Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid shared a photo on her personal account on Instagram, in which she spoke of what links her to Palestine and the children of Palestine while she vowed to not “forget Palestine.”
Hadid published an image taken from the 1998 film, “Awlad Shatila,” which shows a group of children in the Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon holding a camera.
Images shared by Hadid, showed the refugees answering a question about what they will do first when Palestine is finally liberated. One refugee said: “Above all, I will rebuild my house. After that, I will take care of my land, olive trees and property.”
When an elderly refugee was asked if he saw himself returning to Palestine in the next fifty years. He replied, “Even if 100 years have passed, I still hope to return.”
“I would say that in a generation or 100, when I and the others are dead, Palestine must not be forgotten. Promise me it,” he added as the camera zoomed in on his sad expression.
The 25-year-old Hadid took to Instagram and wrote, “Tears in my eyes watching this scene on my way to work this morning…..Every day I wish I could go back in time, to when I was a child, so that I could start fighting for Palestine sooner, for my family, for my elders, our history and for the people of Palestine still living, now, through this treacherous, exhausting and painful occupation.”
Hadid, who is followed on her Instagram account by more than 52 million users, continued, “Every day I wish we could have fulfilled my Jido and Teta’s (grandpa and grandma’s) last dying wishes to be buried in their homeland, where they were born, raised and started their family together.”
Bella Hadid, who usually uses her social media platforms to publicize the Palestinian cause, stated, “Palestinians still to this day, do not have the right to return to Palestine.”
Bella Hadid concluded her post by recalling a quote from former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion saying, “Ben Gurion once said, the old will die, and the young will forget (Palestine).” Hadid vowed, “I have a promise to make. I will never allow anyone to forget about our beautiful Palestine or our beautiful people.”
Bella Hadid, whose full name is Isabella Khair Hadid, is known for her support of the Palestinians on many occasions, as she uses her fame to introduce the Palestinian cause by sharing videos and photos, the last of which is a video clip of the funeral of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, who was killed by an Israeli sniper last May.
Bella Hadid was also among the participants in the protests organized by activists in the British capital, London, against Trump’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem in 2017.
