Omar’s Childhood Next to the Wall

(First photo) Omar Amer stands next to the Apartheid Wall that separates his uncle’s house from the rest of the village where he lives, at 3 years old. Amongst the colorful murals his neighbors have added to the Wall to bring some beauty to the Wall, he is holding his ball as he and his cousin play. (Second photo) 17 years later, at 20 years old, Omar Amer stands in front of the same Wall. Although they’ve painted over the murals, all the warmth and colorfulness of his three-year-old self still lives within. He lit up when seeing the photo of himself as a three-year-old. On the other side of this portion of the Wall in Mas’ha, now exists an illegal Israeli settlement.