|
After a Three-Month Sabbatical in Ramallah It was 11:30 p.m. and I was sitting alone in the one-room apartment adjacent to the Ramallah Friends Meetinghouse. As prior evenings that week, I heard shooting outside, I would not know what the shooting was about until I called friends the next day and found out the reasons. During the past two evenings the shooting was nearby too, but this evening it went on and on. It became fainter and then louder during the next two hours or so. I stayed away from the windows and doors so as not to get hit by a stray bullet. The next day I heard that masked Palestinian gunmen had entered three restaurants and shot randomly. One restaurant in particular was heavily damaged. It was the restaurant called “Darna.” The Palestinian Authority often entertained its official guests in this restaurant. Most of Darna’s windows were shot, most of the dishes had been broken, and general damage had been inflicted, so the place could not be used for some time. The other three restaurants were not as badly damaged. The Palestinian police were seen running from the scenes of the shootings. This incident was only one in a series of incidents that told us about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The economic situation in the OPT has continued a downward spiral, a trend that began during the years of the Oslo negotiations (1993-2000) and especially since the second Intifada began in September of 2000. As more and more land is confiscated for the building of Jewish-only settlements and by-pass roads and the Wall, Palestinians are left with fewer and fewer options for making a living for themselves and their families. Fruit trees and olive trees continue to be bulldozed. In the southern part of the West Bank, farmers are concerned that there will not be enough trees to provide the food they need themselves. In addition to the land that is confiscated for the building of the Wall, families are being separated from their land by the Wall, making it very difficult and in many cases impossible to cultivate their own land. Unlike during the past, Palestinians are no longer welcome to work in Israel as day laborers. In the West Bank the unemployment rate is said to be 50 percent and in Gaza 70 percent and people are living on less than a dollar a day. The only way families can survive, is for each person in the family who is able, to work for some kind of wage. This desperate economic situation is weighing on everyone and some resort to some pretty desperate measures. One of the things the gunmen who shot up the restaurants said was “why should the Palestinian Authority wine and dine themselves and their guests when so many people are suffering?” The security situation is out of control. The Palestinian police running from the scenes of the shootings are only one indication of this. The Palestinian Authority does not have authority, especially since Arafat died. No matter what one thought of Yassir Arafat, he was in control and he was able to command the various security factions of the Palestinian Authority. Abu Mazen does not have the same kind of stature and authority. In addition, Abu Mazen has not been able to produce anything that will benefit the people since the election. He was elected on the assumption that he would make the situation more bearable for the people and eventually negotiate a lasting peace with justice. So far neither the Israelis nor the Americans have given him anything that he can show for having been elected. People are frustrated and are asking how much longer they will need to wait. Frustrated people can do some very crazy things. The gunmen who shot up the restaurants said, “Abu Mazen is working with the Israelis and the Americans but is not bringing anything home for us”. The moral space is becoming less and less as people confront one crisis after another and cannot point to anything improving. People who have been tolerant of each other’s differences are becoming less tolerant. There has been an increase of killings. A few weeks ago a man from the Greek Orthodox Church in Ramallah bludgeoned his daughter to death in their living room with an iron rod after consenting to allow her to marry a Muslim. This was just one of the “honor” killings in the OPT during the past months. About a month ago a well-known journalist, whom I know well and used to work for ABC and NBC in Jerusalem, was shot point blank in front of his wife and children in their Ramallah home. There are many stories of why he was killed, and the reason he was shot is still not clear; however, both of these incidents illustrate for me the deteriorating situation. The day after the shootings in the restaurants, one of the gunmen said “We will not tolerate the drinking of wine,” another indication of how the space for tolerance is becoming smaller and narrower. How are Palestinians dealing with their situation? More and more Palestinians are choosing to leave for other countries. They want a future for themselves and their families and cannot see that future in Palestine. This exodus is affecting the already small Christian minority. As Father Chacour (a Melekite priest in the Galilee) says “It will soon be difficult to find the living stones. We will have the empty churches left only for tourists to visit.” Some Palestinians give in to the situation by trying to survive in whatever way they can. Only a few respond to their frustration, anger, and despair with violence of some kind. Unfortunately, these are the ones we hear about in the mainstream media. Many Palestinians continue to struggle for their rights and freedom. They are working for a better society by developing institutions, educating themselves and their families, and working for a better world. I met many of them. In Palestine, there is a beginning of a non-violence movement. Palestinians have always resisted the occupation non-violently and only a few have responded violently; however, this non-violent resistance has not translated into a movement. During the first Intifada, non-violent resistance was a grassroots movement. Currently, there is another attempt to create a non-violent movement to resist the occupation. The AFSC staff based in Jerusalem are supporting this movement as well as Israelis who are working to end the occupation through non-violent means. For more information about AFSC Israel-Palestine work see: http://www.afsc.orq/israel-palestine/default.htm The fundamental issue remains unchanged, an end to the occupation, dismantling of settlements in the West Bank leading to the creation of a viable Palestinian state. Kathy Bergen
|