Um Hana

Some households have a lightness and a joy to them that you feel the moment you walk in. Maybe it is the brightly colored posters on the wall or the tidily raked courtyard blooming with herbs. Maybe it is the eager faces of the six little girls who come out to greet you, shiny black braids hanging down their backs as they run up the stairs ahead of you. For whatever reason, Um Hana’s household in the northern town of Beit Lahiya is a tangibly happy place, and this probably has a lot to do with Um Hana herself.