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October 29th, 2004 17 Moments in Palestine
October 14th, 2004 Daher's Vinyard
October 16th, 2004 Update on Jayyous Village
----------------------
Below is a final report from Renae in Palestine, after nearly
a month harvesting olives in areas threatened by Israel settlers.
October
29th, 2004 17 Moments in
Palestine by
Renae in the West Bank
Marhaba,
It is 7:00 am this last morning in the west bank. I find myself
sipping the
strongest coffee I have ever encountered and reflecting on my
experiences
this past month. I have started making a list of memorable moments,
most of
which would have no meaning to anyone but me. However, some of
these moments
are more a reflection of the life and people here and I wish
to share them
with you.
REFLECTIONS;
1. finding myself in an extended family of women chatting and
laughing with
each other (even though much of what is being said is complete
gibberish to
me) as we pass the time picking olives.
2. being driven from olive tree to olive tree in 90 degree heat
in an
attempt
to finishing as much of the harvest as possible while having
our help
3. Sitting drinking very sweet shy(tea) in the welcomed shade
under an olive
tree during our morning and afternoon breaks.
4. the tug on my sleeves and look of fear in the eyes of two
Palestinian
women that I've been picking with as we are approached by soldiers
on our way
home from the fields.
5. A solider that says to us "these are very dangerous people"
and we look
back at the tired dirty farmers and their donkeys and one of
our group says
"you mean these farmers and their donkeys"?
6. A soldier that tells us we must walk 7 kilometers in to go
home rather
than cross 25 meters of road that has been built across these
villager's agricultural land. The south African women who was
with us and
just looked at him and said in her clipped British accent "that's
not logical
now dear is it?"
7. A people too frightened to go to their fields with out the
presence of
internationals and the lone old man standing on the street of
his village who
is beaten by settlers.
8. A 10 year old child recounting in graphic detail the condition
of her
grandmother's body after being shot 3 times by an Israeli soldier.
9. The look of resignation in Mohammed's eyes (our coordinator
in Jayyous)
after he was turned back at the check point into Nablus. He was
going to
Nablus to visit his ill grandfather who is in the hospital.
10. Sulleh, an unemployed man with a law degree who opened his
home to this
ragged band of people from Boston and treated us like family.
The nights
sitting up with him and Mohammed talking about their lives, hopes,
and sense
of future. His sadness at our leaving because he we all felt
a sense of
family.
11. A new sense of hopelessness expressed by almost all the young
men that I
met in the west bank
12 3 M16s aimed at me as I pass through a gate with a farmer
going to his
land.
13. The multiple meals with families consisting of communal platters
of food
eaten with bread and the language lessons that accompanied these
meals.
14 Daily, special moments shared with the women that we picked
with and
their children. Felt much more integrated into the entirety of
the family
during this trip.
15. The enormous generosity of the families that invited us into
their homes
and shared their Ramadan customs and what little food they had
with us.
16, The taxi rides that are never straight forward and always
an adventure
in
and of themselves.
17. And of course last but best of all finding that Don Quixote
lives on
under the alias of Serif Omar. Most of you know Serif through
our work in
the west bank in the summer of 2003. He is a prominent land owner
who
brought us in to set up a peace camp on the land beyond the gate.
In so
doing, supported farmers who did not want to contend with the
gate daily and
sleep out on their land. He of course has suffered punishment
of one kind of
another for his work as an activist including not being able
to get a permit
to his land for some months. He finally secured a permit after
testifying
before the international court at the Hague.
Michael and I spent the day with Sheriff. We discovered that
his fruit trees
are thriving, the shelter still stands, his tractor (the F16)
continues
reliably to carry him (and on this day us) through his fields.
Additionally,
he has managed to secure a grant from another country to erect
a half dozen
or so shelters for other farmers whose land lies beyond the wall.
He is
surreptitiously promoting a general boycott of Israeli goods,
and
participating in discussions regarding increasing employment
for the young
men of Jayyous.
Sheriff has a sense of humor about the settlement "expansion"
taking place
50yards from his shelter even though it will surely mean the
loss of more of
his land and increase problems for him. I had the pleasure of
spending part
of the afternoon cooking with him. He taught me a traditional
dish called
Maklouva (spelling?) which I hope to reproduce when home.. His
wife allowed
me to wash dishes with her which is a true honor and means that
I'm
considered part of the family. I can think of no family that
I would rather
feel a part of.
People ask me how this experience has changed me. The answer
is I don't
really know. One thing I can say is that being with these people
somehow
opens my heart in a way that is unusual for me. Additionally,
I am filled
with a sense of wonder regarding the resourcefulness of people,
resilience of
the human spirit,, and the stubbornness of hope.
Once again I feel honored to have had an opportunity to join
a loving and
courageous people in their struggle to live with and resist (nonviolently)
a
cruel and oppressive occupation.
Peace and love
Renae
October
16th, 2004 Update on Jayyous Village
Hi all,
Just want to drop you an update on Jayyous. Most of you know
Jayyous
through my emails the last time I was in the west bank. The Boston
group spent most of their time in this small village supporting
it's
resident's resistance to the building of the annexation wall.
As a
result we have developed a good relationship with many of the
villagers
here.
The wall is finished! Like most places where this has happened
their
lives are even further controlled by the occupation. As you know,
the
wall has been built approximately 6 kilometers inside the green
line and
separates the village from their land. They need permits to access
their land, can only doing it at the whim of the military, must
endure
humiliation by guards at the gate, and continue to worry that
someday
they will not be able to access it at all. Access now is further
reduced by the permit system. A lot of these farmers have been
unable
to secure permits or can't get them for family members. Consequently
they don't have the help they need to work their land. One of
the
farmers that I was picking with yesterday describes his situation
as a
prison inside a prison inside a prison. There is a sense of much
resignation and despair here. Underneath it all though, is a
seething
rage that I did not see a short 14 months ago.
Today this first day of Ramadan and the gate is closed. 50 farmers
lined up at 6:00 am this morning to start picking early so that
they
could finish early. They were told that the gate was closed for
their
own protection. When asked about tomorrow, they were basically
told to
show up and see if it is open. The harvest can wait, however,
their
water sensitive crops that need irrigation can't..
Water and electricity continue to be further rationed to the
village of
Jayyous. Though they own land rich in water it is completely
controlled
by Israel and redirected to surrounding settlements. They receive
water
twice a week. Usually not enough to hold them from one delivery
to the
next. I found this out the hard way when I came back from picking
to
find that there was no water available to even wash my face.
In every way possible Israel has it's foot on the throat of these
gentle
people of the west bank. Humiliation, subjugation, annexation
of all
natural resources, and transference is clearly the goal here.
We of the
United States support actions designed to accomplish these goals
through
our tax dollars and continuing resistance to UN resolutions that
might
make a difference. When I was here in the summer of 2003 the
U.S. was
still seen as providing some hope for relief from the occupation.
No
longer!!!
I cringe every time I am asked "from where are you from?"
and I must say
america.
On the bright side. I have reconnected with several of the farmers
that
I worked with before. Of particular delight is seeing Sheriff
Omar
again. Clearly a delight for him to. When I walked up and knocked
on
his door and he opened it and recognized who I was his face lit
up with
joy. He eschewed custom by giving me a huge hug. I felt welcomed
into
a second home.
ma'a salaame
Renae
October
14th, 2004 Daher's Vinyard by Renae
Marhaba,
It is Thursday night and I finally have a chance to read and
send out
some emails. I want to tell you the story of Daher's Vineyard
which is
a place that we have been picking olives the last couple of days.
Daher's Vineyard is located south of Bethlehem and is part of
the
village of Nahhalin. Not too long ago Sharon said "take
every hill
top", well Daher's Vineyard stands in the way of completing
this mission
in this area of the west bank. Though surrounding hill tops have
been
taken by 3 continuously expanding settlements and two outposts,
the
Daher Nasser family owns 100 acres of land on a hill top in the
middle
of these settlements. Because of how they are situated, the Nasser
land
prevents the annexation of 500 acres by the surrounding settlements.
When I was jotting notes to use to write this email I was sitting
at
the family table outside of their 2 bedroom bungalow surrounded
by fig,
almond, and olive trees. They also have many grape vines and
asundry
vegetables growing close by. A little wood stove sits on the
patio that
they fire up to bake bread and make a variety of delectable treats.
We
had the good fortune to enjoy several meals with them. From the
outside, this place appears idealic. In reality, it represents
12
years of resistance to the occupation. Daher and his siblings
have
managed to stand up to the assaults of the Israeli legal system
and the
physical assault of settlers during these 12 years. You see,
unlike a
lot of Palestinian farmers, they actually have papers documenting
the
purchase of this land in 1916 by their grandfather. They are
steadfast
in their refusal to have it stolen from them
Just to give you an idea of what they have been up against I
will
recount some of the strategies that have been used to drive them
off
their land.
1. The Israeli legal system refuses to recognize the legal status
of
their documents. However it can't discount them either. Consequently
the court makes increasingly ridiculous, expensive, and often
impossible
requests of them. For example, that they provide testimony from
people
that they have lived on their land continuously over the years
though it
is deemed an agricultural area. Insisting that they appear in
court but
won't give them permission to enter Israel. Insisting they have
an
attorney representing them but won't allow them to use their
Palestinian
attorney.
2. The financial burden has been tremendous. The last request
by the
court has been for a survey of their land which will cost 70,000
dollars. Remember, it is the intifada and work and income is
scarce.
3. Settlers have tried to build roads through their land, uprooted
250
trees, destroyed their water tanks, intimidated their mother
with
machine guns when she was home alone, and so on.
4. Finally, they are not allowed to improve the property.
Consequently they are denied electricity, running water, building
additions to the house etc. Israel flies over the property 4
times a
year and if they spot an improvement they destroy it.
Never the less, this willful family perseveres not only in their
steadfast resolution to keep what is theirs but amazingly in
their
steadfast commitment to a just peace. They keep doing what they
are
doing because it creates hope and possibility for future generations.
Not only for Palestinians but also for Israeli's.
Salaam,
Renae