Full video : The killing of the activist Bassam Abu Rahme

Savage & Barbaric Killing of Activist Bassem Abu Rahme in Bil'iin

The Death of Bassem Abu Rahme

By Frank Barat

On April the 17th, like any Fridays afternoon for the last 4 years, the small village of Bil'in, north of Ramallah, was preparing for the usual demonstration against Israel's annexation wall (some people call it apartheid wall or separation wall. The Israeli government refers to it as the security fence).

The village of Bil'in has, since the mid eighties, lost more than 60% of its land for the purpose of Israeli growing settlements and the construction of the wall. The inhabitants of the village used to live mainly from agriculture and olive trees plantations but more and more, the people of Bil'in have to rely on the women to survive. Embroidery has become one of the main resource of the place, located a few kilometers away from Tel Aviv. (On a nice day, you can see the “inaccessible”- for the Palestinians- beach from the roof tops of Bil'in).

In January 2005, a village committee (led by Mohamed Khatib, Iyad Burnat and Abdullah Abu Rahme) was created and a month later non-violent demonstrations started, first taking part every day, then once a week, on Yum Al Juma'a (Friday, day of prayer).

The village won a huge battle in August 2008 (1) when the Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that the new route of the barrier in Bil’in was in violation of the Court ruling released on September 2007(2) (which ruled that the Wall path was prejudicial to Bil’in and must be altered) and ordered the State to present within 45 days a new route, which will uphold the principles of the ruling.

On Friday the 17th of April 2009, the wall still had not moved one inch and while the inhabitants of the village were praying at the village mosque many internationals (coming from all around the world) and the strong Israeli contingent (including people from the Alternative Information Centre (3) and Anarchists Against the Wall (4)) were looking for some shade (to hide from the baking sun) and chatting about the day's event. As soon as prayer was over with, the demonstration started to move forward in direction of the wall, a few kilometers away.

You can be sure that Bassem (aka Phil) was right at the front of the march. He always was. I had met Bassem a few times while visiting Bil'in. He was a strong looking man, singing the loudest, joking all the time, jumping around and leading the way, accompanied by the rest of the village committee and the Israeli contingent.

As it usually happens, as soon as the march reached the corner where the Israeli soldiers can be seen, the tear gas started. A few brave ones continued anyway and reached the beginning of the wall, after a few minutes. Bassem, as usual, was one of those. The Israelis, present at the front of the demonstration started talking with the nearby soldiers in Hebrew and Bassem too, screamed “We are in a non violent protest, there are kids and internationals...”. He was shot in the chest and never managed to finish his sentence. He fell on the floor, moved a little bit, fell again, and died.

Bassem was shot by a new kind of Tear Gas, called “the rocket”. The soldier who shot it was a mere 40 meters away. This is the same type of tear gas that critically injured US citizen Tristan Anderson a few weeks ago. Those tear gas canisters are as fast and lethal as live ammunition. Very hard to get away from. Normally, tear gas canisters fly in the air for a long time, then fall and bounce a few times. Those ones fly like a bullet and go straight, not up and down.

Once more, Israel using the West Bank as its testing ground, the Palestinians as guinea pigs.

The soldier who fired, knew what he was doing and who he was targeting. The shame is that he probably knew Bassem. Bassem was always at the front, and had been for a few years now. The soldiers often come back more than once in Bil'in and start to get to know the ones facing them.

On April the 17, Bil'in and Palestine lost one of their heroes.

What is going to happen next?

Israel has already said that it will investigate the incident (out of every single investigation into such crimes, only 6% of the soldiers were ever prosecuted, often let off with a few weeks suspension), but before it did, started the usual propaganda, saying that the protest had been violent and that the soldiers had to react. (The video of the demonstration clearly shows otherwise).

We might even hear in a few days that it was actually the Palestinians who fired the tear gas and killed their beloved friend.

The P.A, instead of issuing the strongest statement against this act, stopping once and for all the negotiations with the Israeli government and joining the demonstrators every Friday to be hand in hand with its people, said next to nothing, and is looking forward the coming up White House meeting between Mahmoud Abbas and Obama (this is being planned while I write).

The media hardly reported this. The Palestinians do not count. Even more shocking when a video of the event is available to all and could have been used to great effects.

The international community (for what it means) will not mention this “incident” (it is for them) and continue issuing calls for the Palestinians to renounce violence and resist peacefully while saying nothing about Israel's killings (since the start of the second Intifada, 87% of the dead have been Palestinians), violations of international law and oppression of the Palestinians.

It is therefore down to us, the citizens of this world, to act, join solidarity groups, write articles, make films and talk, constantly, about the plight of the Palestinian people.

Palestine has to become the number one issue.

This is a must.

For Bassem, his family, Bil'in and Palestine.

(The village of Bil'in is organizing its fourth conference from the 22nd till the 24th of April. For more info click here.)

-Frank Barat is in the organizing committee of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine and a member of Palestine Solidarity Campaign UK.

References used:
(1) The Supreme Court: The new barrier in Bil'in violates the Court ruling.
(2) Palestinians celebrate rare victory over hated barrier.
(3) http://www.alternativenews.org/
(4) http://www.awalls.org/

A Palestinian girl and the Israeli soldiers

Speaking of courage...here is a sample of it.

A Palestinian Girl facing Israeli soldiers. A report from as far as Korea.

The Durban Conference 2009 Boycotted: Civil Society's Role?

I hear today that the Durban II (2009)Conference is being boycotted by several countries, unsurprisingly the US, which had previously lowered its diplomatic representation last year, decides to "boycott". the conference... but, also Australia, Canada, Holland, and Germany

What can civil society in each of these countries decide to do about this?

What is the role of civil society in this?

This is the time to remember Apartheid South Africa



I cannot but remember archbishop Desmond Tutu's words: "if you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor"no to neutrality, no to being on the fence, no to normalization with apartheid israel, not after the spilt blood of citizens in massacres, slaughters... the occupation, repression, settler colonialism, settlement expansion, home demolision, land expropriation and system of racial discrimination in 1948 lands, bantustans in west bank and Gaza... Gaza the largerst concentration camp in modern history, the citizens under collective punishment...

Remember Apartheid South Africa... remember when people of conscience refused to shake hands with South African whites during the Apartheid regime as an objection to the racist system there?

Under occupation, racial segragation, imprisonment here, inferiority is felt... but, who makes those standards? the standards are put & represented by those who make the Other believe s/he is "inferior"

Why should a state exist based on religion? why not for ALL of its citizens?
why does injustice soar up higher during our days, & what can you do about it?

PEOPLE POWER
CIVIL RESISTANCE
BOYCOTT... Apartheid Israel...
You decide where power lies... not your "leaders"

Natalie
Gaza

Gaza Refugees "Perpetual" suffering

Press Release

Date: 15th April 2009

PRC: Gaza Refugees "Perpetual" suffering

Palestine Return Center (PRC) expresses deep anxiety on the conditions of Palestinians in Gaza especially refugees who are the majority. A harsh siege followed by a deadly war has destroyed the life of people there. PRC calls for a prompt intervention to ease the refugees' conditions in Gaza until long term solution is implemented.

The PRC has been calling for a resolution to the ongoing problem of refugees. The Refugees of Gaza as well as abroad demand that their basic human rights, right of return and self determination which is recognized by UN resolution 194 and International law.

For almost 3 years now; the Israeli siege on Gaza has been unrelenting in its destruction of life in Gaza. Many people have died because they are not even able to travel abroad for treatment while others still continue to suffer while their health conditions tragically deteriorate. An entire population of 1.5 million Gazans, mostly refugees, suffers from the lack of medicine, food, power and fuel.

The siege is grimly affecting the people of Gaza especially the refugees who are concentrated in small camps. United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) housing projects estimated at $350 million were halted as Israel will not allow construction materials into Gaza. Hundred of thousands were eagerly awaiting that project but no hope and respite was to come. The war has created a zone of perpetual misery, where refuges are made refuges making a grim life even grimmer.

The majority of the populations in Gaza are refugees whose number is estimated to be 1, 200 out of 1.5 million. Over half of the refugees in Gaza live in eight camps. Most of the people who fled to the Gaza Strip as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war were from Jaffa, towns and villages south of Jaffa, and from the Beersheva area in the Negev.

According to UNRWA the refugee camps in the Gaza Strip have one of the highest population densities in the world. For example, over 80,688 refugees live in Beach camps whose area is less than one square kilometer. This high population density is reflected in the overcrowded UNRWA schools and classrooms. More than 2,066 new pupils
registered in the Agency's schools for the year 2004/2005. on average,81% of the camps houses are connected to sewers and a total area of paved roads and alleys is 385,000m2.

UNRWA whose existence was to alleviate the burden of refugees is facing unprecedented strain in fulfilling its obligations due to lack of fund. PRC is appealing to British Gov. to find resource for UNRWA to fulfill its vital obligations upon which the people of Gaza are completely reliant.

The Moon behind the Fence - By Natalie Abou Shakra

Rafah Fence, Egypt

"Look, look! It's him! It's him!" screamed Shaymaa from the bus, as a group of 18 family members descended from it to walk closer to the border between Rafah and Al Areish in Egypt. Just around 20 meters away from the fenced border, on a building ahead, barely showing, were four figures of what seemed like a man, a woman, and two young children; a teen-aged boy, and a little girl that he carried on his shoulder.

It was Iyad and Asma Bilbesy, with their youngsters. Iyad and Asma have not seen their family in Gaza for around 15 years. "It is as if he is a prisoner and we are not allowed to see him," said Umm Wael Bilbesy, Iyad's mother as she choked on her tears when I was still at her home before leaving altogether with a group of family members to Rafah earlier at around 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

Umm Alaa Shurafa, Asma's mother, shared Umm Wael's tears as she spoke to me of her wish to see her grand-daughter whose laugh she had only heard on the phone all the way from London. Both grand-fathers are not alive.

Iyad, Asma and the children spent a few weeks in Cairo waiting for permission to enter the Strip from the Rafah Crossing. They waited, but eventually had to leave back to England, as their children had school, and they had work commitments.

Umm Wael caught me before leaving the house to join the group waiting in the bus outside the house. "I hope they allow us to see him... I really hope so." But, we both knew it would be from behind a fence... a few meters away.

Iyad's wish was to attend his youngest sister, Israa's wedding which took place on the 27th of the previous month.

Umm Alaa tells me about how her grand-daughter struggles with Arabic on the phone: "she calls me 'tata'..." She, on the other hand struggles with the little girls name. "It is... hmmm… sandra... no, wait... Kassandra!"

After about forty minutes of driving from Gaza city, to Rafah, we are told we need to wait for an hour or so, because Mazen, the journalist with the Iraqi channel, al-Itijah, said that the Egyptian authorities had informed Iyad that only 25 individuals can pass. So, we leave to Iyad's friend's house to wait there and bring his family and him on board. Thirty minutes later, Mazen's face grows grim. We are told only seven can enter to see Iyad, Asma and the children. Another fifteen minutes or so pass. We are told none are allowed to enter.

It was difficult looking at the two mothers, who by now have grown very emotional, and uneasy. Toying with feelings as such was unforgiveable and excruciatingly vexing for us to experience. We ascend the bus again. All want only to have the opportunity of seeing the others beyond the borders, no matter how far, no matter how brief. Beyond the iron fence, a look upon 15 years of hopes, on the other side... here we go.

Before arriving at the borders, we pass a line of underground tunnels that are queued in front of the fence. Israa and Shaymaa, Iyad's younger sisters, hold my hand and ask me to come down with them to take a look. The moment I get to the tunnel, I see someone being pulled out. He was sweating, and looked uneasy. It was unfit for the two elder women to get into, to be dragged around 100 metres below ground level, and then walk for around 20 minutes in a square-like compartmentalized path, with minimal air to breathe, and the possibility of attack. And, thus, it was also unquestionable for us to bring in the children and their parents through it knowing that those tunnels were jeopardized of being struck any moment.

One of the tunnels near the borders


Coming out

The people present were distrustful of the Egyptian authorities in case of taking the tunnels. And right ahead, we saw the fence which also had a shorter wall behind it, and also saw the Egyptian soldiers in chambers, each soldier in a chamber and each chamber an observable distance away from the consecutive one. "Now there are live cameras on the fences, three years ago there weren't any. Did you know that between the Egyptian and the Israeli border there aren't any, and security is not as intense as it is here? There are no walls between Egypt and Israel", Mazen told me as the camera crew began building their set.


He comes up from the tunnel

We went on the bus again, and moved a small distance in front of the line of tunnels, of which are easily seen. The bus stopped closer by the fence, and the family members began descending again. Moments later, I heard yelling ahead, and Iyad and Asma showed up. Umm Wael and Umm Alaa's tears poured down, as they cried and waved their hands. Mazen, the journalist with us, held the phone and contacted Iyad. He took turns in speaking to each member, and so did Asma. Each and everyone spoke and looked ahead, at the blurred image of four figures on the building in front of us, behind the fence. They were in Egypt and we were in Palestine. They were not allowed to go in, and we were not allowed to go out. They were only a few meters ahead, a few minutes away.

Wael, Iyad's eldest brother, joked as he spoke to the latter on the other side. "This is your cousin, Haitham, he is now 100 kgs, by next week he shall be 350!" he raised Haitham's hand so Iyad could see whom he is referring to from the distance. "And look, even the Lebanese-in-solidarity came along!" We laughed despite accumulating tears.


Umm Wael before we leave

Walking back to the bus, Id held Umm Wael and Umm Alaa's hands. I looked at them without a word. They both responded smilingly. I remembered the first day I came to Gaza, before the massacre took place, a young boy, who is now no longer alive, recited to me a line from one of Mahmoud Darwish's poems, "Oh father, the wolves are more merciful to me than my brothers!"

This article has been contributed to PalestineChronicle.com.

Rafah Border Videos

Part 1:


Part 2:

Natalie Abou Shakra: "Glory to the Martyrs"

"Glory to the Martyrs, Healing to the Wounded, Freedom to the Prisoners", Hagg Ayoub, the voice of 61 years of injustice and crimes against humanity!

Moments after we arrived at the UNDP during our march with the members of the Union of Health Workers' Committees, an elderly man of around 60 years of age, stands amidst the crowd and yells at the top of his lungs "this is terrorism!" as he shows photos of the manslaughtering during the attacks, that he holds in his hands. "We shall not forget what happened in Lebanon, in Gaza, in Qana, Sabra and Shatila, Deir Yassin, Freedom to all oppressed people of the world, peace to all, justice to all!"
Cameras all turned to him, faces that were talking to those cameras, turned too. He showed photo after photo as he spoke at the top of his lungs.



He ended his demonstration by saying "glory to the martyrs, healing to the wounded, freedom to the prisoners!"

I accompanied him out of the crowd and asked about what he does. "I don't work. I have 36 children and grandchildren. They work." He invited me over to his son, Ahmad's shop. We sat by his desk and he began to introduce himself and show me his poetry. I asked why he did what he just did:" I want to speak, they cannot kill my voice."

He insisted on explaining to me all his political analyses.

"Who are we? Do you know who we are?" he asked me. "We are those who sleep in vacant spaces, who are clad in our fathers' robes during the mornings of which they have worn at night."

All whom passed by the shop, stopped to salute him. His son, Ahmad, entered moments later, and three of his little grandchildren.



He removed all of his notebooks, and his archive of political writings in newspapers. He said he preferred not to type on a computer, but to use his own handwriting on a blank page.

I do not wish to write about the political discussion that we had, about what his predictions were, or any private information that he let out, at least not now. But, I will be visiting him again... very soon.

Natalie

Natalie Abou Shakra: March For Your Life

It is the world health day. What do people do on such a day? what should people do on such a day? why is there suh a day?

A group of volunteer paramedics, health workers and doctors, organized a march from the Shifa Hospital in Gaza city, to the UNDP headquarters, around 200 metres away.
I walk with Asma, a coordinator for the Organization of Church Unions, and she tells me about the inability of the union to rent a place as a clinic since all are being prioritized for internally displaced families after the 22 day massacre the Strip had witnessed. The clinic at the Daraj neighborhoud in the city and others in the Shujay'iyya area were bombed, she said, "they were all leveled down to the ground."



She told me that she believed this march is a symbol. "It is a symbol of resistance to all damage we suffered during the attacks and all losses we encountered in the medical field." Dr. yousef suraty, who is a manager of the medical clinics in the Strip, along with being part of the Union of Health Workers Committees, told me of the need to repair damaged medical equipment, "like the X-rays, laboratory analyses machinery, and also dental equipment and ultra sound."

The Egyptian authorities still do not allow many patients the oppurtunity for medical treatment abroad, admitted Suraty.

The group looked like a white body from afar, the doctors and health workers all having their gowns on.

During the march, ambulances drove ahead, running their sirens. one damaged ambulance, however, was held by a vehicle below it. It was the ambulance that the martyr 'Aarafa Abdeddayem, a volunteer paramedic, was in.



'Aarafa volunteered at the 'Awda Hospital in Jabalya. When there was an emergency call to Beit Lahya, the 'Aatattra area, on the 4th of January '09 whereby three children were reported to be killed in an air raid, he hastened to go, and as he got to the place, the Israeli tanks bombed the vehicle. 'Aarafa was instantly killed, and beside him, his colleague, 'Aalaa Sarhan and the driver, Khaled Abu Saa'da of whom both were injured. 'Aaraf is one amongst 16 paramedics killed during the intentional attacks on ambulances.

Statement of Academics in Lebanon

بيان صادر عن أكاديميين في لبنان
Statement of Academics in Lebanon

Note: English follows Arabic

بيان صادر عن أكاديميين في لبنان

لقد هاجمت إسرائيل، في هذه الحرب الضارية الأخيرة التي تشنها على الفلسطينيين، جامعة، ووزارة التربية، ومدارس عبر قطاع غزة، والعديد من المدارس التابعة للأونروا. وليست مثل هذه الاعتداءات على مراكز تربوية غريبة عن إسرئيل. فمنذ 1975 خصوصاً، انتهكت إسرائيل حق الفلسطينيين في التعليم عبر إغلاق الجامعات والمدارس ودور الحضانة، ومن خلال
قصف مئات المدارس والعديد من الجامعات على امتداد الأراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة، وإطلاق النار وشن غارات عليها.


ولم تقتصر هذه الأعمال الهجومية على الفلسطينيين، فالاعتداءات الإسرائيلية على المراكز التربوية مألوفة جداً بالنسبة إلينا كأكاديميين في لبنان. وفي آخر عدوان شنته إسرائيل على لبنان سنة 2006 مثلاً، دمرت أكثر من 50 مدرسة في شتى أرجاء البلد، لا سيما المدارس المخصصة للمحرومين اقتصادياً في الجنوب.


لهذا السبب، نحن كأكاديميين في لبنان، نحثّ زملاءنا، إقليمياً ودولياً، على مناهضة هذه الجرائم المستمرة ضد المدارس وعلى دعم هذا الطلب السلمي والمحق بمقاطعة إسرائيل وتجريدها من حقوقها ومعاقبتها أكاديمياً. وبشكل خاص، نطلب من زملائنا في العالم أجمع أن يدعموا النداء، الذي أطلقته الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل، لمقاطعة كل المؤسسات الأكاديمية والثقافية والانسحاب منها بشكل شامل وثابت، وللإحجام عن المشاركة في أي شكل من أشكال التعاون الأكاديمي والثقافي أو المساهمة في مشاريع مع مؤسسات إسرائيلية أو الإنضمام إليها، وذلك مساهمةً منهم في النضال الهادف إلى إنهاء الاحتلال والاستعمار ونظام التمييز العنصري التي تمارسها إسرائيل.


كما أننا ندعو إلى إنفاذ القوانين اللبنانية التي تمنع التطبيع مع إسرائيل، وبالتالي إلى مقاضاة المؤسسات والأفراد في لبنان الذين يخرقون تلك القوانين ويقومون بنشاطات تعاون أو شراكة أو استثمار في إسرائيل أو مع إسرائيليين. ونحن نحيّي البيان الأخير الصادر عن اللجنة الاسكوتلاندية من أجل جامعات فلسطين الذي يدعو إلى مقاطعة إسرائيل، والرسالة التي وقّعها 300 أكاديمي كندي ووجهوها إلى رئيس الوزراء هاربر مطالبين بفرض عقوبات على إسرائيل، والدعوة التي أطلقتها لجنة التنسيق بين الاتحاد الكندي لعمال الحقل العام وعمال جامعة أونتاريو والتي تدعم حظر أشكال التعاون بين الجامعات الكندية والإسرائيلية.


بيان يحمل تواقيع أكاديميين في لبنان:
الاسم

Statement of Academics in Lebanon

In this latest onslaught against Palestinians, Israel has attacked a university, the Ministry of Education, schools across the Gaza Strip, and several UNRWA schools. Such attacks against learning centers are not unique for Israel. Most particularly since 1975, Israel has infringed upon the right of education for Palestinians by closing universities, schools and kindergartens, and by shelling, shooting at, and raiding hundreds of schools and several universities throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.

Nor have these attacks been limited against Palestinians. As academics in Lebanon, we are all too familiar with Israeli onslaughts against educational centers. In its latest assault, in 2006, for example, Israel destroyed over 50 schools throughout Lebanon, and particularly schools designed for the economically disadvantaged in the South.

We thus stand, as academics in Lebanon, in urging our colleagues, regionally and internationally, to oppose this ongoing scholasticide and to support the just demand for academic boycott, divestment, and sanctions against Israel. Specifically, we ask our colleagues worldwide to support the call by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel to comprehensively and consistently boycott and disinvest from all Israeli academic and cultural institutions, and to refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joining projects with Israeli institutions as a contribution to the struggle to end Israel’s occupation, colonization and system of apartheid.

We further call on the enforcement of Lebanese anti-normalization laws with Israel, and thus for the prosecution of individuals and institutions in Lebanon that violate those laws and conduct collaborations, associations or investments in Israel or with Israelis.

We salute the recent statement by the Scottish Committee for the Universities of Palestine calling for a boycott of Israel, the letter signed by 300 Canadian academics to Canadian Prime Minister Harper asking for sanctions against Israel, and the appeal by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee supporting a ban on collaborations between Canadian and Israeli universities.

Academics in Lebanon who have signed on to this petition consist of faculty, lecturers, and graduate students from the University of Balamand, the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese American University, Notre Dame University, Lebanese University, Beirut Arab University, USEK, Lebanese International University and Global University. We call on our colleagues to add their name to this statement calling for full academic boycott of Israel and Israeli institutions, and calling our colleagues, throughout the world, and most particularly those in the Arab world and those claiming to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians, to comprehensively and consistently boycott and divest from all Israeli academic and cultural institutions, and to refrain from normalization in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions as a contribution to the struggle to end Israel’s occupation, colonization and system of apartheid.

We urge all academics worldwide to join us in our demand for UNESCO to culturally and academically boycott Apartheid Israel, and we particularly urge Arab academics to endorse this call. Many have already signed their names. To sign your name, please contact Rania Masri on rania.masri[at]balamand.edu.lb

Link: http://boycottzionism.wordpress.com/

Massive abduction of Gazan fishermen by the Israeli navy

Massive abduction of Gazan fishermen by the Israeli navy
ISM Gaza Strip

Monday 6/4/2009

Eight fishermen (including two minors) from the Salateen area in the North of the Gaza strip, have been abducted, and four hassakas (small fishing boats) have been stolen this morning, at about 7am, by the Israeli navy. According to witnesses the fishermen were only about 100 meters from the coast. Initial information received regarding the fishermen's details is as follows:


Esshaq Mohammed Zayed, 45

Rassam Mohammed Zayed, 25

Hafez Assad Al Sultan, 25

Ahmed Assad Al Sultan, 17

Safwat Zayed Zayed, 35

Nashaat Zayed Zayed, 10

Joma Mollok Zayed, 50

Hammada Joma Zayed, 22

During the last month the Israeli navy has escalated its attacks against Gazan fishermen by injuring at least three of them, abducting a further 24 and stealing 10 hassakas and one shansula fishing boat.

Last week dozens of Salateen fishermen, joined by the Director of the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers, Palestinian activists from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative and International Solidarity Movement activists, demonstrated against the Israeli attacks, demanding the release of the stolen boats.

Natalie Abou Shakra: Demonstration By The Sea...

Friday, April 3, 2009

The issue with the fishermen in Gaza not being able to cross the 3 mile limit imposed by Apartheid Israel has even restricted the diet that citizens in the Strip consume such that it consists of "50 percent less than average daily protein intake across the Arab world"... after Oslo, was 20 miles, which got down to around 12, then during the siege to 6, and now to 3...

Today a demonstration was organized starting from the Salateen roundabout in Beit Lahya to the Sudaniyya area, where the Beit Lahya port is... which is around half a kilometre's walk... around a 70 individuals were present, including local and international activists..


We never stop singing

It was around 11a.m. when we left the roundabout... we passed tents where familes whose homes were demolished were staying in... eyes look out, smiling faces, children curious...we walked with difficulty on sand for around 200 metres... and we arrived to an empty port, a deserted area... we arrived on the shore, and there were no sailors to greet us, no boats to break the inactivity, just the sound of waves... beautiful, but interrupted by the gunboats ahead...



The tents

The Sudaniyya area is also called the Wa'ha area... it is where Huda Ghalyeh's family was slaughtered during 2006, whilst Lebanon was being bombed (i wrote about her here.) I looked at the place... so forlorn, empty... deserted... occupation! the control of every aspect of your life, not by you!... ahead, i could see the Israeli factories, with smoke coming out of them... how convenient... they also intentionally place polluting factories near the Palestinians...


Moving from Salateen roundabout

We remained on the shore for around two hours... and there were three gunboats ahead passing by... moving around... i felt observed...as if their gazes bore into my body... piercing it with hatred...there were fishermen amongst us, and i passed by two who were elderly men... "look at the stories his face tells", told me a comrade... i asked the old fishermen if i could take a photo of him... he said no... i asked if it was only for me... he said yes... (so, excuse me for not placing it)... i asked him what he thought about the demonstration... he said it will not prevent them from firing at him and killing him tomorrow...he asked me what i thought about the demonstration... i said it is written in notebooks and that a "journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"... he smiled, but did not seem convinced... as i stood in front of his humble self... a young man came forward to speak to me after i had previously inquired about the drinking water, and usable water resources gaza relied on... the old man eyed Mohammad as he spoke to me... vibrant, full of hopes, dreams, full of wishes... defying occupation, "forbidden dreams"... in that moment, i saw that old man as Mohammad... striked many times by frustration and by the death that the Israeli Apartheid system has inflicted upon his years of living... i look to the right... Huda Ghalyeh's cyring face appears... I look to the sea, the gunboats sailing illegally... I look to my left, houses demolished to the sand, little fishermen chambers deserted... the sky? the sky existed... without F16s this time, or Apaches, or Surveillance planes buzzing... the sea was not blue... it was grey...


Stop Israeli Piracy

I asked a comrade, also a dear friend, once, "should we speak about the cumulative death and the humanitarian(do not confuse this with "humanitarian activist" which I am not!!) aspect?", i told him i disliked "humanitarian" as a category because it creates "pity", and blurs the just-ness and morality of the cause... again, this cause is political before anything else, with a humanitarian crisis resulting (i wrote about my position here in the last paragraph... he said, "our stories are not told to the world, let us convey them at each oppurtunity... these need to be written.."

They are being written... the suffering must be noted down, which is a result to the colonization, occupation, repression of the Zionist entity and the Apartheid system it imposes... every tear, ever drop of blood, every crush to a dream... are your pens still noting down?

Boycott APARTHEID Israel

Natalie



"Alquds Lana" ( Jerusualem is ours)

Prof. Dr. Said Abdelwahed: Gaza book published in Japan

Dear friends,

Greetings from Gaza. Hope you are doing fine at all fronts, in life and at work.

In Tokyo there appeared my book entitled "The Message from Gaza" to tell events and stories from the war time as I documented it day by day. The message consisted of an introduction about the goegraphy and history of the place, then an article on the socio-economic situation in Gaza under the Israeli cordon before the war, then daily mesages started from 27 Dec. 2008 until the Israeli fromal withdrawal from Gaza on 19January 2009.This was followed by a chapter on aftemath.

Also, the book contained 30 photos selected from 300 photos of the destruction insued. Those scripts have been translated into Japanese by Mari Oka, professor of Islamic and Middle East studies at Kyoto University, and published by Sedosha in Tokyo. The Message from Gaza was the first book to document part of the war on Gaza from inside! The book received some good attention in the Arabic media (Al-Bayan newspaper - Dubai), Al-Raya newspaper (Qatar) Al-Masaa newspaper (Morocco), Al-Haal newspaper (West Bank), and it received welcome by the electronic websited as a piece of news. Several local radio stations interviewd me for elaboration. And as expected, there was no response at all from any of the political parties though they are supposed to be defenidng the country, people and cause! Being an independent academic living in Gaza constitutes a point of strength as well as a point of weakness.

I am not angry at any of those parties at all as I was writing during historical moment and for the sake of the upcoming generations; those parties were not in my mind when I was writing. Please find attached a copy of the cover page of the book.

All best,

Prof. Abdelwahed
Department of English
Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Al-Azhar University of Gaza
Gaza is phoenix in burning flame

Great news: Israeli Exporters Suffer Aanti-Israel Boycotts

For many who have held for years that the BDS movement can at best be only symbollic, this should come as a wake-up call.

We can make a difference. We already are!

Exporters suffer anti-Israel boycotts

Mar. 30, 2009
Sharon Wrobel , THE JERUSALEM POST

Local exporters are losing foreign markets and customers because of the global economic crisis and a growing anti-Israel boycott of locally made products following Operation Cast Lead, the Israel Manufacturers Association said Sunday.

"In addition to the problems and difficulties arising from the global economic crisis, 21 percent of local exporters report that they are facing problems in selling Israeli goods because of an anti-Israel boycott, mainly from the UK and Scandinavian countries," said Yair Rotloi, chairman of the association' s foreign-trade committee.

A survey conducted among 90 exporters from a variety of sectors found that 53% had lost foreign markets and customers as a result of the global economic crisis. In addition, 62% said they were having trouble collecting payments from foreign clients, while 49% said their customers have asked to pay in installments.

Foreign customers had forced 66% of Israeli exporters to cut prices because of the economic climate, the survey showed.

Twenty-nine percent of exporters reduced business travel abroad by more than 30%, 11%cut it 20%, 6.5% reduced it 10% and 43% reported no change. Twenty-six percent of exporters said business visits by their foreign customers had declined.

This article can also be read through the link here.

This video below is an example of how our Boycotting Campaign (BDS Campaign) can be both effective and influential to the public when done creatively and bravely. The courageous move shown below is done by BDS Italy and has attracted public attention.

Natalie Abou Shakra: A Day without Fire, but not without Fear

A Day without Fire, but not without Fear

At around 7:15 o'clock in the morning, around 9 activists accompanied group of farmers, women more than men, around 100~200 metres away from the borders in Khuzaa' area in Khan Younis, southern part of the Gaza Strip... during the first hour, an IOF jeep showed up, on the borders straight ahead, but shooting was at farmers who were working away from us... some of them left the area..

The farmers harvested lentils... there was zucchini too, but it was damaged: yellow and enlarged in size due to neglect...

I watched the other side with anger...on the other side of the fence, on the Israelis side, there was construction work, a red bulldoser present, a few workers on their machines... they had the freedom to do as they wished on an occupied land... where as the farmers, on the side we were on, were working in a hurry and in fear... "god willing they will not shot" people began comforting each other...
i met Tahreer, a nineteen year-old young lady, who will be attending university soon... Tahreer means liberation in Arabic... she lingered around and we spoke before she had to leave to an adjacent spot beside us to harvest on her family's land... she wants to continue her education and teach, and we laughed about the uselessness of getting married... "we are already married to the cause" we joked
we were surprised not to have any jeeps and hummers facing us this day, it turned out that they were busy with the bombings in Al Maghazi refugee camp, in the centre of the Strip... ... as we were on the field, US-manufactured F16 planes passed by, there was six of them that flew above our heads... with their strong impact to air resistance... moments later, we heard bombings... we are 15~20 km away from Maghazi refugee camp, which faces the borders with the Israelis...

A friend present received a phone call whereby we were informed about the killing of two martyrs...

Qassam brigades had been launched on IOF troops, bombing a jeep... and the IOF attacked homes in eastern Maghazi after the explosion was heard... (Link to article here)

The famers told us that during their harvesting on the field yesterday and the day before that, they had been shot at and were obliged to stop working and leave...
to be shot at as one ploughs their lentils on their fields .. if ones house was constantly under fire... if it was decorated with bullet shots rather than artistic portraits... it usually the case that most of whom i meet, or have met, is either a refugee, or an ex-political prisoner... and sometimes even both...ultimate alienation... continuous frustration... anger... helplessness... great potentials with limited resources... non-existent oppurtunities... imprisonment... perpetual killings of beloved ones... unwavering resistance... tragedy... cynical reality... nervous laughter, out of fear, in defiance of unaccomplished aims... eyes looking everywhere, on guard... no future, death expected any second... children walking, indifferent, unaware-an F16 might bomb soon... no traffic, minimal cars... foreigners that ask too much... journalists that take statements that are not read... no change occurs... same promises, no outcome... working, endlessly, a life's achievements devastated in a second... don't build a home, they might bomb it soon... don't buy a car, it will be targeted... hurry to the store, buy bread, war coming unexpectedly... let's go to a fancy restaurant, it might be our last dinner... pray continuously, you might be dead soon... have more children, you will be losing some of them anyway... news, news, news.. lies, killings, injustice, ignorance, hatred- yalla, yalla, yalla!

BOYCOTT APARTHEID ISRAEL

Natalie




Copyright for both photos: Eva Bartlett