News,
articles and documents from the Holy Land
Issue No. 191 - Monday, 10 February 2003
Dear Friends, Brothers
and Sisters,
Moslems will celebrate tomorrow Id Al-Adha (the feast
of the sacrifice) during which the go to Mecca for the Haj (pilgrimage), and we
have some days of vacation at school. I am happy that in our school we had
almost a normal time and we could proceed without any interruption, therefore
we enjoy these days of vacation to breath for a while in order to continue the
second semester hoping that we will not be interrupted by any war on Iraq as
many people are expecting in these coming days. People say that in this case a
general curfew will be imposed on all the Palestinian territories like it was
the case for almost 40 days during the first gulf war. I hope that this will
not happen because it will be a real madness which will create a whole
confusion in the whole region.. it is useless and morally unacceptable.
While Mr. Sharon was speaking about a gradual
cease-fire and easing of the restrictions against the Palestinians we don’t see
any positive sign of any change on the ground, at the contrary, a total closure
was imposed on the Palestinian territories until next Friday and during the
whole days of the Islamic feast. Only Jericho was partially opened during the
last week for the first time since two years. I captured the occasion to go
down to visit the oldest city in History with some French friends who are in my
parish. It is only twenty kms far from Taybeh but 360 meters below the level of
the sea. We were very lucky to ride the cable car up to the mountain of the
temptation where Jesus fasted 40 days, from where you have a wonderful panorama
showing the Jordan Valley, the city of Jericho with the old Tel Al-Sultan, the
dead sea, the mountain of Jordan from the other side. After the visit of the Monastery
which hanged to the mountain we had a fresh orange juice at cafeteria… It was
the first time since more than two years that we could enjoy a peaceful
afternoon in such a beautiful place. When we went down to the city we saw a lot
of people shopping fresh fruits and vegetables which are very famous in Jericho
such as orange, banana and grapefruit… We wished that normal time will return
so that people will go back to their normal daily life.
You will find in today’s Olive Branch the following
simple documents which will help you to understand what is the current mood of
the people here:
1) In his Letter from Bethlehem (47) Toine
van Teeffelen describes the situation in Bethlhem area under curfew.
2) While Susan Sahouri tells us about the “Mass destruction to Houses in Beit Sahour”.
3) And Dr. Harry Hagopian is analyzing
“The
Disappearing Horizon!” in this region.
And
in general, everybody is speaking about and expecting the war against Iraq to
the point that I came now from a visit to a family who asked me to baptize
tomorrow their one-year-old girl because they are afraid that in case of a war
she will remain without baptism. Even, I have just also returned from a meeting
of the coordination committee at the municipality which discussed what we have
to do in case of a possible war, they said that we have to provide enough food
because they expect that a curfew and a closure will be imposed.. I insisted
that we have to remain here and don’t move out of the village if there is any invasion
or tentative of transfer or expulsion.
You
see, things are serious here. People are afraid and waiting. Therefore, we don’t
want more war!
Best wishes from Taybeh the city of fear & hope! Fr. Raed Abusahlia
Letter from Bethlehem (47)
Toine van Teeffelen
February 10, 2003
While I do
correspondence for a petition on Palestinian education, a friendly mail comes
in asking whether the petition text should also not quote the reasons why the
Israeli army is imposing curfews. Are Palestinian schools not places where
violent demonstrations take place? But in fact we here in Bethlehem don't know
much about the reasons for the curfews and closures except for the general
referral to "security." There are very few schools in Palestine where
under the present circumstances the administration allows students to be
involved in any kind of political work like a demonstration. One teacher I know
complains that she would not even be permitted to put her signature under a
petition. All efforts are aimed at getting the school year finished without
disturbance.
I don't mention
this issue of not knowing the reasons for the curfews to score a political
point but rather because it adds to the overall uncertainty and arbitrary
regime under which people are living. One army colonel in Hebron (a city
presently much worse off than Bethlehem) said on Israeli TV that "We
intend to put strong pressure on the population to make it expel the terrorists
from its midst." According to international law such a policy is
forbidden. At the same time, one has the impression that the curfews are
somehow political exchange money for getting security concessions from the
Palestinians. We hear that a new "Bethlehem-Gaza" plan is in the
offering, meaning that the army in the future would withdraw from these areas.
The plan is apparently designed to win PR points while at the same time putting
pressure upon the Palestinian Authority to rein in militants.
We had this week
two curfewed days, Friday and Saturday, while sometimes the nights are open and
sometimes not. In the morning, people get used to carefully listen at 5:00
whether today there'll be a curfew or not. People sometimes even recognize the
creaky loudspeaker voice: "Oh, that is the Druze, you can't hear well what
he says." Usually those soldiers who start mocking are younger: "The Khalifeh
Sharon orders you to stay at home." "You are forbidden to put on
the lights." In one case two weeks ago, the announcing soldier started to
sing the mamnu'a tajaawel as if it was the early morning call for
prayer. It is now very common to have confusion about whether there is curfew
or not, which is of course disastrous for the planning of the day. At one
private school, the principal decided to go on with the school day even though
things were not quite clear. After one lesson hour, it turned out to be curfew.
Parents became angry, started even shouting at the principal because they had
to pick up their kids by car with all the risks that would entail, like the confiscation
of car keys. "Why did the school not organize a school bus to bring the
kids back home?" they asked. But of course the responsables at the bus
company were themselves afraid that the bus would be stopped and that children
and driver would be in danger. People are even afraid that soldiers are handing
out tickets for those without proper driving papers. This also happens
according to the latest rumours.
Mary, not
knowing on Friday whether to go to work or not, called the university
(fortunately, she could reach it; of course the lines are all the times busy at
such moments), and is told: "The irtibaat [Palestinian liaison
office] tells that it is for 95% certain that there will be curfew today."
People have to act upon such pieces of information. In the afternoon, the army
may announce the opening of the town but then it is of course too late to
schedule lessons, exams or work meetings. Students and workers who have to come
from outside town don't know whether to travel to their destination or not.
Conflicting rumours and even local TV stations providing differing statements
about "official" closing hours compound the feeling that personal and
community life is somehow intended to become a mess. Today I went to the
grocery without any real need for buying something but just to get that
comfortable feeling that you do something out on the street which is
predictable, routine, not dependent upon any ulterior decision. The army wants
to let you feel that even breathing the air outside is dependent upon their
goodwill. Frankly, while there are indeed moments that security is at stake –
two weeks ago a donkey was found south of Bethlehem with a bomb belt on the
back – the curfews and closures are by and large a message expressing who is
the boss. In turn, many people here are fantasizing how the Israelis will once
get it back from whatever source. The classical dynamics of occupation. What is
surprising is that despite all the media attention to the political situation,
basic facts are not known to insiders. European consuls, stationed in
East-Jerusalem, their offices in daily contact with Palestinians from the West
Bank applying for visa, could not believe that Palestinian schools did not
function because of the curfews. Some assumed that the curfews were imposed
only outside school hours. Many people in Eastern-Jerusalem are also not
informed. In fact, here in Bethlehem we barely know about curfew conditions in
other West Bank cities.
*
* *
Mary pities the
vendors on the street, many of whom in the past had a job but are now obliged
to sell things to a public without money. We hear that members of Bethlehem
families who live abroad are giving money to parents who have to pay the school
fees for their kids at private schools. Poverty is everywhere. Last week, my
shoes which I left on the veranda were stolen. Our neighbour has erected a
large fence at the entry after his car was stolen during nightly curfew hours.
People are calling whether I can provide them with work.
Lately, I had a
conversation with a soldier at the main Bethlehem-Jerusalem checkpoint who
thought that the Christians in Bethlehem "kept quiet" because they
still have properties, have still something to loose. I am not so sure anymore;
most of the middle class Christian families are running out of money. Many who
don't have affluent family members abroad approach priests in the community for
charity but they usually cannot help them either. Leaving the country is not
easy at all, especially when you don't have resources or family member abroad.
We hear about a few examples of Christians who receive asylum in a European
country after telling authorities that they "are persecuted by
Moslems." Obviously untrue, but it is a story which successfully feeds
upon anti-Moslem sentiments in the West, and which will not be denied by
Israeli authorities.
The coming war
in Iraq adds to the somber mood. The curfew will likely be strict throughout
the duration of the war, and possibly extended to Arab areas in Jerusalem. The
security staff at the Dutch representative office in Ramallah calls to invite
me for a security briefing in Beit Jala this week in which the official Dutch
attitude is explained. On local TV we watch a sheikh who asserts that
America will be paid back for what it is doing. While he is talking a subtitle
stresses that "the Koran predicts that America will fall." Otherwise
people are not caring too much, they say that they have already enough worries,
so no need to think about the worries to come. Mary's colleagues at the
university are not nervous either, and they are not planning to buy things in
advance. Mary herself takes care to at least buy enough powder milk and water
for Tamer.
Meanwhile I get
accustomed to laconic, bitter jokes. "Good morning, happy curfew."
"See you at the sea shore," says Mary while waving goodbye.
"Will we get rain or curfew today?" Our neighbour says that she can't
see any movies about injustice. Everywhere people are addicted to light music
programs of Dream TV or traveling scenes from Liberty TV, but equally addicted
to the programs of Al-Jazeera or local TV about the latest Iraq news. Suzy at
St Joseph says that she is personally completely desperate, sees no light at
the horizon with all that talk about the war and a possible transfer or ethnic
cleansing of Palestinians. However, as soon as she is in front of the class and
sees the girls, it is different; she is teacher and she knows that she is one
of the very few sources of hope for them and so she radiates hope as much as
she can.
***
Jara is eager to
go to a neighbour's wedding, perhaps the major outing today for children. There
they can dance and see some beauty in real life. She lately had a nightmare in
which she, tete (grandma) and Janet were running in the fields chased by
soldiers. She says that she is afraid for military jeeps and dogs, not for
tanks. I see her sometimes thinking: So who are the people, animals, objects,
spaces, for which I have to be afraid, and for which I don't? She wants to live
in Palestine because of the weather but would like to go for a journey to
Holland to have "a rest from the soldiers." "Sharon is rude
because he does not want us to learn," she says dutifully because she
knows how to toe the official line but, like many other children, until
recently she could barely hide her pleasure to have more free days coming. How
to get the children back in their school rhythm is the question parents and
teachers ask. Lately a teacher heard a student complaining that the army should
better "erase the schools." Eradication of education. Students
talking tough among each other but at the same time feeling powerless.
Despite
everything, Jara keeps drawing her most beautiful drawings in which black
clouds and a shiny sun peacefully co-exist in the sky. Tamer shouts and moves
when put in the carriage; he wants to get out, rain or shine, like all of us.
"Close your eyes and dream with me," says Mary. We are still going
fine as the children keep us busy and somehow uplifted.
Mass
destruction to Houses in Beit Sahour
10-Feb-03
Suzan Sahori
Last night in Beit Sahour was a horrible night for many families whose
houses were invaded by the Israeli soldiers in the middle of the night, looking
for wanted persons. We all woke up this morning as usual and got ready to go to
work since curfew was lifted daily for the past few days. As I approached
the Municipality I noticed that there are not many cars around, and the streets
are quiet. I thought that perhaps this was because it is Friday and there
is no school. Then we heard the Israeli patrol announcing that curfew is
imposed and screaming at each person they saw driving on the streets. We
then learned what happened last night in Beit Sahour. The Israeli soldiers
forcibly entered into many houses in Beit Sahour, terrorizing all families and
leaving a trail of destruction in each house they entered. They claim
that in these houses there are wanted who sleep there. An employee of the
Municipality was one of those whose homes the Israeli soldiers entered. They
beat his sons and daughters and threw sound bombs in the house, injuring the
youngest son in the arm. They then forced the family to leave the house with
whatever they had on and kept them out in the cold in their bare feet.
While the families were forced to stand outside, the IDF searched the
houses. They shot their weapons inside the houses, destroying the inside of
these homes. One of the families who did not respond to their call to open the
door and come out had their door bombed, destroying the front of their house
and waking up the children sleeping inside, who began screaming because they
did not know what was going on.
The Israeli soldiers give themselves the right to enter into your house in
the middle of the night because they claim wanted Palestinians are sleeping in
your house. Where is justice?
What is going on, are the Israeli soldiers going to destroy each house in the
city looking for those who Israel claims are wanted? Should we all fear the
same destiny?
We are counting down the days until the US launches its vicious war against
Iraq, destroying us all and bringing us deeper into misery and despair. We hear
rumors that we are to look ahead to a time more difficult than ever. What is
there for us to do, shall we begin to stock our homes with the necessary basic
living needs, in case we are under curfew again for an extended period of time?
What about the families who do not have money to buy food for their families?
Many families now live from the humanitarian aid received from Red Cross and
other international organizations, it is desperately needed.
In the name of my people I continue to plea to you to continue to exert
pressure on your governments, to resolve this oncoming bloody war that will
affect us all. Stop for a minute and think about us and what our destiny is
going to be if the United States launches its war against Iraq.
It is now 6:00 p.m. and I hear the Israeli jeeps patrolling the streets out
side my house announcing that curfew is imposed until an unknown date. This
means we do not know if curfew is lifted tomorrow or not. We shall closely
watch our local T. V. stations for the announcement.
The Disappearing
Horizon!
Dr Harry Hagopian, LL.D, KOG-KSL
Not only has peace disappeared from the horizon, but also
the horizon itself has disappeared!
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Papal Nuncio in Israel, made this distressing statement to Vatican Radio immediately after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s victory in the recent Israeli Knesset [parliamentary] elections. Stressing that the course of violence so far had failed to break the deadlock between the two parties, he reminded his listeners of the Pope’s rejoinder that the four pillars on which peace is based are truth, justice, love and liberty. This consummate politician and charismatic Christian leader also extolled the formidable fortitude and courage of those indigenous Christians who have opted to remain in the Holy Land rather than emigrate to foreign climes despite the hardships they face on a day-to-day basis.
So if the four pillars of peace are truth, justice, love and liberty, it seems to me that the edifice meant to sustain this future peace between Israelis and Palestinians is seriously at risk of irreversible damage. Another echo of this dismal but worrying reality was reverberated only ten days ago when the UK-based Christian Aid released a report entitled ‘Losing Ground: Israel, poverty and the Palestinians’ which described the accelerated slide into poverty today of Palestinians in the occupied territories. The report mentioned that 60% of Palestinians in the West Bank, and 80% in Gaza, are living in property. It added that the World Food Programme is providing food rations to approximately one million Palestinians - almost one in three of the overall population! In launching the report at the House of Lords [Upper House], the British Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short indicated that malnutrition levels in Gaza today are comparable to those in Zimbabwe and other deprived countries.
Why is this happening to Palestinians across their cities, towns and villages? What are its underlying structural and systemic causes, and can they be challenged so that poverty is eradicated from Palestinian society? Roger Riddell, International Director at Christian Aid, indicated recently that the report uses personal testimonies by Palestinians to highlight the levels of poverty and despair. Its four-pronged axis focuses on ‘the Israeli policy of closure and curfews which are tearing apart lives and communities, the direct and indirect effects of Israeli settlement policy, the loss of access and control of land and the management of water resources.’ The report concludes with a primary recommendation that a just and lasting peace for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and for the eradication of poverty, require an end to the Israeli illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. According to the World Bank, ‘a further radical tightening of closure [by Israel of Palestinian territories] would push the Palestinian economy into a poverty trap in which any prospect of recovery can be forgotten for a long time.’
The Rt Revd Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter, who wrote the forward for the Christian Aid report and also spoke at the launching event, referred to an ‘impoverishment of hope’. Reminding the audience that the Oslo process for peace had been political as much as economic, he also emphasised the declining belief within Palestinian communities that a dreadful situation may get better soon. Reminding the audience of the local Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant communities witnessing in the Holy Land, the Bishop mentioned that prayer and protest, as much as aid and advocacy, go hand in hand within the Christian ministry.
Earlier last week, Roy Isacowitz, veteran Israeli journalist at the Independent Media Centre in Israel, wrote an article entitled ‘Sharon Shoots the Elephant’. Referring to George Orwell’s 1936 short story, he used the analogies to depict Israel as the coloniser of the Palestinian people and their land. He added that Israel was maintaining the perception of power and strength since losing face was the greatest failure. However, he added, perceptions exist only in the eyes of the beholder. So the coloniser has become dependent on the reactions of the subject, whilst the ruler has become the puppet of the ruled.
Isacowitz added rather ruefully that Israelis ‘have all lost the capacity to see reality and [we] are all infatuated with the illusory blessings of power and force. Despite an apparently widespread recognition that the occupation is the prime cause of our social fragmentation and economic disintegration, we are unable to shake off the mask of the sahib. We would prefer to continue on our downward spiral than lose face in the eyes of the Palestinians.’
Whilst the USA and some Western countries today are possessed almost exclusively with the threat that Iraq poses to world safety, Palestinians - once priding themselves for the highest number of PhD’s per capita in the whole Arab world - have been abandoned to a wretched fate. They are expected to fend off poverty and anguish as much as political oppression and subjugation by Isacowitz’s sahibs whose colonial rule, by its very nature, petrifies the thinking and behaviour of the Israeli occupying ruler. Day in day out, Palestinians are losing more parcels of their land. Day in day out, their human dignity is being stolen away from them. Palestinians are enduring one of the longest and most dispiriting occupations of modern times. However, like all past chapters of colonialism, like the British officers in the Raj, the Belgian officers in the Congo or the French officers in Vietnam, Israeli officers too will fail to quell freedom. Wrong as it may well be, colonised nations have invariably had to resort to violence of one form or another to achieve their independence. Just remember India, or the Mau Mau in Kenya or the Frelimo in Mozambique.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, ‘Injustice and oppression will never prevail. Those who are powerful need to remember the litmus test that God gives to the powerful: what is your treatment of the poor, the hungry, the voiceless?’ What I fear these days is that we are all becoming increasingly and frighteningly enmeshed in a world of antipodean designs, and our intuitive thinking is being cloned in ways that are not necessarily synchronous with International law and global ethics.
As I re-read Archbishop Tutu’s words, and as I look at the situation in the Holy Land today, I pray that the world would still make an effort to recall the poor, hungry and voiceless Palestinians before it is too late!
© hbv-H @ 7 February 2003
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