Yesterday I was walking with Caoimhe in the camp's centre where the April massacre took place. The flattened area is about 3 times the size of Trafalgar Square. We noticed a soldier standing on guard outside a house and quickly realised when we heard all the banging and crashing noise coming from within that a whole troop of soldiers was inside doing a "house search". Someone told us that there was an old lady inside who was ill. Both Caoimhe and I tried to ask a few of the soldiers (who were taking up exaggerated commando sniper postures) if we could see that the woman was ok? We got a torrent of foul abuse from the soldiers and guns pointed at us and at the children nearby who wanted to see what was happening.
After an hour, the soldiers came out making 2 Palestinian men run in front of them as human shields. They left the house in a smashed-up, revolting, degraded mess, and many terrified people who live in the 3 apartments of that house. The soldiers spray painted a number on the house wall, ear marking it for either further harassment or demolition. 2 old women were in very bad shape, one of them collapsed having heavy chest pains from the fright of having her house invaded. The soldiers are doing this every day. We have reports of them stealing peoples savings, looting and being very abusive.
At night we divide up into various houses that are feared will be blown up. The families are lucky to get 15 minutes notice from the army. It is really terrifying to hear the tanks go BOOM as they explode a house, and then wonder what family has just been made homeless. On the streets at night when a tank is approaching all you can see are 2 tiny red headlights. When it comes close it is always a shock to see the huge metal powerful artillery and terrifying when the soldiers take pleasure at pointing the turret at anyone who moves, especially the children. The tanks and APC's belch out the foulest of black smoke which adds to the massive dust and pollution level in the camp. At the moment there is an epidemic of tonsillitis and bacterial chest infection, no surprise!
Yesterday, I accompanied a young woman and her son to the Jordanian hospital, as she was too scared to pass the tanks hovering nearby. It is very good to see the Jordanians here giving real practical support. The hospital is very small and only has an operating theatre, but outside in the yard they have 8 huge tents where they treat the patients. I spoke to one of the Doctors in Spanish, as he trained for 10 years in Cuba. He says the training there was fantastic. It was great to hear him call the Israeli "higue putas", and the US "the biggest terrorists in the world." He said Jordanians are brothers to the Palestinians, in fact about 70% of the population there is Palestinian. It took them months to get permission to come in here and work after the April invasion. Its very hard for them to just wait in the hospital for casualties while the tanks and snipers are terrorising the town and camp.
One house where I spent the night recently told me their story, mostly in mime as my Arabic is abysmal. Their father and brother are away, on the wanted list. Their brother was killed by a tank in April. Another brother ran to try and drag him to safety. He showed me the scars of bullet wounds in in head and neck. He is 16 and also in danger of being arrested. The mother is a very strong woman. As I could not really communicate I offered her massage to take the lid off all the stress and tension they live in constantly , aside from their own family bereavement. I also learned that one of her best woman friends who was bringing the fighters food (In April) was shot in the head. She lay bleeding to death in her house for 3 days. The soldiers beat and tied up her son and husband who had to watch her die and then they did not allow the body to be removed for 5 days after she died! I know this womans daughter now. Her house was firebombed by an F16. Luckily she had a premonition a short time before and insisted that her kids and husband leave the house immediately.
I saw photos of charred and mutilated bodies. The most chilling was seeing
a young girls detached hair plait. Caoimhe was present during the time of
trying to rescue trapped people in the bulldozed rubble. I hope someday she
will have time to write and share the awful details. I am stunned that
these people manange to keep going after all this, and are still suffering
more collective punishment while the world watches. I contacted an Israeli
group, active against house demolitions that I had read about in New
Internationalist and asked if they would come here and do active protest. I
was disappointed at their negative reply. An Israeli activist who does walk
his talk is Arik Asherman who is a Rabbi and works with a human rights
group. He was very responsive and will be coming to Jenin within days with
human support and supplies. He is a man of his word, very dynamic and very
confrontational. I have seen him in action when I was helping with the
olive harvest and he took on some very violent settlers who were attacking
the Palestinians harvesting their crops. He and a small handfull of other
Israeli activists are the only hope for change in this blackest darkest
nightmare
Love Mary