1- a great film, if you have the opportunity do not miss it.
2-Saved by Alexa and the Canadians!
3-A community rises up to stop construction of the
Apartheid Wall
4-Camp Rafah
5-Gazans will try to march home
6-what happened the next day at Mawasi
1- a great film, if you have the opportunity do not miss it.
From: Leila Sansour leila@sansour.com To: pcr@p-ol.com Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2003 06:51 AM Subject: Jeremy film
Dear Ghassan, I thought I would let you know that the Jeremy Hardy film will be screening on the evening of the 25th of January for the first time in New York as part of the Palestinian film festival. Could you please let everyone who might be interested know about it. Details of the festival could be found on http://www.dreamsofanation.org There are a lot more screenings being organised at the moment and some people are thinking of linking them with the effort to promote and fundraise for ISM which I will be happy with. ====================================================2-Saved by Alexa and the Canadians!
Two jeeps of soldiers approached our group and we sent to them a couple of negotiators. The soldiers made their demands clear. Our peaceful protest and the community voicing its opposition to the Wall was unacceptable. Everyone had to be gone from the site within 15 minutes or they would tear gas us and declare curfew in the community.
The resoluteness of the community at this time seemed unclear. Because threats were being made and their were more soldiers, we advised the children (mainly young boys) to go to the village. With about 5 minutes remaining and as yet no decision on our subsequent actions made, hope appeared. Three vehicles moved through the community towards where the army had blocked the road and people were gathered. The first two vehicles were clearly marked UN vehicles.
Someone mentioned we should try to stop them and at least let them know what was happening. Two people, with me close behind tried to get the first vehicle to stop with only murky UN faces poking out, in a truly UN sort of noncommittal way. As the second vehicle approached we could see that the third vehicle had a Canadian flag. Being close to the second vehicle by this point I overheard that it was a Canadian delegation. I had my passport out in a fraction of a second and said to the man in the second UN car "Eh, I'm a Canadian!" Stone faces suddenly brightened and he said "Really?" and opened the car door.
Once the UN vehicles people got out the soldiers retreated and were far less menacing. Funny how that always is the case.
We quickly discovered the Canadian delegation was a bunch of UN Agency people and a number of prominent Canadians that looked and talked like Canadians and Federal NDP Leader Alexa McDonough and several of her aides. We tried to explain what was going on and how this peaceful community was threatened, but were stymied by what appeared to be a Hebrew Speaking likely Jewish Canadian (he had a Canada flag on his jacket). He insisted that Alexa and Co. go and speak with the Israeli soldier in charge to assess the situation.
Several people in the back of group were visibly grumbling about how they had to leave and ISM people were concerned that this was a ploy to eat time and not allow us a chance to speak with Alexa. Which of course it was!
The Hebrew speaking man took center stage and asked the soldier about the wall and general situation at Alexa's request. He replied in broken English with lies and damn lies about how the community was to be compensated and that there was local support for the Wall being built. Several of our people interjected that he was lying and the situation was quite tense. Someone from ISM challenged him to tell us what the army had been up to that morning and why a local man was on his way to hospital. He replied that the army had nothing to do with it. A local Palestinian who works with ISM displayed for Alexa and the lying soldier the video clip of that morning over his digital video camera. It covered the shooting of the man and blood curdling screams that followed. It was perfect and really said a great deal about the lies that are being perpetuated in this occupation. I really believe that it can be a powerful tool to let fools speak and show themselves for the fools they are.
The situation was quite chaotic and I interjected that we would let the soldier speak further if we were given an opportunity to speak too. We received vague assurances. I didn't want this group to scramble away for lack of time without a chance to highlight the realities.
The soldier and fellow spoke briefly and then their time was up. Next the Arab Canadian representatives, several of the UN Agency people, Alexa, an ISM activist from the US and I went ahead to see scar where the Apartheid Wall was to be built. The other ISM activist spoke very well about the situation and as we walked and talked they seemed to agree with us about the abhorrent nature of the military occupation.
Finally, I challenged Alexa to take a stand on this issue in Canada and for the NDP to adopt a meaningful policy and she basically said that she was on side. I hope so.
Soon time was up and the group were on their way. Nevertheless, the soldiers were sufficiently reticent about the situation that the they left shortly thereafter. Maybe they were frightened by our powers to bring representatives out of nowhere!
All in all, the Canadians saved the day! It was a small but cherished victory for the community to slow construction of the wall that will permanently cut off their community from Palestine.
Thanks to the Canadians, and to the Honourable Alexa McDonough for showing up and witnessing first hand the suffering that the Israeli military Occupation of Palestine is causing the Palestinians. I hope she will take meaningful action on this issue and continue to contribute to bringing this crime to an end, like she and her delegation did on this occasion.
-4-
Drew Penland is available for interviews over the phone and via email. He can be reached by phone in Occupied Palestine at: 972-(0)67-658873 (please remember the time difference!)
For information, to arrange interviews or to support ISM efforts please contact Reem Alnuweiri, ISM-Vancouver Coordinator by email at: ism-vancouver@palsolidarity.org ==================================================3-A community rises up to stop construction of the Apartheid Wall Author: Drew Penland Date: January 8, 2003
The Apartheid Wall, now being built at lightning pace in Occupied Palestine, is officially being constructed for Israeli Security. But cutting through the flimsy rhetoric its true illicit nature is clear: an illegal attempt to steal Palestinian land by force.
For the village of Rasatiye in the Occupied West Bank the stakes are high. If the wall is built the community will be on the Israel side of the wall. Locals have been told, much to their despair, that after the wall is constructed their land will join a number of illegal Israeli settlements and become part of Israel.
Today I was among an ISM team that assisted a non-violent attempt to stop the construction of the Apartheid Wall in the small village of Rasatiye in Occupied Palestine. The mood of the community this early morning was bouyant. About 150 local Palestinians and a dozen ISM activists were called to gather at the community mosque over the mosque loudspeaker, a device almost exclusively used for the Muslim call to prayer five times a day. The mosque loudspeaker is only used in times of emergency, like when a wall is being built by a foreign occupier that may in effect kill your community.
There was a sense as the last of the locals gathered that local people were happy to take non-violent action to try stop the destruction of their community. Community opposition to the wall is strong. They know that their land is part of Sharon's plans for a greater Israel. They, however, as Palestinians are not.
We moved to the sight of where the wall is being constructed. It was a place familiar to me because several days earlier I had visited the sight and was shocked to see ancient olive trees being ripped out of the ground in the area around where the wall is to be built and being placed in a pile near a road.
Olive trees are the very essence of Palestinian society and intertwined with the fate of the Palestinians. Since the beginning of this intifada they have met a devastating fate. Reportedly over one million have been destroyed or removed from Occupied Palestine in the last two years. Some of the stolen olive trees are trucked to Israel and resold by Israelis in nurseries to other Israelis.
On that day a group of local Palestinians were also feverishly taking what they could from what had been one mans poultry business. The building and the neighboring house were reportedly slated for destruction. The wall not only destroys the land but also any adjacent buildings. Across the street a shiny new elementary school built with Swiss Aid money has also been threatened with demolition.
At that time I recall a local farmer sitting powerless as his land was being destroyed. He weeped openly with his hands on his head. The weeping farmer and his land being stolen is not a first for me, it is a heartbreaking sight I have witnessed all over this part of Occupied Palestine.
Today two behemoth machines of destruction, the largest bulldozer I ever recall seeing and huge backhoe were jackhammering the land and noisily making a huge mess of a previously pristine agricultural area.
Four Israeli boys guarded the worksite. Two were heavily armed Israeli soldiers, pimply geeks of about 18 years in real life who appeared to be mild-mannered. The other two were armed private security guards, one sporting blond Rayban wrap- around sunglasses, a bleached blond swath of hair and an unjustifiable swagger and the other darker with good English and a small trace of sincerity amidst his need "just to do his job". These were the boys who were imposing this arrangement on the village of Rasatiye.
As we marched today towards the site the "boys" seemed caught completely by surprise. They appeared not to know how to react as we stopped the huge backhoe in its tracks with little real struggle by surrounding it with people. One of the security guards soon brokered a deal with locals that the crane and bulldozer would be let go if it left the community. We marched it right out of the community. It felt like a real victory for the community, but the soldiers were not about to let the people win.
Our procession stopped and was at a standstill merely watching as the machinery moved into the distance. The soldiers were about 200 meters away and retreating steadily. Then, one soldier shouldered his rifle and shot a canister of tear gas from his M-16. One canister and then a second sizzled over heads and landed in an area where there were women and children. The crowd parted to avoid the noxious gas as it rose around us and I got a fair dab in my lungs.
Then he took aim for real. He visibly aimed his gun straight into the crowd and a shot rang out that was followed by screaming. A local man had been shot. I approached I thought maybe he had been shot with a real bullet. I saw a very courageous boy, the man's son, pick up a hot tear gas canister and lob it away from area of his fallen father. Someone yelled out that he had been hit with the tear gas canister. He appeared to be in great pain and his son, brave soul, was crying.
Attacking peaceful demonstrators when they were at a standstill as a non-violent action came to a conclusion was the most cruel and cowardly action I can recall. A savage act to terrorize a peaceful demonstration of farmers and activists. The man was brought to the village and an ambulance called.
The soldiers continued to leave and my attention turned immediately to 2 more military jeeps that were moving through the village towards us.
They soon stopped near us and the crowd, now about 50 people, gathered to the house that was threatened by the wall. ===================================================4-Camp Rafah Date: January 13, 2003 Author: Polly Wilkens
Internationals fighting non-violently for peace and an end to the Israeli occupation in Rafah, Gaza Strip, have initiated a campaign for a permanent presence through camping in tents along the strip of destroyed Palestinian homes and farms better described as 'no man's land'. Pitching tents on the rubble of what were once Palestinian homes, demolished by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), twelve members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) currently have twenty four hour surveillance of the activities of the tanks and bulldozers. The ISM is a Palestinian led organization that uses non-violent direct action and the status of Internationals to act as human shields, demonstrating against the indiscriminate violence of the IOF. The demolition of now almost 600 homes clears the way for a security barrier that allows the IOF to construct the 40ft tall wall that will divide Egypt from Rafah and in the future separate all of the Gaza Strip from the rest of Palestine. Internationals stayed with one family whose mother has not been allowed to see her family in Egypt for 7 years. She was unable to be present at her mother's funeral two months ago. The ISM presence in Rafah has been short-lived thus far and has continuously worked to establish a proactive relationship of trust in an economically devastated community made fearful and desperate by years of Israeli oppression. The tent action began in response to many families evacuating their yet to be demolished houses that are still subjected to random gunfire and possible demolition throughout the night. Two Internationals were staying with a family whose house was under severe threat of demolition. During their evening meal they witness the initial warning of inevitable destruction by tank shells that came through the ceiling and walls followed by rapid gunfire into the house at body level. They escaped with only minutes to spare before the house was razed to the ground by bulldozers that worked throughout the night. During the days that followed while people retrieved their salvageable belongings and repaired damaged water lines, the tanks fired rounds to scare them away. The Internationals were present and approached the tanks with banners and a loud speaker. They withstood tear gas bombings and gunfire to protest the tanks presence and their terrorism to the people. The tanks ceased their firing. On January 3rd the Internationals following the lead of the local community set up the first tent on the site of this demolished house to prevent tanks firing at the existing houses and the busy street behind them. During that night one family moved back into their home sensing greater security from the International presence. The next day the Internationals went to the sight of a home being destroyed by two bulldozers who were protected by three tanks. The ISM members ran to get in front of the massive D-9 American made bulldozers while being filmed by media and fired at by the tanks. The bulldozers did not cease their destruction and pushed the Internationals without reserve into the rubble causing serious risk and endangering their lives. Inevitably the Internationals left the scene when the risk of being crushed with the rubble became too high but succeeded to draw the attention of the world through a televised report on BBC. On top of this site, the Internationals established their second presence along "no man's land" erecting the tent under the fire from the on-looking tanks. After the first night of this tent's presence, the local police chief told the Internationals that he believed the tent was responsible for the de-escalation of gunfire. The Internationals maintain a 24-hour presence at the tent sites in order to ensure the tent's survival and the safety of the communities. During the past week of non-violent protest and action no lives fell victim to the tanks' violence and the communities' fear seems to have decreased dramatically. The Internationals want to establish a permanent presence through a worldwide campaign to "Camp in Rafah." Join them to protest the destruction of homes that make way for a pointless wall of oppression.
Contact: In US – Ross Anderson (ross.c.anderson@yale.edu, 001 203 675 1312) In UK – Polly Wilkins (ipi0pepw@leeds.ac.uk, 0044 113 225 4592) In Gaza – Kristen Ess: +972-59-357-526 ISM Office - +972-2-277-4602 ===================================================5-Gazans will try to march home Date: January 13, 2003 Author: Carla
Hi all--
Mawasi is a village on the coast side of Rafah (in the Gaza Strip) that is surrounded by settlements and guarded by a checkpoint that has not allowed a Palestinian through in 2 years. The villagers survive on whatever they themselves grow. No food or medicine has been allowed though for these 2 years. People who leave have not been allowed back. The action that is happening tomorrow has been organized by Palestinians who are going to try & get back to their homes. They estimate that 300 will gather to return. There are 16 internationals here with the International Solidarity Movement that have been asked by the Palestinians to accompany them past the checkpoint. The Palestinians are very excited about doing this~
Yesterday a group of us went up to a tank to communicate that we have been getting shot at in homes & our countries would be very upset (so maybe we lied) if any one were to be hurt. I was so outraged after the experience. To quote Barbara Kingsolver, I "have the privilege of a safe life", even here. I can walk up to the tank and know they would not directly shoot me (well, it did shoot over our heads and at our feet). However, any Palestinian is fair game. The soldiers shoot into occupied houses, down alleys and streets. They just blanket an area with bullets. Many civilians are killed, children in classrooms, children playing outside of their houses, women cooking dinner. . . . all unarmed, all innocent of doing anything other than existing. How this helps Israeli security baffles me.
Few of these people have ever seen a soldier, much less spoken to one--Gaza is so different from what I have heard of the West Bank where soldiers and civilian Palestinians see each other face to face regularly. Here the soldiers are up in guard towers at checkpoints or inside of tanks, APCs & bulldozers. They just shoot. There's no talking, no negotiating. Yesterday was not a planned action we were just going to look at the wall being built to better keep Palestinians in and the tank started firing above our heads. We then started to walk towards it to speak with the soldiers that we are indeed here to stay.
(ISM has not had a presence in Gaza until this summer, unlike the West Bank where there have been ISM involvement for 2 years). The group of Palestinians that hung behind had never been that close to a tank. One young man who is one of our escorts told me he had never seen the face of an Israeli until then. They are always too far away. (Gaza is very traditional, the women with the ISM scarve ourselves, and all of us move around the city with Palestinians accompanying us).
I've been calling media in Jerusalem to try & get coverage of tomorrow. This has never been done before--families trying to get back to their village walking past a checkpoint. They would just get shot. The determination, the strength of these people is humbling. After all they live through, all their losses, they laugh & joke & love their children. The young man who accompanied me & Molly to see the demolished house of the family she had been with told me, when he saw me in tears as we walked away, that this is why they laugh so much--a person simply cannot contain that much grief forever--they see no future different than what they are experiencing right now. And they go on, setting the lat! est atrocity behind them. Amazing people, no whining, no complaints, but this steady determined day by day perseverance.
Yours (and theirs), Carla ISM volunteer – Seattle USA =================================================6-what happened the next day at Mawasi Hi all, If you read Carla's story about Mawasi in the Gaza Strip and you want to know what happened the next day, here is the rest of the story: The next day we did accompany Palestinians down the road that used to lead into Mawasi (that now stops at a checkpoint guarding the new settlements) carrying medical supplies. At least one hundred rounds of warning shots hit the ground around us as we slowly made our way forward. A very long walk of only a quarter mile. One reporter, a Palestinian, was shot in the head (he was taken to the hospital and survived as the wound was superficial), but the group decided to continue forward. The task of those of us who were internationals was to protect the Palestinians (the reporter had been taking pictures to the side--very exposed). We walked in front and on the outer edge of their group, with them in the center, using the privilege of our international status (we hoped) to shield them. I had moved to the back of the group on the same side as the guntower in order to shield! the women and I have not ever paid so much attention to absolutely every step I took. I was hearing sharp cracks of bullets on the ground next to me. A lot of them. Sprays of dirt kicked up by the bullets hit my cheeks. Each step became a shear act of will. The Palestinian women next to me must have been living the same struggle, but they were here to try to go home after two years, and I was here to accompany them as far as they were willing to go. Carrying a cardboard box of medical supplies (everyone else had see-through plastic bags) I was acutely aware of how they would have the excuse of saying they couldn't see what was in the box--there could have been a bomb--if I were to be hit. I opened the top, carrying it at an angle to demonstrate there was nothing to hide. Palestinians from Mawasi had not walked this road in two years without being shot at. This obviously was no different, however,! we made it close enough to the guntower to be able to negotiate with the soldiers, closer than anyone had done previously. Encouraged by the negotiations, we took a few more steps forward, eliciting more bullets, this time silent bullets. That was truly eerie--the only sign we had that we were still being fired on was seeing (and feeling) dirt kicked up by the impact of the bullets. Unheard bullets were more terrifying--and luckily only a few were fired--those who had more experience with soldiers in Gaza announced that it was time to retreat, as the use of silent bullets meant serious business. We did not make it past the checkpoint that day, but two days later a group of Palestinians and internationals did go those last few feet to the checkpoint and negotiated getting the medical supplies into Mawasi. A small victory. Amazing to me was how quickly I got used to gunfire. The first day I was in Rafah I went with Molly to see the family she had been staying with. Their home had been demolished that morning and the family was gathering what it could salvage. We had to run for cover as a tank fired on what was left of the house. By the time I went to the Mawasi checkpoint I had been staying in Gaza in Palestinian homes for a week. Every day and almost every night I experienced shooting from the tanks that rolled by the edge of town, into the neighborhoods where the houses were located. Gunfire was (is) a daily reality on the southern perimeter of town bordering Egypt. Here Israel has plans for a "security" wall designed to keep Palestinians from leaving Gaza. The goal was (is) to wear down the resolve of families to stay in their homes that are on the periphery of t! own near the future wall. Neighborhoods are repeatedly assaulted by gunfire from tanks until families leave. Sometimes a tank will target a house with mortar fire, as was the inhabited house next to where my friend Molly was staying. (Let me make it clear these are unarmed civilians, families, non-combatants). Once homes are abandoned, Israeli soldiers will first dynamite, then bulldoze the houses, and begin to assault the homes of families that are newly exposed, homes that had laid behind the now demolished ones. Slowly they are eating away at the edges of Rafah. That is all I have to share for now, except to add that my experience of Palestinians is of a people to whom family and land mean everything. I will hold in my heart forever the smiles, the eyes full of kindness, the humor, and the generosity of each person who has contributed to my first memories of Palestine. In Solidarity, with Love~ Carla
|