good night generation

My grandfather passed away today. In Gaza. Which means that my father can't go to mourn with his siblings. It means that my aunt who went to Egypt for work related to the PhD she is attempting to complete while living under occupation cannot get back in though she is not far from the border. She has been stuck outside - away from home - for 2 months. It means my uncle in Saudi Arabia who had scheduled vacation time from his work at the hospital to go to Gaza to see his family could not get into Gaza in time to see his father before he passed away and is instead wasting his vacation days in Saudi Arabia. Instead of being with his siblings and the rest of his (my) family he - like my father - mourns in isolation.

It means that when I called today my aunt told me she had been depressed since the last war. My cousin told me that the power had been cut off in the morning when they were preparing my grandfather's body for burial and again a little before I had called, that it's hard to be without power for hours because of the overwhelming boredom that comes with being in the dark for long periods, that during the last war she was in the hospital volunteering and that toughened her up. My cousin who is in college said that it's hard for the little ones who have seen war after war, year after year, and think that it's just the way the world is. My cousin who is still in college who has seen war after war and is now toughened up. My cousin who I have never seen.