| Cactus plants do not grow in "straight lines" naturally... |
| Sabr (cactus) Plants By Mike Odetalla |
Next time you are driving through the country side or on any major highway in Israel, I want you to look for something. If you
look close on some of the hillsides and other areas, you will see Sabra (cactus) plants. You may wonder why they are in certain
places and not others. Why here and not there? These Sabr plants have a sad tale to tell. For you see they are what's left of the
hundreds of small Palestinian villages that were destroyed and depopulated. All Palestinian villages had these plants and some
used them as fences and barriers as well as a source of delicious fruit.
The Sabr plant is a tenacious plant that survives in the harshest conditions for hundreds of years. I can remember many times as
a child of getting the irritating fine thorns in my hands and fingers as I tried to pick its fruit. It is our symbol as Palestinians. I
have on many occasions stopped my car in the middle of nowhere to view these plants and their surroundings. I have gotten out
of my car to look at these last traces of my people’s villages and the lives that they lived. I would close my eyes and try to
imagine what these villages might have looked like, or who might have lived there. Where are the people that planted these
plants now? People that do not know this would look at me as some crazy fool. But, I know that these plants have a secret to
tell.
I wish that these plants could talk. They would surely bring tears to the eyes of the listener with their tales of sadness and
tragedy. The Sabra plants stand as silent witnesses to history. They serve as a memorial to the lives and dreams that were
destroyed along with the villages. We Palestinians cannot place memorial markers like the Israelis do to show our loss and
grieve, but God has given us a more powerful memorial than any made by human hands. So please next time you notice a
Sabra plant growing in the middle of nowhere, take a moment to reflect...There is a reason that it is where it is.
Mike Odetalla 2001
Ps...The Israelis have taken the name Sabra to mean a Jew that was actually born in Israel as opposed to one that immigrated.
How ironic is it that the sabra plants are not at all "native" to Palestine, but were introduced from Mexico in the 1600's...
The Palestinians use the term Sabreen or Saber to mean that a person waits with patience and steadfast even under the harshest
conditions.
In the Quran there are numerous references to the term also with the same meaning...
look close on some of the hillsides and other areas, you will see Sabra (cactus) plants. You may wonder why they are in certain
places and not others. Why here and not there? These Sabr plants have a sad tale to tell. For you see they are what's left of the
hundreds of small Palestinian villages that were destroyed and depopulated. All Palestinian villages had these plants and some
used them as fences and barriers as well as a source of delicious fruit.
The Sabr plant is a tenacious plant that survives in the harshest conditions for hundreds of years. I can remember many times as
a child of getting the irritating fine thorns in my hands and fingers as I tried to pick its fruit. It is our symbol as Palestinians. I
have on many occasions stopped my car in the middle of nowhere to view these plants and their surroundings. I have gotten out
of my car to look at these last traces of my people’s villages and the lives that they lived. I would close my eyes and try to
imagine what these villages might have looked like, or who might have lived there. Where are the people that planted these
plants now? People that do not know this would look at me as some crazy fool. But, I know that these plants have a secret to
tell.
I wish that these plants could talk. They would surely bring tears to the eyes of the listener with their tales of sadness and
tragedy. The Sabra plants stand as silent witnesses to history. They serve as a memorial to the lives and dreams that were
destroyed along with the villages. We Palestinians cannot place memorial markers like the Israelis do to show our loss and
grieve, but God has given us a more powerful memorial than any made by human hands. So please next time you notice a
Sabra plant growing in the middle of nowhere, take a moment to reflect...There is a reason that it is where it is.
Mike Odetalla 2001
Ps...The Israelis have taken the name Sabra to mean a Jew that was actually born in Israel as opposed to one that immigrated.
How ironic is it that the sabra plants are not at all "native" to Palestine, but were introduced from Mexico in the 1600's...
The Palestinians use the term Sabreen or Saber to mean that a person waits with patience and steadfast even under the harshest
conditions.
In the Quran there are numerous references to the term also with the same meaning...
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