Babies
Up Against The Occupation
By
Eileen Fleming
07 January,
2008
Countercurrents.org
On
January 3, 2008, I received the following email from the Little Town
of Bethlehem in Occupied Territory:
I want to
share with you some good news. On Dec. 31 at 3:00 pm Jerusalem time
my wife gave birth to our second daughter…Both of them are doing
good. Up to this very moment I am not able to see either of them because
of the Israeli policies of preventing Palestinians from entering Jerusalem.
It seems I am too dangerous and being with my wife represents a security
threat to the state of Israel.
peace and
love
HUSAM N. JUBRAN
TRAINER & GROUP FACILITATOR.
POLITICAL & RELIGIOUS TOUR GUIDE
Mobile: ++ 972 (0)599 674996 - ++ 972 (0)547 550710
I connected with Husam in 2005 through Palestine Children's Welfare
Fund, a non-political, non-religious 501 3-C whose aspirations are purely
humanitarian. Husam travels through the West bank collecting embroidery,
olive wood crafts, Mother of Pearl jewelry, soap, honey, olive oil and
more made by the poor that he ships to the Texas home of PCWF's Founder,
Riad E. Hamad. Riad then disseminates the goods out of his garage to
a growing global community of volunteers who sell the wares at churches,
temples, mosques and anywhere possible with hope and faith to help improve
the living standards of the children of Palestine and the poor and voiceless.
I spoke on
the phone with Husam on January 6, 2008, and he told me, "All the
profits made go to support the poor. PCWF adopts needy families, provides
medicines, sponsors university students, plants citrus and olive trees,
builds water collection and irrigation systems in the West Bank, and
the goods we sell show the world what Palestinians are capable of."
Husam does
much more, but like most Palestinians I have met; it was like pulling
teeth to get him to blow his own horn. Not until the end of our over
half hour conversation did he tell me that, "I also work with Al-Rowwad
Center in Aida camp. I focus on teaching theater of the oppressed."
The Al-Rowwad Center is an Independent Center for artistic, cultural,
and theatre training for children in Aida Camp in the Little Town of
Bethlehem: Occupied Territory, which provides a safe and healthy environment
to the oppressed children by cultivating their creativity and discharging
the stress caused by the Israeli Military Occupation of them which is
supported by the USA government and USA tax dollars that contribute
to the war conditions the children and voiceless are forced to endure.
I asked Husam
about his childhood background and he told me, "During the first
Intifada [Arabic for rising up] I was 17 ½, and spend 1988 and
1989 in jail for throwing stones at tanks and soldiers who were 100
meters from me. They retaliated with gas and bullets and many of my
friends were arrested too. I am on the Israeli 'black list' because
I organized people to withhold taxes from them and I painted graffiti
against the occupation and raised the Palestinian flag.
"I am
now a freelance nonviolent trainer and obtained my Masters Degree in
Conflict Transformation and Peace Building at Eastern Mennonite University
in Harrisburg, Virginia in 2004. I travel all through the West Bank
teaching in refugee camps, villages and with the Palestinian Security
forces; police and intelligence organizations how to nonviolently resolve
conflicts.
"My
first daughter was born in America in 2003 and we have applied to the
Israeli court ever since to obtain her papers and documents, but still
no answer. She entered Bethlehem on a tourist visa and if she were ever
to leave, she would not be allowed back in. When I went to Chicago last
summer to be a facilitator with Hands of Peace, which brings together
Americans, Israelis and Palestinian kids, my family couldn't accompany
me.
"My
wife is a Jerusalemite and although she could have delivered our baby
in Bethlehem and I could have been with her, she had to go to Jerusalem
to deliver our baby so that she would retain her rights and our second
daughter would have some.
"My
first daughter is in no man's land even though she is legally an American
citizen, she cannot leave Bethlehem, because she hasn't got permission
yet from Israel. It was crucial our second daughter be born in Jerusalem
so she could be registered on my wife's ID and receive Jerusalem papers
which enable her to receive health care and education."
On July 31,
2003, the Knesset enacted the Nationality and Entry into Israel Law.
This law prohibits the granting of any residency or citizenship status
to Palestinians from the 1967 Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs)
who are married to Israeli citizens. The Law affects thousands of families
comprised of tens of thousands of individuals. On March 21, 2007, the
Knesset passed a new law which maintains the ban on family unification
where one spouse is a Palestinian from the OPT and added a more stringent
denial of family unification where one spouse is a resident or citizen
of Lebanon, Syria, Iran or Iraq – states all defined by Israeli
law as "enemy states" – and/or is an individual defined
by the Israeli security forces as residing in an area where activity
is occurring.
On August 14, 2003, "The UN…issued a decision…enjoining
Israel to revoke the "Family unification law" considering
its discriminatory nature, in violation of basic provisions of the International
Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ratified by Israel.
As a matter of fact, the purpose of the new law is to prohibit Palestinians
from the Occupied Territories from obtaining citizenship, permanent
residency, and/or temporary residency status in Israel by marriage to
an Israeli citizen("family unification"). It will also discriminate
the Arab minorities citizens of Israel, who want to marry Palestinians
from the Occupied Territories. Thousands of families will be affected,
forcing them to separate or to leave the country, if the law remains
in force...the decision follows the recent decision of UN Human Rights
Committee of 6 August 2003, which also states that Israel "should
revoke the Nationality and Entry into Israel law...and should reconsider
its policy with a view to facilitating family reunification of all citizens
and permanent residents". http://www.fidh.org/article.php3?id_article=360
Husam continued,
"I don't care for myself, I am content with my Palestinian ID and
being in Bethlehem, but it was most important that our second daughter
get her Jerusalem ID although I was refused a permit."
I asked Husam
what was his take on President Bush's upcoming trip to Israel Palestine
and he responded, "We welcome him here but the message is clear
that until the core issue of the Occupation is addressed and the Occupation
ends, nothing will be achieved. The conflict will erupt again if this
is just a political process and photo-op and not a true peace process.
"One
state, two states is not the issue. The issue has been and is the Occupation!
All we Palestinians want is an end to the Occupation! We recognize and
accept Israel and they should recognize and accept Palestinians and
give us the minimum which is our human rights.
"Hamas
has made mistakes and that is why they have lost popularity, not because
Fatah is doing better. 2008 is a crucial year and if Fatah makes good
things happen, Hamas will continue to loose popularity. But, if Fatah
doesn't deliver we will see an increase in militant extremism. If no
progress is made in 2008, the choice will lead to more militant extremism.
A real change is what we need to see, and seven billion American dollars
won't change anything until the Occupation ends.
"I persist
because of my daughters. When they grow up they will ask me, 'What did
you do for us?'
"I want
to tell them I did my best to create a different future for them. I
sustain and am encouraged by the kids and women who touch my heart when
I teach nonviolent resistance and conflict management. They give me
courage, stamina and determination to do something to end the Occupation."
LEARN MORE
and DO SOMETHING:
http://www.pcwf.org/
http://alrowwad.virtualactivism.net/
http://www.adalah.org/eng/famunif.php
RISE UP and
help set the agenda for President Bush's Agenda to Palestine/Israel:
SEND YOUR
PERSONAL MESSAGE or the one provided @ this link to President Bush to
DO SOMETHING @
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/
o/641/t/2439/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=22125
"BLESSED
ARE THE PEACEMAKERS: THEY ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD"-Jesus Christ
himself promised that in Matthew 5:9
January 7,
2008 © Copyright Eileen Fleming, Reporter and Editor http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author Keep
Hope Alive and Memoirs
of a Nice Irish American Girl's' Life in Occupied Territory,
Producer "30 Minutes With Vanunu." Permission is granted for
reprint in print, email, blog, or web media if this credit is attached
and the title remains unchanged.
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