The following letters (which have been translated from
Arabic to English) were written by children living in Rafah, the southernmost
area of the Gaza Strip. These letters were written shortly after the Israeli
army's incursion into these children's area, where they experienced firsthand
the destruction of their homes and the shooting of one of their friends.
These children are part of a psychosocial program run by a Japanese NGO called
Frontline ("chikyu-no-stage"). The program focuses on youth between the ages
of 13 and 15 who live in the "hot-spots" of Rafah, near the border and Israeli
settlements, where they are subject to daily shootings and frequent incursions
by the Israeli army.
In mid-January, 2004, the Israeli army entered Rafah and demolished many Palestinian
homes. According to UNRWA, during the few days of this incursion 584 people
lost their homes. (for more information, log into http://www.un.org/unrwa/news/releases/pr-2004/hqg-0204.pdf)
Since the beginning of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in September 2000,14,852 people
in the Gaza Strip (9,970 people from Rafah) have lost their homes and livelihood.
Aya Al-Sha'er (13 yrs old)
At 10 o'clock, all of my family was asleep. I woke up very afraid. This day
was a terrible day, a dark day. Even if I tried to describe the pain of that
day, I wouldn't be able to. We felt very afraid. The bulldozers came without
warning. They destroyed two rooms and a bathroom. All of my family shouted in
front of the bulldozer, but the bulldozer kept going on with its destruction.
My father said to the bulldozer, "Please give me a little time to take
our furniture out of the house", but the bulldozer didn't agree to this
and started shooting at my father. He was shot in the back and in the leg. Thank
God my father is okay now. Now we are staying at my married sister's house.
I still can't believe this horrible thing happened. It is like a dream, even
though the journalists have been writing a lot about what happened in the newspapers.
We children can't do anything. Our Authority can't do anything, and so what
can we children do? We ask God to give us some security.
Fatima Al-Aidi (13 yrs old)
During the last incursion, we were so afraid and sad. I was at school when I
heard that the tanks had surrounded the Brazil Area and had destroyed a lot
of houses. I also heard that there were injured people and martyrs. I didn't
know what to do. I couldn't concentrate on my lesson and I was afraid about
my family and I didn't know how I could go back home. I went to my aunt's house.
All the time, I asked my God to keep my family safe. At night, my father came
and took me home. I asked my father about my family to make sure they were safe.
Then he told me that Bilal was shot in the head, and I couldn't believe it.
Even if we are surrounded by soldiers and have no food, we will stand and defend
our country. I hope Bilal will get better soon.
Wala'a Keshta (13 yrs old)
The 1st day they entered, they started to destroy houses without warning. When
the bulldozer started to destroy my house, my neighbor shouted for us to escape.
The weather was very cold and my sisters wept, and we worried about what would
happen to the house. The Israelis started shooting at us. We started to move
some of our furniture out and we raised a white cloth to the soldiers as we
left the house. The second day, the soldiers went to the roof of a tall building
nearby and opened a small hole in the wall for the snipers, so we couldn't return
to our house.
Haneen Keshta (13 yrs old)
The occupation entered. There was a lot of shooting, and they started to destroy
our house near the border. My father wept because this house was where he grew
up and it had been very expensive to build. The tanks stopped behind the house
we live in now (because our old house is too dangerous), so we were afraid and
couldn't sleep. We escaped from the house and took some of our furniture with
us. This night was very cold. My father and my mother cried. We went to my grandmother's
house. We couldn't go to school for 3 days. And now I am very sad because my
father and mother are crying.
(Thank you to our organization for wanting to know about our feelings)
Mohammad Al-Satari (14 yrs old)
I woke up at 6AM. I got ready and left to go to school, but I didn't really
want to go. On the way to school, I met my friend Bilal. I told him to escape
from the area because the tanks were close-by. Bilal refused and instead encouraged
me to stay with him.
Some men came to throw grenades at the tanks. Bilal and I watched them. We were
surprised when the shooting started. We ran away. I tried to find Bilal but
I couldn't find him. Then I saw Bilal fall on the ground and I saw the blood
falling from his head. I was afraid for him a lot, and I cried. I asked some
men to help me carry him and put him in a car to go to the hospital.
I knew Bilal's condition was very dangerous. Some of the men told me that Bilal
was a martyr. I went to the hospital to ask, and they told me he was in critical
condition. I came back to the house very afraid.
After a few hours, I was surprised when I heard the sound of a lot of shooting.
I went outside and I saw an ambulance coming. There was a lot of shooting, so
I hid behind the ambulance. Soon after that I went to the front of my neighbor's
house. I saw three people on the ground. Some men and I carried the woman who
became a martyr, and the second woman who was in critical condition. Her little
son was also shot.
I told myself that, when I have the courage, I would take my revenge. I went
to the place where the tanks were before, but the tanks had already withdrawn
after they demolished so much, and they cut the water pipes and the electricity
lines too.
We are still afraid about Bilal. Whenever I go outside, I hear people saying
that Bilal is a martyr, and I go to Bilal's brother to ask him about how Bilal
really is. He tells me that Bilal's condition is still dangerous, but that he
isn't a martyr. Every time I hear that, I thank my God.
This incursion was more difficult than any of the other incursions. The soldiers
destroyed a lot of houses and one of these houses belonged to my friend in my
organization. I hope to one day carry a lot of weapons and take my revenge.
I hope the day comes when the enemy leaves Palestine.
Nimer Al-Ghraiz (14 yrs old)
When I went to school, I didn't know that there was still an incursion in Brazil.
When I was walking in the street, I met my friends Mohammad and Bilal, and Bilal
said to me, " I'll call you tonight". And Bilal went to Mohammad.
I called to Mohammad, "Come on. We're going to school." Mohammad told
me, " I'm not going to school today." I said to him, " It's up
to you." I didn't know that the Israeli soldiers had gone to the roof of
a nearby building.
While I walked in the street, I found a tank down the road, but I wasn't afraid.
When I got to school, my friend told me that there was a martyr named Bilal
Shehada. I didn't believe him. I said to my friend, " I just saw him a
few minutes ago and was talking with him!" During the first class break,
my friend repeated to me the same thing, but I still didn't believe him. During
my last class, I cried and I worried about my friend. When I returned to my
house, I asked about Bilal. I heard that Bilal had been injured but was not
a martyr. I went to Mohammad's house and I found a very sad Mohammad. He told
me about what happened with Bilal. We went together to Bilal's brother and asked
about how Bilal was doing.
Abdel Wahab (13 yrs old)
I am only one person among a thousand persons who had their house destroyed
and their families had to escape.
I was sleeping in my house. I heard the sound of tanks and shooting, and I slept
but I was afraid and couldn't sleep well. In the middle of the night, my father
woke us up and told us that the demolition had come to our door. He woke us
up so that we could escape. We escaped from the house moments before the tank
arrived and destroyed it. And we watched our house being destroyed.
In my mind, I asked the world and to kind-hearted people everywhere to please
help us. And I asked, why is this happening to us? Why is this still continuing?
I cannot forget this day. Everyday, there is demolition of land and houses and
killing of people. I used to wear school clothes to go to school, but that was
before my house was destroyed. When I went back to the house to get my things,
my notebooks were under the rubble and my clothes were ripped. But I still thank
my God for saving me and my family.
Ibrahim Al-Aidi (14 yrs old)
The incursion started in the Brazil area. The Israeli army said that the incursion
was because there is a tunnel to smuggle weapons, and the army started to destroy
houses and occupied the area. But there were no tunnels. Some of the soldiers
went on the roof of a building and shot my friend Bilal. His condition is now
dangerous. The occupation army doesn't know the difference between the tree
or the stone, the child or the old man. They use military vehicles to surround
us.
There was one tank and one bulldozer on my street, and they shot everyone who
went outside his house. The children felt very afraid.
When I heard the shooting, I went out on the balcony to find out what was happening.
I heard the ambulance approaching. I heard someone say that some people were
dangerously injured. I went outside and saw my friend Bilal and the blood falling
from his head. 2 hours later, I heard that Bilal was a martyr. I didn't believe
it. I called the hospital to know the truth. They said, no, he wasn't, but he
was still in critical condition.
When I went out on the balcony again, I heard a voice calling to me, again,
and again, and again. It was a soldier occupying a nearby building. I'm sure
he wanted to shoot me. I heard a lot of shooting, and my mother shouted in a
loud voice, "Run away!" I escaped off the balcony and stayed in the
house. The bullets went into the wall of my house and my family was very afraid.
We all went to the safest room in the house.
The next day, the army withdrew from the area and I went outside to know what
had happened to my neighbors and to Bilal. I saw the demolished houses and I
saw my friend Bilal's blood still on the ground. I thank my God that nobody
in my family was injured during this incursion. I ask my god to make the army
withdraw from Palestine and make us victorious.
[notes by editor]
* They all talked about the incursion on 19th-22nd Jan.2004.
* a map of Gaza strip (incl. Rafah)
http:
//www.palestinercs.org/images/Maps/gazamaplg.jpg
* reference
"The IDF's shooting range" By Gideon Levy [Ha'atrez (15 Feb 2004)]
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/394153.html
Reports from Rafah - Palestine
http://www.rafah.vze.com/
(edited by The Nablus Newsj
"The Nablus News" is an e-mail based online magazine whose aim is to let people in Japan hear the voices of Occupied Palestine and to learn about life under the occupation. It is usually sent in Japanese average twice a week.
The Nablus News came into being in the (northern) winter of 2002 in response to a lecture tour given by a Nablus man from the West Bank. He came to Japan to tell us about the plight of his homeland. Inspired by his talk, we in Kyoto decided to continue informing the people reading in Japanese about what is happening in Palestine, using the online magazine format. Recently we have concentrated our reporting on the construction of the "apartheid" walls and the destruction at Rafah. We aim to translate as many important articles and news items as possible, many of which are not reported in the mainstream media, so that the Japanese reader can have a better understanding of the conflict.
In this way, we in Japan become eye-witnesses of the conflict. When information is available, we cannot say we did not know.We are all responsible.