Mona Bauwens is based in London and writes regularly for magazines and journals in the UK and the Middle East.

The Abduction Diaries. A Celebration to my father who to the day he died stayed true to his principals

Right now I am working on the ‘Abduction Diaries’, which recounts my detailed experiences at the time of my fathers abductions. For years I have found it difficult to even open them let alone write about them as they reminded me of the dark period of continual threats from Abu Dhabi and the Palestinian Authority (PA). But ultimately what has emerged in spite of the ordeal is all the many instances of kindness and help I was shown, sometimes by total strangers or people who knew of my father and would come and say ‘I don’t know your father personally but he helped my cousin, brother’ or some relative. It’s them that gave me back my faith in people. 

I hope readers will find the diaries both heart-warming as well as informative. It’s a story that is I believe is uplifting. As through the ordeal, the ups and downs and the many range of emotions that I went through, one thing emerged and remains with me till today. The kindness I was shown by many who risked sometimes everything to help. The generosity both in spirit and practical help from the Palestinians in Gaza is what made me hold on and persevere.  The unconditional support often from strangers made me survive through the night with some hope, some optimism…