(no subject)
For those who don't know....who are probably everyone. I know two people, friends, who decided to go to Palestine to be human shields against violence...more or less. Anyway. Whenever I read something from them it makes me feel. and think. This one I read today was especially powerful, so I thought that I'd post. In case it does the same thing for all of you.
I know this is late in coming but wanted
send some thoughts about our time in a small
village just south of Hebron in the southern
West Bank. We spent two days in the village of
Qawawis (kaw-ees) before heading to Gaza.
Insha'allah, we will send an update soon from
Rafah. But know that we are here and doing well.
Village: Qawawis
Location: West Bank, Occupied Palestine
Population: 20
Surroundings: Three illegal Israeli settlements, one settler by-pass road
5:30am I awake
open the door to
the world outside
wispy grey clouds
hang over the hills
illuminated by a pink sky
the moon, crescent,
hangs low in the morning
sky a thin layer of dew
blankets all I see
sky preparing for the rising sun
Bright lights still shine
from the too-close-for-comfort
settlement
soon drowned out the suns morning blaze
yet still there
Shadows arrive with the sun
shepard's heard their flock
up and over
the settlement road
busy with movement
of military and settlers
stopping occasionally
harassing shepard's
One of the two of us
accompany them
while sheep graze
following, watching
every truck, car and military
vehicle passing by
never has a road
instilled so much fear
in me
We accompany them
to de-escalate, detour
settler violence
harassment
daily nuisance here
like mosquitos
on your skin
I stand on the rocky hillside
my first time with shepard's
my first time here
These people have lived here
their entire lives, they know
the situation, the level of
danger,
the risk imposed
on them, the risk of staying
the risk
of crossing the road
the risk
I know nothing
yet it is my presence
that brings some sense of
safety
how do I embody this?
my body can do no more
then yours
my skin is no thicker
then yours
But it is white
here in lies the
key
to this fucked up
reality
my skin, a barrier between
violence and a sense of safety
my skin knows privilege
The villagers we live with
know this too, not only the settlers
and military personnel
they want to see all of the
gadgets we have
cameras, video recorder, pocket knife, phone
I realize how much I take for granted
I recognize how much my privilege
allows me
here it is stark and clear
I am the buffer, some say human shield
my role? only to be here.
watch, call
Israeli police in emergency
I sit on this rock in the sunshine
listening to the wake up call of birds
watching shepard's
Peace in the midst of insanity
I feel safe.
I know it is an illusion.
These people had been driven
from their homes, their land
hounded and harassed by
settlers surrounding them on
three sides
Cut
off from their land
by a setter-only
road
Their sheep, their livelihood
killed by settlers
They will not say here
they say
without internationals
so we come 2 or 3 days at a time
for the past 7 months
Safety
an illusion
we create distance between
them and the violence
they know
We disturb life here
in other ways
is this not still cultural annihilation
by another name?
I turn is over in my mind....
Where would they be without us here?
Questions, only questions
the answers are not clear
Serena
---human violence is a refusal to understand other people. a refusal to admit their equal right to life, to experience. violence and fear really affect me because I believe the whole point of life is to connect with others who are alive, and violence is just the opposite.
Anyway. If you want these emails regularly, I'd be glad to get them to you...just comment.
I know this is late in coming but wanted
send some thoughts about our time in a small
village just south of Hebron in the southern
West Bank. We spent two days in the village of
Qawawis (kaw-ees) before heading to Gaza.
Insha'allah, we will send an update soon from
Rafah. But know that we are here and doing well.
Village: Qawawis
Location: West Bank, Occupied Palestine
Population: 20
Surroundings: Three illegal Israeli settlements, one settler by-pass road
5:30am I awake
open the door to
the world outside
wispy grey clouds
hang over the hills
illuminated by a pink sky
the moon, crescent,
hangs low in the morning
sky a thin layer of dew
blankets all I see
sky preparing for the rising sun
Bright lights still shine
from the too-close-for-comfort
settlement
soon drowned out the suns morning blaze
yet still there
Shadows arrive with the sun
shepard's heard their flock
up and over
the settlement road
busy with movement
of military and settlers
stopping occasionally
harassing shepard's
One of the two of us
accompany them
while sheep graze
following, watching
every truck, car and military
vehicle passing by
never has a road
instilled so much fear
in me
We accompany them
to de-escalate, detour
settler violence
harassment
daily nuisance here
like mosquitos
on your skin
I stand on the rocky hillside
my first time with shepard's
my first time here
These people have lived here
their entire lives, they know
the situation, the level of
danger,
the risk imposed
on them, the risk of staying
the risk
of crossing the road
the risk
I know nothing
yet it is my presence
that brings some sense of
safety
how do I embody this?
my body can do no more
then yours
my skin is no thicker
then yours
But it is white
here in lies the
key
to this fucked up
reality
my skin, a barrier between
violence and a sense of safety
my skin knows privilege
The villagers we live with
know this too, not only the settlers
and military personnel
they want to see all of the
gadgets we have
cameras, video recorder, pocket knife, phone
I realize how much I take for granted
I recognize how much my privilege
allows me
here it is stark and clear
I am the buffer, some say human shield
my role? only to be here.
watch, call
Israeli police in emergency
I sit on this rock in the sunshine
listening to the wake up call of birds
watching shepard's
Peace in the midst of insanity
I feel safe.
I know it is an illusion.
These people had been driven
from their homes, their land
hounded and harassed by
settlers surrounding them on
three sides
Cut
off from their land
by a setter-only
road
Their sheep, their livelihood
killed by settlers
They will not say here
they say
without internationals
so we come 2 or 3 days at a time
for the past 7 months
Safety
an illusion
we create distance between
them and the violence
they know
We disturb life here
in other ways
is this not still cultural annihilation
by another name?
I turn is over in my mind....
Where would they be without us here?
Questions, only questions
the answers are not clear
Serena
---human violence is a refusal to understand other people. a refusal to admit their equal right to life, to experience. violence and fear really affect me because I believe the whole point of life is to connect with others who are alive, and violence is just the opposite.
Anyway. If you want these emails regularly, I'd be glad to get them to you...just comment.