"Existence is Resistance" in Hebron
I got to Hebron around noon on yesterday, May 17. After quick introductions, we left the apartment to accompany a second grade girl home from school. Her mother told CPT that Israeli soldiers chased her daughter and pointed their weapons at her on her way home from school. So the mother asked if CPT would watch her daughter home. However, school let out early so we did not see her yesterday.
School accompaniment is one of CPT’s roles here in Hebron. We go out at 7am each school day and walk with Palestinian children to school through and by military checkpoints and Israeli settlements. Yesterday, soon after I arrived, while we waited by a school, soldiers demanded to search 3 Palestinian women’s purses on the street. The women had babies and it was quite awkward for them to open their tiny purses. It’s hard to imagine anything dangerous in those little purses…
After children were in school this morning, my teammate John and I went to deliver some pictures of a building that CPT has been helping to monitor to the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee. On the way we encountered several photographers taking pictures of a Palestinian home. Soldiers had thrown a sound bomb ( a loud explosive device that may burn if a person is within a foot, but generally is just an extremely loud, terrifying noise) into the home and it landed very close to a sleeping woman and child. Needless to say the woman and her child were very disoriented and afraid.
This afternoon there were six soldiers in the street outside our apartment. We moved to the side and let them pass us. As we walked into the market behind the soldiers, the phrase “existence is resistance” began to make real sense to me. I was pretty intimidated by the soldiers who were pointing their guns in various directions as they searched the market for... ?something But people in the market just carried on with life, as if they did not notice the guns (which they may not take much notice of anymore?). At one point a soldier’s gun was a few inches from one man’s head. The man did not flinch or take notice. He just kept his eyes on his friend and continued his conversation. Three Palestinian school boys maneuvered their way between the soldiers and the man at the falafel stand kept making delicious sandwiches.
Palestinians cannot drive on the main road (a road which the U.S. funded for both Palestinians and Israelis). Some families’ homes and businesses have been taken and/or destroyed. Israeli settlers that live above this market throw their trash (tons of it!) out of their windows and into the market (most of the market has netting above it to catch the settlers’ garbage, but it is still disgusting.). Palestinian children are harassed at checkpoints on their way to school. Teachers have not been paid in 3 months but most of them (those who can afford transportation) come to school each day anyway. Many women, children, and men resist injustice by living in their homes or by going to school or by playing outside or by selling falafels…
It’s kind of astonishing to me… how quickly a situation can become much more real when one sees it... Things seem incredibly complicated here in Hebron... I will try to write a little more about that soon. I just wanted to share a bit about what we’ve been doing this past day and a half and my first impressions. Peace.
School accompaniment is one of CPT’s roles here in Hebron. We go out at 7am each school day and walk with Palestinian children to school through and by military checkpoints and Israeli settlements. Yesterday, soon after I arrived, while we waited by a school, soldiers demanded to search 3 Palestinian women’s purses on the street. The women had babies and it was quite awkward for them to open their tiny purses. It’s hard to imagine anything dangerous in those little purses…
After children were in school this morning, my teammate John and I went to deliver some pictures of a building that CPT has been helping to monitor to the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee. On the way we encountered several photographers taking pictures of a Palestinian home. Soldiers had thrown a sound bomb ( a loud explosive device that may burn if a person is within a foot, but generally is just an extremely loud, terrifying noise) into the home and it landed very close to a sleeping woman and child. Needless to say the woman and her child were very disoriented and afraid.
This afternoon there were six soldiers in the street outside our apartment. We moved to the side and let them pass us. As we walked into the market behind the soldiers, the phrase “existence is resistance” began to make real sense to me. I was pretty intimidated by the soldiers who were pointing their guns in various directions as they searched the market for... ?something But people in the market just carried on with life, as if they did not notice the guns (which they may not take much notice of anymore?). At one point a soldier’s gun was a few inches from one man’s head. The man did not flinch or take notice. He just kept his eyes on his friend and continued his conversation. Three Palestinian school boys maneuvered their way between the soldiers and the man at the falafel stand kept making delicious sandwiches.
Palestinians cannot drive on the main road (a road which the U.S. funded for both Palestinians and Israelis). Some families’ homes and businesses have been taken and/or destroyed. Israeli settlers that live above this market throw their trash (tons of it!) out of their windows and into the market (most of the market has netting above it to catch the settlers’ garbage, but it is still disgusting.). Palestinian children are harassed at checkpoints on their way to school. Teachers have not been paid in 3 months but most of them (those who can afford transportation) come to school each day anyway. Many women, children, and men resist injustice by living in their homes or by going to school or by playing outside or by selling falafels…
It’s kind of astonishing to me… how quickly a situation can become much more real when one sees it... Things seem incredibly complicated here in Hebron... I will try to write a little more about that soon. I just wanted to share a bit about what we’ve been doing this past day and a half and my first impressions. Peace.
posted by Angela Davis | 3:55 PM
3 Comments:
I want to hear more about the food there.
Angela, what language are you speaking over there? Do you need someone to translate for you?
Scott- the food is absolutely wonderful!! mostly fresh vegetables & fruit, hummus & falafel, & lots of sweet sweet tea with mint. some other dishes with rice & spices...
Jenny- Arabic. Yes, we use translators. Most of the full-time CPTers speak some Arabic. I'm learning a bit (slowly) and trying to use that little bit...
If we are interacting with Israeli soldiers, we usually use English (sometimes a little Arabic). A lot of Israelis study English in school and speak it very well. If we are interacting with Israeli settlers, we always use English (& Hebrew greetings). A good number of Israeli settlers are actually from the US- some have dual citizenship...
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