Yasser Arafat… The Man Who Ignited the Dream and Departed Standing

On the eleventh of November, memory does not die; the image of the iconic leader Yasser Arafat returns to us, wearing the keffiyeh that became a symbol for the free, and his smile that conceals the pain of an entire homeland. On this day, we redraw the features of the man who carried Palestine in his hands and took it to the world, seeking freedom, independence, recognition, dignity, and a place under a free sun.

On that day, the day of his departure, an earthquake struck our people, shaking hearts, homes, and camps, leaving a void that no one could fill. The Palestinians felt that the land had become both lighter and heavier at the same time, as if the entire homeland had lost a part of its soul. Yet, his legacy and struggle remained alive in the eyes of generations, in the voices of children, and in the echo of the keffiyeh which still flutters everywhere.

Yasser Arafat, "Abu Ammar," was more than just a leader; he was an idea walking on the ground and a voice emerging from the ashes of the Nakba, announcing the birth of the revolution from the armed struggle in the alleys of the camps and among the poor to ignite the contemporary Palestinian revolution in 1965. The iconic leader knew that the path to Jerusalem was long, but he believed that the first step began with the rifle, and that a bullet means nothing unless it opens a path towards independence, liberation, knowledge, and life. In short, Fatah, which he led, was the first bullet, the first stone, and the first state.

In Beirut in 1982, the frontline fighters still remember him: holding his rifle in his hands, reaching the front lines, fighting alongside them, sharing in the attack, planning, fear, blood, food, hunger, and thirst. Every child he met would kiss his hand, and today as they've grown, they proudly say: "I kissed the hand of the leader of the greatest revolution in contemporary history."

When we talk about armed struggle, we evoke the operations of Aylabun, the coast, the Savoy Hotel, Zero Point, and the explosions of tanks at Al-Karama, along with the RPG children in the battle of 1982, and then the first and second intifadas. All of this is part of the history of a revolution that has never known retreat, led with skill, wisdom, and tactics.

When we talk about Arafat, we remember the independent Palestinian decision that bowed to neither Arab nor foreign, and the independence of Palestine in politics, identity, and dignity.

When we remember peace, we note that he believed in the peace of the brave according to the Palestinian realities of his time when every option required courage that transcended traditional considerations.

When we recall bravery and conviction on the ground, we remember that he entered Palestine at the onset of the revolution, leading the guerrilla struggle in Jerusalem, the mountains of Hebron, Mount Fire, Qabatia, and the plains of Marj Ben Amer.
And when we remember support for revolutions worldwide, we recall his solidarity with Nelson Mandela, and South Africa, which remained loyal to him and to the Palestinian cause, being among the few countries that filed cases against war criminals, including Netanyahu, for committing genocide in Gaza. Abu Ammar always believed that Palestine was not merely a local issue but part of the global struggle against injustice and occupation, believing in the revolutionary saying: "Wherever injustice exists, that is my homeland," standing with every liberation movement in the world, training and supporting their fighters.

In Algeria, Yemen, Tunisia, Beirut, and Ramallah, Abu Ammar remained the face of the revolution amidst storms of siege after siege, and bombardment after bombardment. He felt pain and suffered, losing the greatest leaders, yet he never bowed, for he was inhabited by a homeland larger than his body and a promise broader than geography. When besieged in the Muqata’a, he knew that death was approaching, yet he continued to distribute hope to the soldiers, planting in their eyes the certainty of victory.
They told him: "Take shelter."
He replied: "I will remain, for the people seek refuge in me, and I find refuge in them."

And today, after his departure, the keffiyeh he wore is draped on Palestine, carried by the free around the world who raise it alongside the Palestinian flag, the flag of the revolution. In some countries, when we mention Palestine, some do not recognize it and say: "Pakistan?" But when we mention Abu Ammar, the entire world knows Palestine by his name, and the dream is linked to the name and symbol.

On November 11, 2004, his soul ascended to the heavens in Paris, but it emerged from between the walls of the Muqata’a, wrapped in the keffiyeh, heading towards the skies of Jerusalem, which his feet never set upon but lived in his heart throughout his life.

Abu Ammar did not die; he seeped into the soil of the homeland, into the eyes of children, into olive oil, and into the names of the martyrs who came after him, and in Gaza and the West Bank, which today faces a genocidal war led by the machine of occupation. His steadfastness remains a living lesson for the entire people and an unforgettable title for resistance, justice, and freedom. The factions said of him: "We may differ with him, but we do not differ on him."

It is as if all the children who encountered him in their youth, those who kissed his hands, have now become generations carrying the message of Palestine deep within them, standing on the lands liberated by the dream, continuing the journey of struggle to create the future that Abu Ammar dreamed of.

The Palestine he loved did not die, but continues its struggle in his name and illuminates its path with his memory, as if he still says from beyond the absence:

"O my people, hold on to the rifle and do not let the green branch fall... nor leave the dream alone."

Abu Ammar concluded his life and struggle with his immortal words, which became a testament for all generations:

"They want me either imprisoned, exiled, or dead... and I say to them: A martyr, a martyr, a martyr... and God chose him and elevated him as a martyr as he wished."

Abu Ammar remains a symbol of Palestinian resistance and an emblem of freedom in the world. The day he became a martyr reminds us that the cause does not die, and that courage and faith in justice build generations and plant hope in every Palestinian, Arab, and global heart.