ALI'S MOM WRITES ABOUT HER VISIT WITH ALI

Ali's mom Um Baqer Al-Nemer describes this year's visit with him: At home, our Conversations are not devoid of memories. They occupy a big part of our days. We are about to visit him soon. It will be our special visit for the Holidays. When he is not here, our conversation is not devoid of our memories. It's all about them. They occupy a big part of our days , and they can't be erased. I miss him and we missed him in the holiday in our home. It was a big empty space in the house without him. When we opened the presents, I would remember Ali, opening his gifts with the same enthusiasm of a toddler. He could not wait, and he would play with whatever we gave him immediately. But now, we have to have holidays, without his enthusiasm. Now, after the holidays, we oscillate between being eager to see him in order to check on his health and unbridled anxiety and fear, for what we may learn about. It's the fifth holiday without him. For the five years we have been without him, we have suffered in an eternal winter, where the spring never blooms. When we finally went to visit him, I saw that his body was scrawny and yellow in colour. He clearly he lost a lot of weight, and he suffers from anaemia. I just hope this is from fasting during Ramadan and not because of malnutrition. But, despite the daily dose of torture and oppression he faces, just like every other time I saw him, those scars melted away for the joy in his heart. He smiled and immediately greeted us and told us that he was doing very fine. Each encounter, we look at it like it is a dream that we hold onto and we are afraid to be waken up. Time flies when we visit him. We are only allowed to visit him for 20 minutes. After we come home, I wrap myself in the memories of our visit, and his beautiful eyes and smile. As soon as our heads to clear, I came online to inform everyone of this visit. I would like to wish all the people around the world who have supported us through this difficult time peace. I hope everyone has a blessed Eid al-Fitr. I used to feel very alone in my pain. I would like to thank everyone of helping me bear even a little bit of the burden of my pain. You have made me feel like I am less alone. For this, I am greatful. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for fighting for my son, like he is your son. You have allowed for the flowers to bloom from the depths of hell for me. I thank you for being that flower. We ask you for prayers for him to released Lots of Love, Um Baqer