I have a few minutes for checking email & found Linda Bevis had sent out this email from a young Palestinian woman she has known since the girl was a child. Jerusalem is bleeding right now. We hear all the details of the occasional killing of an Israeli Jew by a Palestinian, but hear nothing of the daily killings & beatings, & harassments of Palestinians by Israeli Jews & the military. Strange Fruit, the song made famous by Billie Holiday came to the mind of Raya as she faced her reality this day: via Linda Bevis, who says: Ive known Raya since she was 4 or 5, a little girl born in Ramallah, Palestine. Now, she has an MA from the London School of Economics and she works in a human rights organization in Jerusalem. This is what she wrote this morning. Subject: Hello from a cloudy sky Hello dears, As usual at this time, I am at my office in Jerusalem, I feel very angry, hungry, mad, and a little bit of happiness, I do realize that it is a weird mixture. This would be the closest description to the schizophrenic atmosphere we live in in this country. I woke up, planning to have a good start of a day, put on some music, prepared breakfast for my mom, while everyone was still asleep. I decided to take it slow, so I took a taxi (instead of public transportation) because I was late, it took me to Qalandia Checkpoint. Qlandia checkpoint is the main checkpoint between the northern West Bank and Jerusalem. The checkpoint is used by the Israeli military to control Palestinian access to East Jerusalem and 48 territories (Israel) .Israel requires Palestinians to have permits to pass through the checkpoint to East Jerusalem for their work, medical care, education or for religious reasons, the percentage of those who get a permit by the Israeli authorities is less than 10% of Palestinians. I have one because I work in an International Organization. The daily routine would be standing in a line (More like a cage) with iron barriers were you can only move in a space of 10cm iron barriers on your left and right and people behind and infront of you, after waiting up to 10 minutes you go through different paths for the body and bag check you wait for your turn from 15min to 40 min, depending on the situation. I cross the first section towards the second round of humiliation, I put my bag in the machine, put my earrings, my jacket, my shoes, my phone, coins, and anything metal I might have. I cross through that machine, like every morning, I show my ID to the Israeli soldier behind the glass, he checks it- looks again at my ID, then my permit, my eyes, then my face, then his computer to check and make sure that I am the same person, after that I give my fingerprint to another this stupid machine, I take my bag, put on my shoes, my jacket and cross through another barrier, and leave the military check point towards the buses that goes to Jerusalem. Jerusalem, is a sad city, more sad today than any other days, Jerusalem has been the occupied capital of Palestine, was never ever under our control, from one occupation to another- Jerusalem, is bleeding today and everyday. A genocide of place is happening. A memory of thousands of years is being destroyed to build a new memory. A memory if an occupier. Stones of thousands of years, that witnessed more than what books do share, are being controlled, reshaped to rewrite a fake history. Now Jerusalemites (Palestinians who live in Jerusalem) are trying to defend the city. Blood on the leaves and blood at the root. Palestine woke up this morning on an ugly action full of hate and racism lynching of Jerusalemite Father by Israeli settlers.A Palestinian bus driver (that works for Israeli company) was slaughtered inside the bus by Israeli settlers, they hanged him inside the bus. Today I kep listening to this track and I want to share it with you Please listen: https://youtube/watch?v=ughAVo2ZAag Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees. Pastoral scene of the gallant south, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh. Here is fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop. I got to learn that this poem was written by Abel Meeropol a Jewish American Writer who was a member of the communist party and wrote this song as a protest against lynchings in 1937. It is a sad day for me and for the city, as I like to connect by sharing happy moments, I like to connect by sharing sad ones as well. Raya
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 20:54:08 +0000
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