That morning in May, Lina, who is campaigning for justice for Abu Akleh, did not only lose a beloved aunt but a \u201csecond mother\u201d to her and her siblings. Abu Akleh was always there, \u201ca backbone to our family,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was just my parents, my siblings and Shireen,\u201d Lina adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot having her around, especially during Christmas will be very difficult \u2026 There will be an empty seat around the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a Sunday evening in early December, and Lina is sitting in the ground-floor caf\u00e9 of a hotel in the Dutch city of The Hague on the North Sea. The space is filled with the low chatter of diners and the tinkling of cutlery and glasses. A screen behind Lina displays a crackling log fire and a large Christmas tree stands by the hotel entrance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n December was traditionally a \u201chappy month\u201d when Abu Akleh could take a break from her busy job to spend time with Lina and her siblings who were often studying or working abroad during the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe really enjoyed Christmas,\u201d says Lina. They would often put up the family tree together and Abu Akleh loved the Ramallah Christmas markets, whose local vendors she liked to support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abu Akleh always thought of gifts for everyone, even her small fluffy white dog Filfel, named so in Arabic because like pepper he was \u201cspicey\u201d and always moving. One Christmas, Abu Akleh wrapped a crocodile-shaped squeaky toy and placed it under the tree. \u201cHe knew that it was his,\u201d Lina recalls laughing. \u201cAnd I remember we were laughing about it so much because she was just amazed. She\u2019s like, \u2018How did he know that it was his gift?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of Lina\u2019s memories of Christmases with Abu Akleh are connected to food \u2013 something \u201cShireen loved\u201d. On Christmas Eve, the family would have dinner at a restaurant in Ramallah with carols or some other festive entertainment, and then the next morning Lina\u2019s mother would start to prepare lunch \u2013 a \u201cfeast\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There would be warak dawali \u2013 stuffed grape leaves \u2013 and Lina\u2019s mother, who is Armenian and whose parents once had a bakery specialising in lahmajoun (a flatbread with meat) in Jerusalem\u2019s Armenian quarter, would make dishes like soubeureg \u2013 a time-consuming layered pastry made with homemade boiled dough \u201cfilled with cheese, parsley, and a lot of butter\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe always loved Armenian foods, especially my mom\u2019s,\u201d Lina explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abu Akleh would come to the kitchen to help out. \u201cBut she would also be nibbling here and there, tasting the food. Like I can just picture her now walking around the kitchen,\u201d recalls Lina smiling, before adding that her aunt would make a gesture of rubbing her hands together to show she was \u201cexcited to eat\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese were our traditions \u2013 nothing fancy \u2013 but it was still something we looked forward to,\u201d says Lina of the family meals and pictures taken in front of the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lina shows a photo on her phone of a smiling Abu Akleh standing in front of the Christmas tree one year as she holds Filfel who is dressed in a green and red jumper with \u201cMerry Christmas\u201d and a candy cane on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m dreading it because I will not be waking up to her Merry Christmas wishes,\u201d says Lina, before repeating those words in Arabic in the melodic way that her aunt would say them \u2013 with a big smile on her face and her head tilted to one side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lina smiles often when she talks about her aunt, with whom she would speak or message daily. \u201cWe had a very close connection,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abu Akleh was a household name in the Arab world in which many grew up hearing her legendary sign-off. \u201cIt was the iconic sign-off that I think generations grew up trying to imitate,\u201d explains Lina. As a child, she would take her aunt\u2019s notebooks and run to sit at her Lego table and \u201creport\u201d, signing off with her Barbie phone: \u201cLina Abu Akleh, Al Jazeera, Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Lina, her aunt was accomplished, poised and brave. \u201cI wanted to be like Shireen. To me, she was my role model.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite her serious on-camera persona, Lina says her aunt was funny \u2013 and \u201cfun to be around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abu Akleh always had stories to share and even after a whole day of reporting and speaking to people, she was always interested in hearing what Lina and her siblings had been up to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lina rarely saw her aunt tense or angry and remembers her as \u201calways smiling\u201d and down-to-earth. \u201cShe would always find the silver lining in every situation and try to be optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, Lina and her family worried about Abu Akleh \u2013 when she was pushed by Israeli forces last year while covering forced expulsions<\/a> of Palestinians and the crackdowns on protesters at Al-Aqsa Mosque, endured tear gas or was harassed by settlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But she always reassured them, \u201c\u2019No, we are journalists, don\u2019t worry,\u2019 even though she knew deep down that at some point they are targets,\u201d recounts Lina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n During tense periods of the Israel-Palestine conflict, seeing her aunt live on television would reassure Lina that she was safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI never thought that she would get killed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the morning of May 11, Lina\u2019s father called to tell her Abu Akleh had been injured. She called her colleagues to get more information and learned she had been shot. Still, Lina didn\u2019t think it was anything too serious. \u201cMy mom was like, pray, pray. And she started lighting all these candles around the house.\u201d Then, a couple of minutes later, Lina called Abu Akleh\u2019s colleague back to hear them sobbing and screaming. \u201cThat\u2019s when I knew,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking nearly seven months after Abu Akleh\u2019s death, the shock is still raw. \u201cI still feel like I\u2019m in this nightmare. And it\u2019s just not ending,\u201d she acknowledges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe was so present in our lives that for us to lose her in this sudden and heinous way makes it so difficult to comprehend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel has changed its narrative on the killing of Abu Akleh, initially blaming a Palestinian gunman, before months later saying there is a \u201chigh possibility\u201d the journalist was \u201caccidentally hit\u201d by Israeli fire. The Israeli authorities have said they will not launch a criminal investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In September<\/a>, Abu Akleh\u2019s family submitted a complaint to the International Criminal Court (ICC), while Lina and her father along with former colleagues came to The Hague in December for Al Jazeera\u2019s submission of a formal request<\/a> to the ICC to investigate the killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Lina, who has become the face of this campaign for accountability, is still learning how to navigate a public fight alongside her personal grief. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been easy to fully sit with my feelings and reflect back on the past six months and understand how this tragedy has shaped our lives,\u201d she reflects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What keeps her going is knowing that had it been another family member, friend or colleague, Abu Akleh would have tirelessly fought for justice. \u201cShe was optimistic, always, that justice will prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lina also wants to constantly remind the world who Abu Akleh was and \u201cmake sure her legacy continues to be remembered, her name is remembered, her memory\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Lina, keeping her aunt\u2019s memory alive is also about remembering her optimism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even now, she believes her aunt would want her to be enjoying her life \u2013 something Lina has struggled with. \u201cI would feel guilty if I\u2019m doing something fun,\u201d she admits. Lina wore black as a sign of mourning for six months and still often does. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult. But I try to always remember her words telling me \u2026 enjoy life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEverything I do in life now reminds me of her,\u201d she says, explaining how her aunt would have been the first person to text her after she arrived in The Hague. She loved turning on her phone after a flight to find texts from Abu Akleh, who was always excited to hear what she was doing and tell her to send pictures. \u201cShe\u2019s no longer part of my journey,\u201d Lina says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRegardless of how difficult and demanding her job was, she was there, for every occasion, every milestone, every birthday, every celebration \u2013 she was present.\u201d By Annette EkinEach year, as Christmas approached, Lina Abu Akleh would look forward to spending time with her aunt. Lina and her siblings \u2013 an older brother and a younger sister \u2013 would get together with their parents and their father\u2019s younger sister at the family home in occupied East Jerusalem, where they\u2019d enjoy a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":4933,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308,187],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-308","category-187"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4935,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4932\/revisions\/4935"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Abu-Akleh-Christmas-6.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C578&quality=80\")
\u2018Enjoyed Christmas\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Shireen](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Abu-Akleh-Christmas-4.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
\u2018These were our traditions\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Abu](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Abu-Akleh-Christmas-4-1.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C513&quality=80\")
\u2018Find the silver lining\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Fighting for justice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Lina](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/000_32FH8L4.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C498&quality=80\")
\u2018Enjoy life\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SOURCE:\u00a0AL JAZEERA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"