What might happen to those taxi drivers and travelers is at present a subject of much storytelling in Bethlehem. Mary heard from a cousin that her brother in law, a taxi driver, was beaten up by soldiers. Another of her cousins studies at Birzeit University and has to take the Wadi Nar road every now and then to visit family back in Bethlehem. A weekend ago she even didn’t dare to try to take that road. Apparently soldiers had erected a large tent next to it where those who were caught sneaking through the hills were brought together and sometimes beaten up. All were people who for their daily duties had to travel from one Palestinian town to another. Read more about Resilience
Arjan El FassedUtrecht, the Netherlands9 April 2004
Fifty-six years ago, 11-year old Fahimi Zeidan lived with her family in the Palestinian village Deir Yasin. The village, which was home to more than 700 residents, was a prosperous, expanding village at relative peace with its Jewish neighbours with whom much business was done. However, on April 9, 1948, Zionist forces entered the home of Fahimi Zeidan, ordered her family to line up against the wall and started shooting. Fahimi, two sisters and brother were saved because they could hide behind their parents. But all the others against the wall were killed: her father, mother, grandfather and grandmother, uncles and aunts and some of their children. Read more about In Memoriam: Deir Yassin
�I once saw a man killed at a roadblock, and I felt very bad afterwards,� 10-year-old Majdi says. �We all saw it from the windows of the bus, and everybody was very upset.� Majdi is one of 640 Palestinian schoolchildren in the West-Bank town of Tubas who are taking part in a CABAC (Children Affected By Armed Conflict) programme, implemented by the Palestinian Red Crescent with funding from the European Union�s humanitarian agency, and the Danish and Icelandic Red Cross Societies. Read more about Coping with Conflict
On my way back to the office at the Arab American University of Jenin in the West Bank, I ran into Amal, the cleaning lady. She is normally in a bubbly mood but today was despondent, which was ironic as her name means ‘hope’ in Arabic. I greeted her and then just listened as she tearfully recounted a litany of people killed or maimed by Israeli soldiers in the last few days - most recently the early morning assassination of Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. She seemed especially sad this morning, but not because she was a Hamas activist or Yassin supporter, but a mother with 7 daughters. Read more about It's Not About Yassin
“My family and I will never forget March 16, 2003, the day we lost our dear friend Rachel Corrie. A volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Rachel lived with us in Rafah as if she were a member of our family. She helped us even when we did not need help. She tried to bring optimism and happiness into our lives.” Dr. Samir Nassrallah is the pharmacist whose home in Rafah Rachel died to protect. In this article, he recalls the day Rachel was killed and speaks about what happened in the aftermath of the tragedy. Read more about One Year Later: No one sees and no one hears
One day, I was going to the Children’s Parliament in Rafah and a young American woman attracted my attention. Her name was Rachel Corrie. She talked to me about my fears and the problems of security we children and our nation face. I was surprised by the fact that Rachel was trying to comfort me. As Rachel worked with the parliament, I understood that she wanted us to be able to have our voice heard in the outside world, particularly in America, to show how much we are suffering. She said she loved children and how she feels sad for them when they are killed. And from that time, we became good friends. Yasmine Abu Libdeh writes from Rafah. Read more about One Year Later: "Rachel, my mother"
“When she died, my friend Rachel Corrie left us grieving in immense pain. Now a year has passed since she was killed and we still miss her deeply. I still remember her lovely spirit, strong personality and laughter as if she were still around. In Rafah, every shop, street, and devastated refugee camp has a living memory of her kind smile and gentle voice. Her death meant an incredible amount to me personally and to every Palestinian who knew her, as well as those who did not know her. It was a terrible shock to everyone in Rafah.” Mohammed Qeshta writes from Rafah. Read more about One Year Later: Rafah remembers Rachel's kindness
Jennifer LoewensteinRafah, Gaza Strip17 February 2004
” I left for Rafah on 11 January 2004 as part of a three-person pilot delegation to the city. We represented the Madison-Rafah Sister City Project, an organization founded in February 2003 to establish people-to-people ties between our two communities. Sistering projects are well known in Madison, Wisconsin —a Midwestern University town north of Chicago. Madison has official, City Council-approved sister cities with El Salvador, Nicaragua, East Timor, Cuba, Vietnam, and Lithuania among others. It seemed time, some of us thought, to build ties with a city in Palestine.” Jennifer Loewenstein reports on a trip to Rafah. Read more about Return to Rafah: Journey to a land out of bounds
Toine van TeeffelenBethlehem, Palestine2 February 2004
At the teacher workshop about diary writing the participants say that nowadays Palestinians here are less strict in observing customs like not holding, for a period of up to one year, a wedding party after somebody in the family has passed away. In the past it was unthinkable not to comply but the negative events are so frequent and overwhelming these days that it is simply too unpractical to let one’s social life be prescribed by them. As Mary says, one has to live. Toine van Teeffelen writes from occupied Bethlehem. Read more about The bittersweet lives of Palestine's children
“A successful military career in Israel is a stepping-stone to success in the political arena and it is not unreasonable to suppose that ex-soldiers carry army-inspired prejudices with them when they enter the Knesset. Therein, perhaps, lies a partial explanation for the construction of the apartheid wall. Maybe the idea wouldn’t have taken root had those involved not been conditioned during their formative years in uniform, and maybe it also explains why the wider Israeli public fails to oppose the project in larger numbers.” Nick Pretzlik muses on the psychological roots of Israeli violations of Palestinian rights. Read more about The hour before dawn
