Children of Gaza: we want the world to show us their tears

I am a child of Gaza. My mother holds me in her arms, but I am no longer the child she was used to holding and kissing. I am now quite literally skin and bone, connected with a little muscle fibre that is keeping me and my mother alive.

I remember when I used to be able to cry, my mother would hold me in her arms, she would cuddle me and soothe my heart, understanding what I was trying to tell her through my tears. But my well of tears has sadly run dry. I look at my mother and I wish I could cry — for her sake, not mine.

Seeing her children and others’ children die all around her is the most terrible thing a mother can live through. I want to tell the mothers, the fathers and the children of the world that whoever still cares about us, send us your tears, for they are a sign of love and of empathy. The first thing I will ask God in Heaven will be to let me cry.

It might sound strange, but there is no joy when one cannot cry. Tears wash away the pain of sorrow, and they allow for the sun and laughter to come out again. We children of Gaza are like any other children, even though our lives are quite different. We were forced to grow up too fast, so fast that we even know how to cope with the emptiness of our well of tears.

Please do not let this happen to any other children, wherever they may be. We children of Gaza can no longer communicate to our mothers through tears, but you out there, you can communicate with your tears, you can show your love, your care, your empathy. You can speak to our mothers. Let the despair become a fountain of life.

Let us all pledge to work together for empathy and wisdom as the voice and ears of the world, in a rising tide of love.

I know you suffer like my mother when you see me, all skin and bones. If we are able to share that suffering, perhaps we can achieve something together for everyone else, to make sure this does not happen to any other children ever again.

We will see each other again in Heaven and at least we can tell ourselves that we did everything that was possible, allowing us to join in tears of sorrow and tears of joy. Please God, when I take my last breath give me one last tear to shed so that I can fly to Heaven with a smile.

We all know that there are no new decisions for politicians to take, the answers are obvious, and they are all right in front of us. We need to express and to build upon the love, the empathy and the wisdom we all possess within.

We just need to learn how to show them and how to use them better. Maybe then my mother can smile again, in the hope of seeing the world care for those like me, filling me with love no matter how difficult my situation. Let us all pledge then to work together for empathy and wisdom as the voice and ears of the world, in a rising tide of love. Hopefully someone will listen.

• Hassan bin Youssef Yassin worked closely with Saudi Arabia’s petroleum ministers, Abdullah Tariki and Ahmed Zaki Yamani, from 1959 to 1967. He led the Saudi Information Office in Washington from 1972 to 1981 and served with the Arab League’s observer delegation to the UN from 1981 to 1983.