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Mohammed Omer at twenty-two has spent his entire life living under apartheid, far more oppressive, according to Mandela than that of the former South Africa. He discovered his talent for photography in high school and recently graduated with a journalism. He has worked with the New
York Times as a photo guide and translator in Gaza and his photographs are regularly featured in many international publications. Today he also runs his website, RafahToday.org.
In October 2003 his seventeen year old brother was shot dead by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) walking home from school. He was not a terrorist. He was just a high school student coming home from school. Unfortunately children are often target practice for the IDF in Gaza. For every innocent Israeli child that is killed and Americans hear about each one, twenty innocent Palestinian children pay with their lives;
most Americans never hear about these children, even though our weapons, policies and ignorance kill them. In October this year, Mohammed's entire block was destroyed by IDF bombs. Though homeless and dealing with increased attacks by Israel, he is devoted to letting the world know what is happening in Gaza. As a young man, he is the definition of determination, strength and talent, a true success story in courage and following your dream, despite the hurdles
in your way. Mohammed's dream, other than being a world class photo journalist is to one day live in a united Israel where Jews, Christians and Muslims prosper together as they have for centuries prior to 1946, in peace. He hopes one day to know what it means to be free and to take pictures of children excelling, laughing and living, rather than bleeding and dying. In the Occupied Territories, journalists are
often targeted and killed. Like the United States, Israel is convinced it has a public relations problem, not a policy problem. Mohammed's pictures and stories expose the latter.
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