"Settlements are being built, even on our hearts" -

Susan - reporting from Qalqilya and Tulkarem, West Bank

(by phone to Ken)

August 15th, 2002

On Wednesday, Garrick and I went to Bet Sahour to participate in an
ISM meeting to evaluate the Freedom Summer campaign. Then we
traveled to Tulkarem-to spend a few days working with the newly
arrived ISM group-Terry's affinity group. The occupation of Tulkarem
continues to be horrific, and without media coverage. This situation
has been well-described by Rebecca-see her detailed report.

First-a couple of items from Qalkilya, 3 days ago.

Several Palestinians and ISMs were on their way to a nearby village.
On the way, they met a farmer. After talking with him for awhile
they continued on, walking in his orchard, near the road. Israeli
soldiers fired shots at them - rubber bullets. Esther, our Spanish
colleague, was hit in the shoulder. She was bruised, but she is OK.

On one of my ambulance runs, returning from Ramallah to Qalkilya, we
were flagged down by a car. We went over to the car and learned that
a Palestinian woman had just given birth. The ambulance driver (with
my bit of assistance) clamped the cord, cut it, and wrapped the
infant. We waited for another ambulance, because the mother and
child did not look well and needed more care. This kind of thing
happens very frequently. With the curfews and closures and check
point holdups, this sort of serious endangering of lives is a
regular occurrence.

On a home visit, close to where we are staying, we talked with two
family members who work in the local hospital. They told us that the
serious check point holdups of medical supplies often ruin the
supplies-they are left in the heat too long. Moreover, the Israelis
often open up boxes of sterile supplies, which are then immediately
ruined.

Thursday, 8/15/02. Now in Tulkarem.

On one home visit, a son, who is a high school student, told us how
difficult it is for the children to study. When there is heavy
gunfire or explosions at night, he says that he just goes under his
desk and keeps on studying.

Another family, from the nearby village of Shufa, described how their
home and land was stolen from them. About a year ago, one evening,
when they were at a party away from home, they returned home to find
that the Israelis had seized their home - taken it over for use as a
military outpost. Since then, whenever the family tries to go back
there-simply to attempt to retrieve some belongings the military,
with their long bureaucratic procedure for obtaining official
permission, make it impossible for them.

Moreover, if they just try to visit their village to see their land,
the trip from Tulkarem to the village, which used to take about five
minutes, now takes about 3 hours-because of closures and check point
huge delays. The family just can't get to their home or their land.

Every morning their 3 year old child wakes up and says the same
thing, "I want to go home."

The mother told us:
"We hope you will come to our home as individuals and as a people. We
Palestinians are against September 11th. We are against terrorism.
We are sacrificing because of the American position. Bush stands
totally with Sharon. We Palestinians have no solution-we are up
against a wall of obstacles. Sharon has a green light to do whatever
he wants to the Palestinian people."

At another home, a Palestinian man said this to us: "If you want to
live, you live as a sheep or a cow. If you are listening and obeying
the American way, you can live. But if you say you are a human
being, if you say you want freedom and your own state-you are not
allowed to live."

"Settlements are being built even on our hearts."

"We dream about how to be free, how to live free, and not be shut up."

"Mr. Bush and the democratic state of Israel have seized and stolen
the smiles from our children's faces. They are crying that they are
the only democracy in the world."

"We ask America: Why? What have we done against the American
people?"

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Susan is part of a BostontoPalestine delegation to the International
Solidarity Movement's Palestine Freedom Summer. For more
information, see www.bcpr.org and click "Freedom Summer"