The number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds Gilad has spent in captivity, as of today, June 23rd at 8:23:26 in the morning is 1824, 2, 44, 18 (no 19, no 20, no 21, no 22...)
The Red Cross has never been allowed to visit him.
He has never been allowed to receive letters, phone calls, or be in contact with his family.
His place of imprisonment is only known to his captors
He may feel that he is forgotten, but he is not. He is in our hearts.
9065 days have passed since Gilad Shalit was born on 28/8/1986
1824 days of captivity/9065 days of life = 20% of Gilad's life
80% life in freedom, 20% without freedom
One quarter of life in captivity.
1824 days of captivity = 4.99 years of wasted life
1824 days of captivity = 1824 days of sleepless nights for Gilad's family
1824 days of captivity = countless tears for Gilad's family
The number of days between today,Thursday, 23-6-2011 and Sunday, 28-8-2011- Gilad's upcoming birthday = 66 days = 2 months, 5 days = 1584 hours = 95, 040 minutes = 5,702,400 seconds.
Will he need to spend these 66 days or 2 months, 5 days or 1584 hours or 95, 040 minutes or 5,702,400 seconds in further captivity (or perhaps more)?
For 5 years, the Hamas has called for the release of 1000 political prisoners, for return of Gilad. Israeli leaders continue to refuse to pay this price for 1 soldier, who they sent to fight for our country.
The Gaza Strip has been under near total siege for 1471 days
1471 days = 4.03 years
4.03 years of wasted freedom for 1.5 million people - women, men, children - living in Gaza
1.5 million people are paying the price for the Hamas capture of 1 Israeli soldier - Gilad Shalit.
7,746,000 Israeli citizens are paying the price of the ongoing war.
5,260,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are paying the price of the ongoing war.
We can continue to calculate figures, do the math, or we can do the right thing:
We can make the deal and bring Gilad home
We can end his suffering, his family's suffering, and our collective pain over this sad period in our nation's life
We can end the siege on Gaza, and restore some basic human rights to the people there
We can end some of their suffering, and some of their collective pain
We can enter into good-faith negotiations with the Palestinian leaders and end the suffering and pain of the 13,006,000 Israelis and Palestinians living in the region
Gilad Shalit is but 1 Israeli soldier, but his ongoing captivity signifies much more. We can continue to do the math, or we can bring Gilad home, end the siege and end the conflict.
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