor for me to get a bank loan.
That is how I came to buy a 20-seater bus. As soon
as I had finished reimbursing him, I bought another
one and so on until I created a business with 11 vehi-
cles that all ran on the same route. Soon my business
expanded as far as south Rio, into the chic neighbour-
hoods around Copacabana. I was in the habit of calling
my mother once a week or once a fortnight. I would
make a rapid summary so that she would know exactly
what I was doing. Despite the distance, she was present
in everything I did.
In 1965, having made a success of my transport busi-
ness and having obtained Brazilian nationality, I thought
it was time to fulfil my promise to my mother. I returned
to Gaza wanting to get married. My mother had chosen
someone, Nawal, from among my sisters’ friends. Very
quickly I took my bride to Rio, but she did not adapt to
life there, and the arrival of our son, Samy, made us real-
ize how much we needed our respective families. And so
I sold my buses and we returned to Gaza.
Coming, going, leaving, returning. We Palestinians
are torn between our land and those that welcome us;
between inaccessible Palestine and the country that
may sometimes give us a passport. I was convinced that
Gaza, around 1950
Muhyeddin
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