Yasser and Fathi Arafat remembered, 20 years after their deaths

Cairo, Egypt – The reception of the Palestine Hospital was engaged arsenic accustomed successful aboriginal November, but the temper among the Palestinian unit was clouded by an approaching anniversary.

On November 11, 2004, a thunderbolt announcement connected each large networks: PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat had died successful Paris – poisoned with polonium-210, according to an probe by Al Jazeera and French, Swiss and Russian scientists.

Yasser Arafat was not the lone icon the Palestinian radical mislaid that twelvemonth – his member Fathi was deathly sick arsenic well, successful a coma owed to his tummy cancer.

As Yasser laic sick and dying, Fathi woke from his coma abruptly and asked, “Where’s Yasser, is helium OK?” Fathi’s lad Tarek told Al Jazeera.

He replied, backmost then, “He is fine, Dad, successful Ramallah,” to debar stressing his begetter out.

Fathi soon passed distant arsenic well, arsenic if the 2 brothers had a supernatural connection, Tarek says.

“When the quality astir their deaths spread, we astatine the infirmary would recheck each the channels to marque definite it was true,” Rafiq Tawel, who was a caregiver determination astatine the time, says.

“During those days, you would find radical successful each corner, crying.”

Photo of 3 Arafat siblings: Fathi, left, Khadija, centre, and Yasser, right, Arafat [Courtesy of Tarek Arafat]

Today, successful the infirmary Fathi established successful 1979, Tarek works to support his begetter and uncle’s memories live arsenic helium grapples with the narration helium had with 2 larger-than-life men.

Cairo: The aboriginal years and the shaping of a conscience

Sitting successful his bureau successful the hospital, surrounded by photos of his begetter and uncle, Tarek begins to speak, telling the communicative of his celebrated relatives.

Egypt is wherever the Arafat brothers grew up and shaped their engagement, and the much than 100,000 Palestinian refugees surviving determination mourn their lack still.

Born successful 1929 successful Jerusalem, Palestine, Yasser was 4 years aged erstwhile his younger member Fathi was born, and erstwhile their parent died 40 days later.

After a fewer years surviving with their uncles’ household successful Jerusalem, the motherless brothers moved to Cairo successful 1937 to articulation their older sister Khadija and begetter – who had been a merchant determination for years already.

The household lived successful a rented ground-floor flat successful the territory of Heliopolis, wherever the Palestine Hospital was aboriginal established. Tarek adds that they had to rent due to the fact that “they could not spend to buy”.

Palestinian women and children carrying their possessions question information and structure during the Nakba. On June 26, 1948 [Getty Images]

As Yasser entered his precocious teens, quality from location came of Zionist militias attacking Palestinians to instrumentality their towns and villages successful 1948.

Yasser and Fathi had to ticker from Cairo.

Yasser began moving “as a go-between successful efforts to procure arms” to the Mufti of Jerusalem Amin al-Husseini’s troops, constitute his biographers Andrew Gowers and Tony Walker.

By 1950, the brothers were some attending King Fuad I University, aboriginal Cairo University – Yasser studied engineering and Fathi medicine.

In the precocious 1940s and aboriginal 1950s, Cairo was heavy successful governmental turmoil, arsenic British troops tried to quell protesters demanding an extremity to assemblage rule, particularly connected assemblage campuses.

Yasser was among the dozens of Palestinians swept up successful the fervour, learning astir revolutionary methods to aboriginal use to their cause, Gowers and Walker wrote.

Fathi was not arsenic immersed arsenic his brother.

After their assemblage lectures were over, the brothers gave backstage literacy lessons to marque other wealth but Yasser, Tarek says,  would sometimes beryllium successful occupation due to the fact that of his activities arsenic caput of the Palestinian Students Union, leaving his member to thatch some of their lessons.

Picture of Yasse, left, and Fathi, right, among different pictures astatine Tarek Arafat’s bureau astatine the Palestine Hospital. [Bianca Carrera/Al Jazeera]

“You person 2 antithetic personalities here,” helium continues. “Fathi was a subordinate of the union, but helium besides enjoyed art; focussed connected gathering a family.

“Yasser was sometimes excessively serious, determination was nary amusive successful his life; helium was afloat devoted.”

The brothers complemented each different though.

Yasser worked to physique a beardown Palestinian governmental question internationally by establishing the Fatah Party and aboriginal taking the helm of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation portion Fathi focused connected societal support, providing enactment and healthcare for Palestinians.

Social enactment for a radical dispossessed

“I remember, astatine the clip I utilized to spot my dada [once] each 3 oregon 4 months,” adds the 56-year-old.

“I would cognize that helium is coming due to the fact that they would lavation his car,” Tarek says sadly of his younger years astatine location portion Fathi and Yasser were perpetually connected the move, moving for Palestine.

Fathi established the Palestinian Red Crescent Society(PRCS) successful 1968, retired of the aforesaid gathering arsenic the Palestine Hospital.

PRCS built 72 hospitals successful Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq – of which 57 were destroyed – and 31 wellness centres for much than 5 cardinal Palestinian refugees registered with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees successful the Near East (UNRWA).

Tarek Arafat shows 1 of the fewer pictures helium has with his uncle, Yasser Arafat, with his sister Amany and relative Raouf, lad of his uncle Gamal [Bianca Carrera/Al Jazeera]

Tarek did not spot Yasser overmuch either – an aged representation with him and his cousins is 1 of the fewer pictures helium has with “the leader”.

“Even the person [Yasser Arafat] I did not spot him a batch either … I knew helium was busy, that helium had different plans and that already determination were a batch of radical asking him for things.

“So normally, I would [only] spell spot him erstwhile helium called maine and said: ‘Tarek, wherever are you?’”

The faces of the 2 absent begetter figures inactive capable Tarek’s bureau arsenic if it were a capsule of nostalgia.

“I privation I could person learned much from my begetter astir things similar beingness experience, marriage, love, death, warfare … I conscionable started to cognize him much later,” helium continues.

“The time helium died, I retrieve wishing that my achievements could beryllium astatine slightest 5 percent of his beingness achievements. With that, I would beryllium content.”

Growing up successful Cairo, Tarek became a biomedical technologist and yet worked successful Canada, the United States and much than 70 countries arsenic a committee subordinate of the Flying Eye Hospital Orbis.

“I benignant of thought: ‘I person my ain personality, I americium not going to enactment arsenic the lad of Fathi Arafat, I volition enactment arsenic an engineer.’”

Tarek successful his bureau astatine the Palestine Hospital. He near his vocation overseas to travel his family’s footsteps [Bianca Carrera/Al Jazeera]

When his uncle and begetter died, helium became much progressive successful the PRCS and the Palestine Hospital, wherever helium stands up to locomotion around.

“After what happened successful Gaza we’ve worked to travel up with initiatives to assistance our radical here,” helium boasts with pride.

“We expanded the capableness of the dialysis department, with 9 machines moving 3 shifts a day. Anybody coming from Gaza aft October 7 tin beryllium treated for free.”

Funded by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the fees the infirmary charges Palestinians were already cheaper than immoderate different Egyptian hospital, and person been chopped further with a 35 percent simplification for immoderate Palestinian successful Egypt since Israel started attacking Gaza.

A antheral enters the reception area. His begetter died past March and the household had obscurity to hide him successful Egypt, truthful helium resorted to Tarek and the Palestine Hospital for help. Now, helium wants to sojourn the grave.

“Fathi Arafat built a cemetery for the Palestinians successful Egypt wherever we judge anybody, the archetypal 1 buried determination was my Uncle Mustafa,” Tarek explains arsenic the antheral leaves.

“This is not conscionable a hospital, it’s a assemblage centre.”

Palestinian staff, patients and visitors successful the Palestinian Hospital exigency country [Bianca Carrera/Al Jazeera]

‘The aforesaid mode they came, others volition travel next’

Since its founding, the gathering has not lone hosted the PRCS and the hospital, it has besides fixed a level to a nursing academy, a impermanent hostel for Palestinians successful need, a practice location and the Falooja radical for Palestinian Arts and Folklore.

“Fathi was 1 of the radical who astir believed successful the powerfulness of creation and the request to sphere our practice portion being acold from Palestine,” Tawel, the infirmary idiosyncratic who is besides a longtime subordinate of the Falooja group, says.

“He built this spot arsenic a location to immoderate Palestinian successful Egypt. I wouldn’t beryllium capable to unrecorded without it, I wouldn’t beryllium capable to enactment easy elsewhere arsenic a non-Egyptian nurse.”

Newcomers, who arrived since Israel’s latest battle connected Gaza, and Palestinians whose families had to settee successful Egypt aft the Nakba successful 1948 are among the unit and visitors successful the engaged infirmary corridors.

Pictures of the brothers who built the spot bent connected the walls of astir each 1 of the 7 storeys. It is arsenic if they were watching the events taking spot successful beforehand of their eyes.

One of the pictures of Yasser and Fathi hanging successful a corridor of the infirmary [Bianca Carrera/Al Jazeera]

Twenty years aft their passing, the fruits they planted successful Cairo stay live arsenic the enactment to assistance displaced Palestinians continues.

“They would some ever say, ‘They cultivated for america to eat, fto america cultivate for generations to eat.’ It was a philosophy,” believes Tarek.

Yasser’s aged location is simply a fewer minutes’ thrust from the hospital. A mango histrion helium planted decades agone inactive grows successful the abandoned garden.

“At the time, helium said helium wanted a mango tree, but I judge it was a symbol. He planted a histrion that until present is increasing fruits successful the aforesaid mode that his member planted this infirmary and wanted america to proceed increasing it for people.

“They were increasing a revolution, and successful the aforesaid mode that they came, others volition travel next.”

Yasser’s mango histrion inactive grows astatine his aged location successful Heliopolis [Bianca Carrera/Al Jazeera]