Mohammad Zaidalkilani was born during “the heat of the intifada.”
The Palestinian Arab uprising against Israeli forces in the occupied territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank began in 1987 in what is known as the first intifada.
“There was a curfew the day I was born,” Mohammad said.
The 16-year-old Palestinian exchange student visited The Herald last week. Far from his turbulent homeland, he sat in our lunchroom with its tranquil view of Port Gardner Bay.
We met the day after word came of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s death. For longer than Mohammad has been alive, Arafat was a hero to his people as he pushed for a Palestinian state. The Palestine Liberation Organization chief was also a lightning rod for terrorism.
“Arafat was a symbol,” said Mohammad, who is spending his junior year at Everett High School. “We knew he was going to die, but I can’t imagine life without him. Now there’s going to be something new in Palestinian leadership.”
The potential for leadership brought him to Everett.
He’s staying with hosts Dan and Jean Hults as part of a U.S. State Department leadership development program called Youth for Exchange and Study, or YES.
The program and a similar Future Leaders Exchange “strive to introduce outstanding high school students to American culture,” said Janet Tricamo, international coordinator with the Aspect Foundation.
The foundation arranges home stays for the State Department scholars. One goal is to foster “friends of the U.S. and ambassadors for democracy,” Tricamo said.
Chosen through a scholarship competition, students must do community service while here. Mohammad spent a recent Saturday helping build a Habitat for Humanity house in Everett.
“He is extremely intelligent. They interviewed 100 kids in his city of Nablus. His father, a college professor in political science, is strong in the peace movement there,” said Dan Hults. He and his wife have previously opened their Everett home to exchange students from Mexico, Brazil and Chile.
Mohammad has discovered much about his temporary home.
“I’ve been here three months, and now this seems normal,” he said.
“The biggest shock is I thought that was normal,” he said of life in the West Bank. “There, for Palestinian teenagers, the main thing is running away from tanks. Every day we have all these events. You get used to the life there.”
There were other surprises in Everett for Mohammad.
He’s not used to the freedom of taking a walk or traveling without checkpoints or lineups. Young men there aren’t allowed to leave their cities.
A follower of Islam, he neither dates nor socializes with girls. He’s seen how American women dress on television, wondering, “Does this really happen somewhere?” He’s seen now that indeed it does.
The friendliness of Americans was also unexpected. “I didn’t expect such a good reaction. There are really nice people in school,” he said, although he doesn’t think American kids “know what they have.”
“Here, they’re interested in watching TV and having fun. In Palestine, the major thing is studying,” he said. Fluent in English, he’s taking pre-calculus, biology, physics, English, U.S. history and photography at Everett High.
He’s discouraged by American media coverage of Palestinian issues.
“The Palestinian story is always told through the Israeli side,” he said. “You always see the suicide bombings in Tel Aviv. They forget all about the terrorism done to Palestinians.
“Lots of people here in America are really good people. If only they knew the whole story,” Mohammad said. “I like both sides, my own people and the Americans who brought me here.”
Despite the ease of life here, “he wants to go home, finish school and get a college education,” Dan Hults said.
“I hope for my homeland to see Palestinians not worrying, the way my father and my grandfather have worried,” Mohammad said. “But I don’t think I’ll see peace in my lifetime.”
What a sad statement, at his young age. He’s both realist and idealist.
“I’m one of the Palestinians who’s had a chance to learn more,” said the 16-year-old, who spent last week talking politics and practicing for high school wrestling.
“I feel I have a responsibility to my country, to go home and give something back.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
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