Is the world ready to fulfill our dreams?

Ghada Ageel is a Palestinian living in Zahra town, Gaza
Ghada AgeelThursday August 18, 2005
Guardian
There is no doubt that we live through history. For many in the world, the dismantling of Israel's illegal colonies is an implementation of one aspect of international law, that prohibits using occupied land for the use of the occupier. But for Palestinians, this means something bigger and much deeper.
As someone who has lived all my life next to these colonies, and as a mother of two children, this marks the beginning of a new era in my life. During the last five years, I was afraid to look into my children's eyes when we were being subjected to invasions and shelling. There was no guarantee I could provide them with anything beyond my love. Now I hope they will have physical and mental security besides love.
For my family in the Khan Yunis refugee camp, living close to the wire of the Neve Dekalim settlement, this means an end to the fear of being forced to flee in the dead of the night. It means keeping our small home and possessions, and emptying the bag of documents my mother packed in preparation for that moment when our home might be attacked.
For Khalid, aged 10, the withdrawal means he can go to Khan Yunis beach to swim and play, an activity that he, and more than 200,000 Palestinians, have been deprived of because of the Gush Katif settlement block. Khadija Ammar, aged 81, who lives in Khan Yunis, says: "Now I have some hope that my family will be safe ... Before I was terrified to leave this life with only sadness and fear for the destiny of my children and grandchildren."
For ordinary Palestinians, dismantling of the colonies means hope for the better. But this hope will lead us to many questions: Is the world ready to fulfill these Palestinian hopes and dreams? Will Gaza be the first step, and the West Bank and Jerusalem the next, towards a Palestinian state? Will they use this opportunity to move peace forward, or leave us to the cycle of despair and violence again?