Gaza song hits home

Every so often, I get an e-mail from halfway across the globe that makes me smile and usually makes me just a tad bit scared.

The e-mails come from my friend and former colleague, Husein “Steve” Mashni. Husein, some may remember, was an education reporter for the Daily Pilot back in the late 1990s.

I clearly remember the day we interviewed him and he told us straight away that he was only going to be here one year.

After that, he said, he was scheduled to move to the Gaza strip in Israel and become a Christian missionary.

Imagine that. A man of Arab heritage preaching the Christian Bible to Muslims in one of the most violent spots on the globe. I had nothing but immense respect and admiration for him right from the start.

But to know Husein is to love him. And anyone who crossed his path in the newsroom instantly became one of his friends. His kind heart and glowing smile were hard to miss.

Since he left on his mission, he’s come back to visit from time to time, and it’s always good to see him.

I do confess to being just a bit wary when he told me that members of the terrorist group Hamas had chased him out of Jerusalem and shot up the guitar that we had given him as a going-away gift.

Or the time he e-mailed me with a detailed description about how some young Palestinian youths chased him in his van through the villages of Gaza, shooting at him along the way.

So, yes, I smile when I get the e-mails from him because it ensures me that he’s still safe. But I always worry about him.

Here’s the most recent communique:

“Hi Tony: I just wanted to update you on goings-on here in Gaza. It looks like it’s at the tipping point now, very close to an all-out civil war. I hope not. It would be vicious if it starts. But there are already lots of victims, including: the bus driver for our church children’s program AWANA (killed by stray bullet last week); a friend of a friend whom I have played cards with several times (killed in deliberate attack on his car, also last week); the cousin of one of my closest friends (killed by stray bullet).

“Two of the believers here have had their homes hit by stray bullets as well, but the Lord has protected them. Praise God. Another friend (who is a member of the Presidential guard) was also wounded about a month ago. Please pray for the peace of Gaza. Pray that God’s kingdom will come here and that His will would be done here.”

Yeah, and I thought my wife and I had problems when the recent frost killed most of our backyard plants.

Then Husein left me this little tidbit.

“P.S. I also wanted to tell you that I have uploaded my first music video clip on YouTube. If you would like to see it, it is called “Acoustic Prayer for Gaza.” God Bless You. Thanks for your prayers and support.

Steve Mashni.”

So I checked out the video at www.youtube.com/watch?v= jPP8CJb8I3A and watched as Husein belted out a Christian song. There are other songs on the site you can also check out.

I e-mailed him back and asked him if I could put a mention in my column. Here’s what he said:

“Hey Tony: There are three guitars in the video. One of them is from Iraq that I got when I went there two years ago. One of them is from Gaza City. But the one that might interest you is the one that I play when I’m wearing the Arab gown, sitting down.

“That is the guitar that all of you at the Daily Pilot bought for me when I left in 1999. If you see at the very beginning of the part where I’m sitting wearing the gown, you can see the bullet holes in the guitar. There are four bullet holes in it. Remember, it was shot when I was in Jerusalem. God Bless.”

No, Husein — God bless you.

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TONY DODERO is the director of news and online for the Daily Pilot. He can be reached via e-mail at tony.dodero@latimes.com or by phone at (714) 966-4608.