chapter 2

Chapter 2

At home, her father was always sitting on the balcony of the apartment listening to Umm Kulthum's songs, and the smell of fresh bread prepared by her mother permeated the place, and her younger brother's laughter echoed while she was joking in the middle of the living room. She sat in front of him while maintaining her smile, then told him what happened in the hospital and that she accepted the offer because this is what she dreamed of for years and that she did not have enough time to think and come back to ask his opinion. Father Bud smiled at her and said:

Father: - My daughter, I engraved in you the love of Palestine, for it is the land of all Muslims. Yes, I will be saddened by your separation for six months, but this wound will heal my wound that you are going to the land of loved ones, and my wish is that you will not take any material reward from them.

Mary jumped up from happiness and hurriedly kissed her father's face and hand, to listen to her mother's voice behind her.

Mother: Indeed, from what I heard, you will travel to Palestine.

Mary: Yes, mom.

Mother: When?

Mary: Two weeks from now.

Mom: So quickly, you need many things.

Mary: Mom, my love. It's only six months and I'll be back.

Mom: Well, but make sure you call us every day.

Mary: Well, mom, we still have two weeks.

The days passed by Maryam buying and bringing to her travels, and she did not forget to say goodbye to her friends, and the patients whom she referred to another doctor. The father, mother, and brother stood at the airport among the other families to bid their daughter farewell and see her until the planes flew heading to Ben Gurion Airport and then boarded buses towards Jenin, Marine in Nablus.

Maryam was in a bus at the front, along with a team of volunteer nurses to work. The convoy settled in one of the main hospitals in Jenin.

Before the peace forces came to Palestine inside the main hospital in the city of Jenin, Arafat summoned a doctor and the director of the hospital, his son Al-Qasim, a heart surgeon, to talk to him about the convoy.

(Arafat, who is fifty years old, did not leave Palestine except during his youth to complete his studies, and when he finished he returned to benefit his homeland, as he believed in the cause of his right in Palestine)

Arafat: Qassem, in a few days, the delegation will arrive at work, and they will have doctors for the cardiology department on you...

Al-Qasim: - My father, My Father, Make Amjad or Hussein...

Arafat: - Will you teach me how to distribute the hospital work now, Qassem?

Al-Qasim: - I ask forgiveness from God Almighty, my father. I did not mean this, but you know that …

Arafat: Shut up, I don't want to hear your voice, but I want you on the day they arrive, waiting for them at the airport, then taking them to the residence. There is no discussion after this.

On the day of the arrival of the convoy that transported doctors to the main Jenin hospital, Arafat and the medical staff prepared to welcome the doctors, and his son Al-Qasim was working with him. Standing in his office reviewing some papers, one of the nurses who were from the evening shift and ready to leave informed him, so someone who worked in the morning would come to go to his father's office. Al-Qasim left what he had and went to his father's office

Arafat:- You will come to receive them and receive the doctors who can help you in the surgery department

Al-Qasim:- But, Dad, you know that they came for tourism, not for help

Arafat :- Do not discuss, they are about to arrive, go and after half an hour come back until you meet them. Come on

Al-Qasim came out of his father's office asking forgiveness from his Lord and looking on the ground, but he bumped into someone and raised his head looking angrily. Before he poured out his anger on those in front of him, the words stopped in his mouth and began to say to himself (Is the door of heaven opened and angels came down to visit us or am I dead and ascended to the poplars of Paradise)

Person :-I'm sorry I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention. I was looking at this patient's papers and he caught my attention as soon as I arrived.

Qasim: Where did you come from?

The person extending her hand :- Oh I forgot the etiquette of dating Sorry, I'm Mary, a cardiologist. I came with the caravan from Britain, but I parted with them by mistake.

Al-Qasim rubbing his hand under his jaw :-

Ah, you are the new tourist, then, the director's office is at the end of the corridor, and do not tamper with patients' papers to give them hope that does not exist

Maryam angrily :-I told you that I am a doctor and not a tourist here and I did not come to mess around and take a walk I am here to perform my work only I ask your permission

I passed him and walked towards the office of the director of the hospital while he was looking at her from behind and muttering (If you come to work, my angel, well, we will see how serious you are). His mind was preoccupied for the first time with these brown eyes that he bumped into, so he quickly finished examining the patients and promised them that he would return again to re-examine, then he headed to the food court in the hospital, where he met his father and the doctors of the convoy, and his father started distributing work to the doctors.

Al-Qasim:- Hello, welcome, Abu Al-Qasim, then who will be in my team?

Arafat smiled after glimpsing the eye of Al-Qasim, who did not deviate from Maryam, despite his directing the words to him, and then answered him

Arafat :-Your team will not be large this time Qasim. Come let me introduce you to the whole delegation again. First, I know you. This is my son, Dr. Al-Qasim Uday Arafat. He is one of the most famous cardiologists. He studied in Germany and took his master's and doctorate from Turkey, then returned to Palestine to help his countrymen, leaving the money and the centers that were offered. On him for his efficiency and the preference to work for his country, everyone smiled and welcomed him and he greeted them.

After Arafat introduced his son to all the delegation members, he told him that Maryam would be the only one working in his specialty, and he would be responsible for the entire team due to the lack of doctors. He asked him to complete the tour to introduce them to the departments and then divide them. Arafat bid farewell to the group and Al Qassem toured the hospital with the team and explained They have tasks inside the hospital, and that in times of disaster, such as the occupation forces attacking a place and the start of the influx of the injured, everyone works together. There is no difference at that time between a doctor, a nurse and a worker. Everyone has something to do. Then the team was divided among Al-Husseini and Amjad, then he took Maryam, Al-Anoud, Raghda, Blanca and Youssef. And Gustav began to show them the part about chest diseases, then he pointed to the doctor, Mary, by following him, where the office designated for the rest of the doctors, and began to take out many files from the safe, which numbered no less than dozens, and divided them into two parts. He pushed a section of the files towards Mary, saying:

Al-Qasim: Since you are not a tourist and I come to work, here are some files that pertain to heart patients, you should study them well, and uh, work here starts right after Fajr prayer. Aren't you a Muslim as your file says

Mary nodded, of course, and then said, "No problem."

Then she put the files in her bag and continued her conversation: Shall we pass by heart patients to identify them today, and I will take these files and study them well at home and return them tomorrow, but why is there no computer with the files and I can view them through an internal network in the hospital and residence?