“It is time to stand up and support our soldiers on the border.” These were the words of 14-year-old Saudi teenager, Yousef Al-Safhi, Monday. He had a real machine gun hanging from his shoulders which he said his late father gave him before he died. “My father liked to collect different kinds of guns and knives. Before he died he gave this gun to me and told me to be a man because I would be the person responsible for looking after the family when he passed away,” said Al-Safhi. Al-Safhi said his father died when he was eight. He then became responsible for looking after his mother and sisters. Although Al-Safhi is only at intermediate level at school, he wanted to show he was a man. He shook the hands of the Saudi Gazette team who arrived at his home for an interview. He then proceeded to offer local food, including Marsa (bananas with bread and honey), meat Kabsa and fresh milk. After the meal, Al-Safhi demonstrated his shooting skills. Out on the land, he shot three birds using a hunting rifle. “When Yousef was young he used to go on hunting trips with his father. He also likes to clean and care for the guns of his father,” said Al-Safhi's uncle, Yahya. His mother, Fatema Al-Gaiman, said that he is considered the father of the home. “When Yousef comes from school, he usually goes to our farm in the east of the village to collect feed for our livestock. He is a useful and good boy even though he is still young,” said his mother. She said that he also goes shopping with his uncle at the Ahad Al-Masareha market for food, clothes and water. “He has the ability to deal with everyone in his village, young and old. Most of his relatives and people in the village love him,” she added. Al-Safhi said he has been dreaming of fighting alongside his fellow countrymen on the border. He wants to offer something to the country he loves, he said. “Yousef dreamt recently that he was fighting on the border with the Saudi military at Mount Dokhan and killed three infiltrators,” said his mother. She said he has been telling his friends repeatedly that he will one day fight in the military. Al-Safhi said that he saw on the Oprah Winfrey show that dreams can come true. “When I watch the program I read the translation at the bottom of the screen, so I can understand what is being said. Oprah said that if a person wants his dream to come true then he must keep thinking about it and then one day it will come true.” “So I will continue to think about fighting in the Saudi military until I succeed,” he said. Al-Safhi said he does not eat fast food, like burgers and fried chicken, because he dislikes the taste. “I went to a big restaurant in Jizan city, and I ate a beef burger. It was very spicy and had a strange taste. I will never ever eat such food again,” he said. “I like the food made by my mother and sister because it is fresh and tasty. It has vegetables like tomatoes and okra.” When the interview was over, Al-Safhi gave the Saudi Gazette team some jasmine he had planted himself.
