Cheat Chat on Messenger: How an Unexpected Friendship Opened My Eyes to Palestine
My experience with a Facebook friend was one such unexpected journey. What began as an ordinary online conversation gradually led me towards the Israel–Palestine conflict, the suffering of Palestinians, the power of poetry, and a deeper appreciation of the Arabic language. It also taught me a valuable lesson about trust, deception, and the importance of looking beyond appearances.
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1. Cheat Chat on Messenger: When an Online Identity Proved False
My story began with a Facebook friendship. I started chatting with someone whose profile picture showed a woman. The profile also contained a short video that reinforced my impression that I was communicating with a female. As our conversations continued, we exchanged messages over a considerable period, and I gradually became familiar with the person I believed was behind the profile.
However, the conversation eventually took an unexpected turn. The person began trying to persuade me to become her boyfriend. Being a Muslim, I remained firm in my refusal to enter into such a relationship. Despite repeated attempts to change my mind, I continued to decline.
Eventually, the person changed his approach and revealed the truth: he was a male, not the female I had believed him to be. The revelation surprised me and forced me to reconsider the entire experience. The photographs and video that had appeared to confirm the person's identity had, in fact, helped create a misleading impression.
Initially, I felt angry and disappointed. I had invested time in conversations with someone whose identity had not been honestly represented. Nevertheless, the experience taught me an important lesson about online communication. Some people use photographs, videos, and fabricated identities to gain the trust of others. A convincing profile does not necessarily reflect the person behind the screen, and even lengthy conversations cannot guarantee that someone is telling the truth.
We should, therefore, exercise caution when communicating with strangers on Facebook Messenger or other social media platforms. Rather than trusting a profile picture or video at face value, we should pay attention to inconsistencies, respect our personal boundaries, and avoid sharing sensitive information with people whose identities remain uncertain.
Yet, surprisingly, this was not the only lesson I took away from the experience. What initially seemed like an unpleasant mistake gradually became an unexpected opportunity to learn about something much larger than my personal disappointment.
2. From Personal Disappointment to the Poetry of Palestine
After the revelation, our conversations continued, sometimes developing into arguments and discussions about different subjects. Although I had initially been angry, I gradually came to recognise that carrying resentment indefinitely would serve little purpose. I began to reflect on a simple truth: mistakes and disappointments are part of life, but we should not allow them to imprison us in the past.
One thing that particularly impressed me during our discussions was my friend's observation about language. As a student of linguistics, he told me that, among the languages he had studied, he found Arabic especially eloquent and impressive. His appreciation of Arabic caught my attention, and our conversation eventually introduced me to the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, the celebrated Palestinian poet whose work gave powerful expression to the experiences, memories, and struggles of his people.
Until then, I had not fully appreciated how poetry could communicate the pain of an entire population. Darwish's words offered me a different way of approaching the Palestinian experience—not merely through political arguments or news reports, but through the intimate language of exile, loss, identity, and longing for a homeland.
One of the poems shared with me, in English translation, conveyed the desperate predicament of people who feel that even the earth beneath their feet is closing in on them. Its imagery of separation, threatened children, vanishing horizons, and olive trees growing from blood left a deep impression on me. The following passage reflects the English rendering that was shared with me:
A Poetic Reflection on the Palestinian Struggle
The earth is narrowing,
pushing us to the last path,
to pass through it,
we are separating every limb.
The earth is binding us,
I wish we were wheat,
to die and rise again on this earth.
I wish the earth was our mother,
have mercy on us.
...
Where will we go when the borders end?
Where will the birds fly after the last sky?
Where will they sleep after breathing the last air?
...
Here we will die in this last path,
and here will grow olive trees in our blood.
— Mahmoud Darwish, as represented in the English rendering shared with me
Editorial note: The wording above follows the passage supplied for this article and has been shortened for presentation. Before publication, the complete translation and its source should be verified. Mahmoud Darwish's poetry is protected by copyright, so a longer translation should be reproduced only with appropriate permission or a suitable licence.
These lines made me reflect on the relationship between people and their homeland. The earth is not merely a geographical space divided by borders; it is also the place where families build their lives, memories take root, and generations develop a sense of belonging. When people are driven from their homes or lose their loved ones, they suffer not only material deprivation but also the painful disruption of their connection to the places they call home.
The image of olive trees growing in blood is particularly haunting. The olive tree can represent endurance, continuity, and attachment to the land. Placing that image beside bloodshed transforms it into a powerful expression of suffering and the determination to preserve identity despite devastation.
Through this encounter with poetry, I began to see Palestine not simply as the subject of an international conflict but as a human story expressed through the voices of people whose lives have been shaped by displacement, grief, and the longing for peace.
3. Palestine: Beyond the Headlines and Political Arguments
News about violence in Palestine frequently appears in the media. We may feel shock, sadness, or anger when we hear reports of civilians being killed, families losing their homes, and children growing up amid fear and destruction. Yet, as new stories compete for our attention, we often move on to other subjects. The suffering that once disturbed us gradually recedes into the background of our daily lives.
But what happens to the people whose lives remain trapped in the conflict long after a news report disappears from our screens?
The human cost of the Israel–Palestine conflict cannot be understood through statistics alone. Behind every reported death are family members, friendships, memories, and futures that will never unfold as expected. Behind every destroyed home are the ordinary routines of life—meals shared with family, children studying, neighbours talking, and people making plans for tomorrow.
The devastation experienced by civilians in Gaza has raised grave humanitarian concerns. Israeli military operations have caused extensive destruction, mass displacement, and severe pressure on essential services. Residential buildings, shelters, and medical facilities have been affected, while restrictions and insecurity have made it increasingly difficult for many people to obtain food, clean water, medicine, and other necessities.
Women, children, older people, and people with disabilities are particularly vulnerable in such circumstances. When families are repeatedly displaced and medical facilities cannot adequately treat the injured, the consequences extend far beyond the immediate violence.
One report that particularly illustrates the scale of this suffering appeared in Atrocity Alert No. 415, published by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect on 30 October 2024.
According to the report, an Israeli strike on 29 October 2024 hit a residential building sheltering displaced people in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza. The report stated that 93 Palestinians were killed or missing, including at least 25 children. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few medical facilities still partially functioning in northern Gaza at the time, warned that many injured people might die because of a lack of resources.
These reported figures represented more than a headline. They pointed to families facing unimaginable uncertainty, children deprived of safety, and injured people whose survival depended on medical assistance that was increasingly difficult to obtain.
Such incidents demand sustained attention and careful investigation. The protection of civilians, the treatment of the wounded, and access to humanitarian relief are essential obligations under international humanitarian law. No political or military objective should make us indifferent to the suffering of innocent people.
Reference: Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Atrocity Alert No. 415, 30 October 2024. The original report should be linked directly in the published article.
4. Displacement, Humanitarian Crisis, and the Future of Palestinians
The suffering of Palestinians extends beyond the immediate consequences of bombardment. Repeated displacement, damaged infrastructure, shortages of essential supplies, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance can undermine the basic conditions required for a dignified life.
When people are forced to leave their homes under the threat of violence, they may have nowhere safe to go. Shelters become overcrowded, families become separated, and access to clean water, sanitation, food, and healthcare becomes increasingly uncertain. Displacement is especially devastating when people cannot safely return to their homes or rebuild their lives.
These circumstances raise serious concerns about the future of Palestinian communities and their ability to remain connected to their land, culture, and collective identity. The terms used to describe such developments—including ethnic cleansing—carry significant legal and historical implications and should be applied with care, on the basis of credible evidence and appropriate legal analysis. Nevertheless, the underlying humanitarian concerns deserve urgent attention regardless of the terminology used.
The role of humanitarian organisations is therefore crucial. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has long provided essential services to Palestinian refugees, including education, healthcare, and emergency assistance. During a humanitarian crisis, the disruption of such services can place already vulnerable families at even greater risk.
Humanitarian aid should never be treated merely as a political bargaining instrument. Civilians who lack food, medicine, safe shelter, or access to medical treatment need assistance irrespective of their nationality, religion, or political circumstances.
The tragedy of Palestine reminds us that peace is not simply the absence of active fighting. Lasting peace requires security, dignity, justice, respect for human rights, and a future in which ordinary people can live without the constant fear of losing their homes or loved ones.
5. The Eloquence of Arabic and the Importance of Linguistic Diversity
Perhaps the experience would not have affected me so deeply had I not encountered the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish. Through the poem shared during our conversations, I began to appreciate the expressive power of Arabic in a way I had not previously experienced.
Language is much more than a collection of words and grammatical rules. It is a vehicle for thought, emotion, cultural memory, and human connection. Through language, people preserve their histories, communicate their deepest feelings, and pass their knowledge from one generation to another.
Arabic, with its rich literary traditions and centuries of poetry, scholarship, philosophy, and storytelling, has made an immense contribution to world culture. Darwish's poetry demonstrated to me how language can transform personal grief into an expression of collective experience. Through carefully chosen images and emotionally charged words, a poet can make readers feel the weight of displacement, the pain of separation, and the enduring desire for belonging.
This realisation also encouraged me to reflect on the importance of other languages. Every language offers its own ways of interpreting the world. Its vocabulary, expressions, stories, and traditions carry the experiences of the people who speak it. When a language disappears, humanity risks losing not merely a means of communication but also a distinctive body of knowledge, cultural heritage, and ways of understanding life.
English undoubtedly occupies an important position in international communication. As a widely used common language, it enables people from different linguistic backgrounds to communicate, cooperate, exchange ideas, and participate in global discussions. It plays a significant role in education, scientific research, diplomacy, commerce, and cultural exchange.
However, the global importance of English should not lead us to regard it as the only measure of intellectual ability, education, or cultural value. A person's knowledge and wisdom are not determined by the language in which they express themselves. Nor should the prominence of one language diminish our appreciation of the literary and intellectual achievements of others.
We should instead encourage multilingualism, preserve endangered languages, and promote respect for linguistic diversity. Learning another language can broaden our understanding of different societies, challenge our assumptions, and help us recognise the common humanity that connects people across cultural boundaries.
For me, the discovery of Arabic poetry became an unexpected reminder of this truth. A language I had not previously explored in sufficient depth introduced me to a different emotional landscape and helped me engage with the suffering of people whose experiences I had once understood mainly through news reports.
6. The Lessons I Carried Forward
Looking back, I can now see that this unusual Facebook experience brought together several lessons that initially seemed unrelated.
First, it taught me to be cautious about online identities. Photographs, videos, and convincing conversations can create a false impression, so we should protect our privacy, maintain personal boundaries, and avoid placing unquestioning trust in strangers.
Second, it reminded me that mistakes and disappointments need not define our future. We may feel angry or embarrassed when reality contradicts our expectations, but reflection can turn those experiences into opportunities for growth. We cannot change what has happened, but we can decide what to learn from it.
Third, it showed me the power of literature to expand our understanding of the world. Poetry can take us beyond political arguments and headlines, allowing us to approach unfamiliar experiences through emotion, imagination, and empathy.
Finally, it deepened my appreciation for the importance of linguistic diversity. Every language has the potential to open a window into another culture, another history, and another way of seeing the world.
My journey began with a chat that did not turn out to be what I had expected. Yet, through that experience, I encountered the poetry of Mahmoud Darwish, reflected on the suffering of Palestinians, and developed a greater appreciation for the eloquence of Arabic.
I would not say that the deception itself was a good experience. Rather, I learned that even an unpleasant encounter can lead to something meaningful if we respond with reflection instead of allowing anger to consume us.
Sometimes, life teaches us through unexpected people and uncomfortable circumstances. What initially appears to be a mistake may eventually become an opening to knowledge, empathy, and personal growth.
The most important lesson is not that every mistake is a blessing, but that we can learn something valuable from our mistakes without allowing them to determine who we become.
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