Thinking of Um-Nizar

The story of Um Nizar was told to me yesterday by a close friend of friends. The story goes that in the mid 90's she was finally able to return back to Lebanon for the first time in 10 years(due to the civil war) and at that time was doing her doctoral research. Her research,the topic of which I am unaware, took her through the many refugee camps in Lebanon. However when she was in the most notorious (and awful) camp 3in Al-Hilwe she met a very memorable woman there named Um Nizar. Now from the story it was a bit hard to understand the relevance of the name, she made a statement hinting that many of the Palestinian women had the nom du guerre of "Um Nizar" but this particular woman was actually the mother of Nizar, so her name was more fitting. Now Um Nizar ran a school in the 3in Al-Hilwe camp for the refugee children (of which she was one) and through the complicated political realities of the Palestinian refugee camp was really a matriarch of the school. Um-Nizar taught the children songs and history of a Homeland that they would never see in their lifetimes. That being said, the story goes that when the Israeli army invaded Lebanon they came to the camps. As the camp was under seige Um Nizar got the children in the school for protection and soon the Israeli tanks arrived. Here is where many details of the story were left out, needless to say a high ranking Israeli military person (captain, corporal, general? I dont really know) almost killed Um Nizar with his bare hands, she survived and asked him why to which he responded "Because you are more dangerous than Abu 3mmar (Yasser Arafat)." He told her that her school gave her access to 300 young minds and she was the one making his mission fail by maintaining Palestinian identity in the hearts and minds of the next generation. Apparently when recounting the story, Um Nizar, the 5ft giant of a woman, cannot help but laugh through the entire thing. And therein lies the reason why I am thinking about this story still. There is a saying in 3rabi that essentially translates to "that which is most tragic is also funniest". I wonder how a woman who has lost everything, and lives in quite possible the worst place on earth, can recount a story of almost being killed and laugh. At this moment I dont really have an analysis for it, just tired musings and memories of Um Nizar who I cannot seem to get off my mind

-M7