December 27, 2001

Back to Work, Bad Peace Action in Gaza

It was back to work in Beit Sahour today. Updating websites. Showing photos of the peace actions. Some of my photos turned out pretty well, so we made digital copies and archived them. Lots of student volunteers dropped by the office and wanted to see them. (And one of the mistakes I made was not having at least one photo of every volunteer who participated in the peace action.)

I did have a short visit from some nice little girls at lunch. Jasmine often dropped by my first English class, so it was nice to see her again. I think the last time I saw Jasmine and her family was when I was trapped in Beit Sahour a few months ago. The fighting was severe for three or four hours, and we were together in the same house, listening and watching to the war outside. I remember how scared she was that night. (And I remember how scared I was that night.)

Tonight I went over to Iyad's house to hang with some of his friends. Ate good food. Talked to his father a bit about Islam. He said that Muslims everywhere are so sorry that acts of terrorism are done in the name of Islam. He reminded me that Islam is a religion of peace. I hope I'll be able to go to the mosque in Beit Sahour with him someday. We examined some construction on the new floor of his house. The family is preparing a new floor for when Iyad gets married. Generally before a son marries, a new part is built on the house. Then the bride moves in whenever the son married. It's a nice way of keeping families together.

Yesterday I didn't offer an update, because I was pretty busy. I didn't actually leave my apartment, but I had a lot to do. If you read my last entry, I talked about how all of the actions I had been on were peaceful. Nothing was out of hand. Unfortunately, yesterday things got a little rough. There was a lot of information to post, so I just stayed home and did it all from my laptop. (I was feeling like maybe I was getting the flu too, but today I feel fine.)

Yesterday the international group went to Gaza. I'm not sure how it's perceived around the world, but Gaza is recognized here as being worse than the West Bank. The situation is more unstable and conditions are less favorable there. The group approached the checkpoint to enter Gaza, but they were denied access. They were carrying some supplies for families there, but for some reason they could not enter. Their passports were collected, and they were made to wait for several hours. Finally, their passports were returned, but they were told to leave. (I don't know if there is any legal reason why they could not enter the city or not.) About half of the group wanted to enter, so half boarded the bus and half walked back through the checkpoint. Then it turned bad.

We had a visit by one of the veteran activists today, and this is the story he told me. I'll call him "Bill". (Bill and two others were interviewed by an American newspaper from out offices today.) Bill said that as they passed the checkpoint, Israeli soldiers began shooting over their heads. They continued walking. Bill was midway through the group. Three older women were ahead of him. As the women were slowly walking, Bill saw a big soldier approach them. He picked up the first lady and threw her to the ground. The he put his leg behind the second and flipped her over his leg. He grabbed the third and dropped her. Immediately he approached Bill and threw a forearm to his mouth. Bill had a cut under his lip and nasty bruises and cuts on the inside of his lip and gums. Bill saw another girl get picked up and tossed through the air. The group was surrounded, so they sat. Soldiers told them that if they moved, they would be shot. Some people had digital cameras or video equipment. Soldiers took all the cameras and film. All evidence was destroyed. Some cameras were returned, some were confiscated. Not too long after that, the bus drove down and the soldiers tossed the internationals on the bus. One member of the group had to spend the night in the hospital. Two were arrested.

Bill told me that it was the worst peace action he had ever been on, and he has been in the area for several years. He said the terrible scenes of the three older women being flipped replayed in his mind over and over. He couldn't forget it.

I think one of the reasons that it went so bad was that there was no media present to record the event. I believe that soldiers are less likely to flip older ladies if their actions are captured on international film. I was told that one reporter arrived, but got tired of waiting while the activists were waiting for their passports, so they left.