EYEWITNESS  FROM  BETHLEHEM

ARTICLES & REFLECTIONS WRITTEN BY TOINE VAN TEEFFELEN

Interview with my grandmother

Written by Marlene Khoury

War leaves painful memories. It leaves people without shelters and it sometimes causes starvation. When war ends everyone can se its ruins in every house or street. You can also see homeless people and children sleeping on the pavements of the streets. I wonder what is going to happen. Are we going to have our independence? Are we going to live under occupation again?

Old people are interesting, some of them have a good memory, so it is sometimes worthwhile to spend a few hours to listen to their happy or sad memories.

My grandmother is in her seventies. When I asked her to tell me about her experiences in war, she told me many events and here is a summary of what she said:

             “When the Second World War was over, people began to recognize their life under the British occupation. People worked in many jobs they worked in restaurants, factories, fields etc.... The relationship between people then was better than now. During daytime everybody helped each other in collecting olive and making noodles or sweets. In the evenings, people gathered to talk or make needle work. Moreover, they sometimes sang songs. All of that because we didn't have anything to do during our free time, moreover there weren't computers, televisions, radios and satellite dishes.

            Everything was going on normally until the English soldiers left the country and Israel collected all her Jews from Germany, Holland, America etc..."to return to their homeland”. People faced a very difficult situation especially when Israel began to use violence to take people's lands and houses. After three days of my marriage Israeli people put a bomb under my house because it was situated near to the street. Luckily my husband and me were outside the house. I heard from people that my house was destroyed, so I went quickly to see what had happened. From thirty meters I was able to see people running away with my dishes, spoons, pillows and clothes. The only thing I found was my clothes buried under the ruins. I moved them to the convent and stayed there for six months until your grandfather found a house.

            A big war took place and helicopters shared in damaging the town. No one could do anything against a strong community provided with tanks and heavy artilleries. Every night tanks bombed a few houses and the owners were left homeless. My grandparents lived close to a street full of Rabbis. One night, after my grandmother had set the table for dinner, the alarm went off. Helicopters and tanks began to shell people in their houses. They used to hide under beds covered with blankets. After five hours of bombing houses, everything became calm again. My grandfather came out to see what had happened. He was shocked to see that the second floor was damaged completely. The next day all my relatives decided to come to Bethlehem, because it was the safest and nearest place to Jerusalem.

Life was very difficult and there were no jobs. People in the West Bank such as Bethlehem, were under the Jordanian occupation. A lot of families left their houses and went to Jordan. Your grandfather insisted on staying in Jerusalem, and he always repeated the same sentence: "If we leave our home, our dignity will be touched".

Palestinian people began to struggle for an independent community to live as other people all over the world.

In 1967 Israel occupied the West Bank. All teachers told students to go home because a big war was going to occur. After two hours, helicopters and tanks shelled a lot of houses. Jordanian soldiers couldn't do anything in front of a strong military power, so, all of them escaped from their lands that were taken by Israel. Israel used violence against innocent people, their lands and houses were taken, and they were left homeless again.

After two years one of your uncles ran away from an Israeli soldier because he used to throw stones. He knew that if he went home, our Israeli neighbors would tell the government. So, he went to a convent where he stayed three hours. He got bored and decided to go home. He opened the door without thinking that the soldier was waiting for him behind the door. He pulled him from his T-shirt and hit him with the butt of the gun on his head. But luckily he didn't arrest him."

Time was not important for people years ago because there weren't many things to do. But now I can see that time is very necessary. Moreover, the relationship between people was stronger. But the good thing is that we still have the same traditions and customs in spite of the western effects on us. Moreover we still wear our traditional clothes in feasts and weddings, and we are proud of them.

I think that the word "war" is very painful for some people. Especially for those who lived during these periods, and suffered a lot during war. "War" is a small word but it means a lot. We think that we are the only people who are suffering from occupation and war, but still we can find people in the world who are suffering more than us.

*I mean here by "my grandparents" the family of my father. My grandmother told me this story a few months before her death, and I still remember it.

Return back to HOMEPAGE  

Return to the INDEX of all the DIARIES