Life is so sweet, even after a bullet in the head
Palestine, Local, 1/6/1998

His critical wounds made it impossible to expect that he would ever return to life. But Hussein Karsu' of Gaza proved that sometimes hope and belief are much stronger than medical reports.

He was critically wounded in the head in last year's September revolt by Palestinians protesting Israel's decision to open the tunnel underneath the Al Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem.

A bullet hit Hussein in the head and penetrated his skull through his eye and brain. He went into a coma. The doctors later decided he was clinically dead and left him after they gave up hope. His father suffered a stroke and later lost his ability to speak because of the shock he sustained upon learning that Hussein's chances for life were near to null.

"It all happened on 25 September last year," said Hussein, "I went to my work at a clothes factory in Gaza. On my way, I heard about the clashes that broke out with the Israeli soldiers. I asked the taxi driver to take me back home. I took a bath and then told my mother I was going to demonstrate and perhaps become a martyr. She yelled asking me to return but I rushed out of the house and headed to Nitzarim Jewish settlement, where one of the fiercest clashes was taking place.

"I saw hundreds of youths fighting with the Israeli soldiers. Among them were my two brothers, Mohammed, 24, and Mahmoud, 22. We saw one soldier shooting at us with his sniper rifle. Suddenly, I felt a bullet hit my head. The next thing I remember is when I woke up and opened my eyes, I was on my bed at a hospital in Jordan," he said.

Right after Hussein was wounded, his brother called home and told of what happened. The family rushed to Shifa Hospital looking for Hussein. Finally they were told his condition was hopeless. Hussein remained in a coma for almost two weeks. He then was transferred to the Arab Medical Center for Heart Surgery and Neurology in Amman, where at least 30 more Palestinians were hospitalized for wounds they sustained in the clashes in what became known as the Battle for Al Aqsa.

A few months later, Hussein started to recuperate and was discharged from the hospital half-paralyzed. He cannot move his left arm and is awaiting a surgery in his broken jaw and another one to install a glass eye to replace the one that was penetrated by the bullet.

Despite his handicap, Hussein is still full of hopes. He wants to finish his studies in political studies and hopes to become a Palestinian statesman. The major positive outcome of the whole tragedy, he admitted with a bit of irony, is that he finally managed to win the heart of his cousin, with whom he was in love but she never wanted him for a husband. She later said: "I was fascinated at the way he sacrificed his life and later at the power he reflected in combating death. He is a marvelous man and an excellent husband and I love him," she told friends.

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