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In the afternoon, the soldiers in my house went crazy and began throwing water from the windows of my house down on the yard of my parents-in-law. They threw 6-7 buckets of water. Why? We still have no answer.
At about 3 o’clock after midnight, we were awakened by the sound and noise coming from the soldiers in my house, who were
singing very loud and beating and striking metallic objects. Of course they were singing in Hebrew. It sounded like a sad song. I thought they were bored and feeling lonely. Or maybe because they were not allowed to sleep or couldn’t sleep, they were making it hard for us to sleep by disturbing us. They envy even our sleep. The singing went on for 2 hours. It seemed that two of them were taking part in the singing. Their voices were so loud, so distinct, so clear in
the stillness of the night. We couldn’t go to bed. Nammor asked me about the meaning of the song. I told him that I didn’t know Hebrew. Only then, I regretted the fact that I hadn’t learned Hebrew. I believe that it is necessary for us to learn the language of our enemy. Monday April 15, 2002 The first thing we did this morning was to look at the windows to check whether the soldiers had left or not. “They are still here”. Nana told us in a low sad voice. “The curfew is still on” she added. We made bread for breakfast, which was served later than usual. My mother-in-law, who couldn’t sleep last night, wanted to
have an afternoon nap when suddenly heavy shooting awakened her. She was upset and tied to go back to sleep again but couldn’t due to the intensity of shooting. She sat down for a while, walked to the kitchen and then back to the room. Being an active woman who was accustomed to daily housework, she found herself paralyzed and unable to carry out her daily routine. Finally, she decided to clean the house and furniture as a way of passing time, and of economizing on
water. She didn’t call for help, and spent at least 2 hours dusting the furniture, tables, chairs, drawers, carpets and floors. During these two hours, the shooting didn’t cease. I busied myself with some needlework; I sewed the tear in Nana’s pajamas and a button on Nammor’s shirt. After that, I sat in the doorway on the floor for two hours. I sat there doing nothing, saying nothing and thinking of nothing, or maybe thinking of an answer to one question that is not
only difficult to ask but also difficult to answer: “What is happening and why?” Our lunch was lentils and rice cooked together. Usually, we have this dish with salad or yogurt. Today, we served it without any of them. When my father-in-law told me earlier in the
day that he heard voices of women inside my house, I didn’t believe him. But when my kids got me to sneak to a place from where I could see the soldiers going up the stairs carrying their daily food supply, I saw 3 women soldiers; a fat one, a short thin one and a tall thin one. They were carrying boxes and sacks along with two men soldiers. It seemed that the first mission for the soldiers in our house was to shoot every now and then specially at night in order to disturb
and frighten us. The second one was to eat, sleep in our beds, use our blankets and sheets, mess with our personal things, have sex in our beds and to have these actions justified as self-defense. It was a five-star army in a five-star house. Our neighbor told us that his neighbor had his car inside his garage, and could charge his mobile phone, so we sent our mobile
phone to be charged. For the first time in 10 days, we could call relatives and make sure they were O.K. I called a friend of mine who lives in the same area where I live. She lives in a huge ten-story building with three flats on every floor. She cried bitterly when she described to me how the soldiers came at night and took over the whole building. They ordered all the families out of their flats who had to leave all their belongings behind and the doors open. They
were not even allowed to take their money or personal documents or even milk and diapers for their kids. They left in their nightgowns and pajamas. They were all herded into a first floor apartment. There were about 72 persons, including men, women, babies, children and pregnant women. They were ordered not to leave the flat or even open the door without the soldiers’ permission. The soldiers, who were in and out all the flats, placed the snipers on the higher floors,
and kept on shooting, day and night. She told me that they could hear the soldiers move on the stairs, shouting and yelling sometimes and shooting heavily at other times. She also told me that they were terrified and the children kept on crying, which made their nights restless. They shared the food in the flats on the first floor when they ran out of food, after
taking the soldiers’ permission. The old men and women decided to spare their food for the children. It was unimaginable how 72 bodies, 72 souls, 72 breaths were all thrust into one flat of 2 rooms, a hall, a bathroom and a kitchen! They managed to call the Red Cross people who tried to help them but were forced to go back by the snipers who opened fire on them. The Red Cross crew tried again and again and finally gave up and left. She told me that as they ran out of
food, the children began to shout and scream so loud than the soldiers were annoyed and kept banging on the door and yelling “Shut up”. She told me that only the previous day, an ambulance managed to reach them and extend help. They were given water, rice, oil and some flour. I told her that although it was hard for me to imagine such a horrible situation, I could understand how it felt when someone had to leave his own house and stay with a crowd in a small place. We
shared the same problem. We talked for such a long time that the mobile phone went dead. God! What more could happen? What more was hidden for us? Should we thank God for at least being alive? What a life! It isn’t fair. God is punishing us and rewarding the Israelis by giving them our lands, power and America’s support. Have we done something wrong, something so heinous we deserve such humiliation, tyranny and a miserable life? Doesn't history and religion show that
good guys always win over bad guys? Are these ideas simply fairytales? There must be something wrong either in this rule or in those who formulated it. Are we really bad guys? Are they really good guys? Why is life treating us this way? Will there be an end? When? How? How could fair and just God give somebody absolute power and authority to tyrannize and oppress
somebody else? Such an act would contradict God’s own work. Some people say: “It is a test. God is testing our patience, faith and will”. They say that victory is ours when (if) we pass the test. I believe that this is a very difficult ordeal because the conditions around it are unfair and the bosses are wicked. However, God is greater and is the greatest. I still believe in God's fairness and justice. I still have hope and determination. I will never lose hope.
Victory will be ours one day. Today, we talked to our neighbor who complained that the baby’s condition got worse. She said that she tried giving him 7-up® and this remedy seemed to work. Last night was a hell of a night! At 12 o’clock, the soldiers began to shoot like
crazy. The shooting lasted for 30 minutes. We got really scared. The kids were awake. At about 1 o’clock, Nammor told me that he had an upset stomach so I took him to the bathroom and stayed with him holding his hand since he was afraid of the shooting. Then I brought him back to his bed. Twenty or thirty minutes later, he told me that he still felt pain and he felt like vomiting, so I took him again to the bathroom. He threw up, stumbled in a daze and quietly went back to
bed. At about 2 o’clock we heard two big explosions and an Apache helicopter flying low nearby. In the distance sounds of tanks and military vehicles moving in the main streets permeated the night. It was difficult to distinguish whether they were leaving or coming into the city; without warning the soldiers began shooting again. Nadeen who was asleep jumped and curled
herself up next to me and buried her little body into mine. Nammor extended his arm over his little sister searching for my hand, which he held tightly. What a night! What was happening outside? We couldn’t tell.
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Part 4 Tuesday April 16, 2002 We woke up this morning to a knock at the door. We got scared since it could be soldiers. The man knocking identified himself. It was our neighbor. My mother-in-law opened the door and asked him immediately: “How did you get here?” He told us that he believed that the soldiers had left our house because at about 3
o’clock last night he saw the soldiers come down the stairs and enter the tank and leave, shooting heavily. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Pictures of soldiers inside my house kept passing my brain. I walked forward and backward in disbelief. I felt hypnotized. My legs dragged me to the door. I was moving slowly and heavily. I wanted to go quickly to have a look at the windows of my
house, but hesitated. I couldn't hear any of the sounds or voices around me. I didn't recognize the faces that passed me. I didn't know whether to be happy or not. What shall I do? I awoke up from my thoughts at the voice of my mother-in-law suggesting, "Let us go and see". We all rushed
to our house. We were impatient. Our neighbor was right; they had left. I was the last to arrive at the front door, which was broken. To my surprise the guestroom was empty of furniture. There wasn’t a single item; the chairs, the sofas, the carpets, tables, corner and even the pictures on the wall were all gone. There was nothing but the curtains. I was shocked. Why did they empty the
guest room? Why did they need the space? I moved to the living room and was out of my mind to see a huge pile of furniture in one corner of the hall. All the furniture of the two rooms was heaped in a pile of wood, metals, glass, mirrors and other things. The carpets four were rolled and placed on top of the pile. “What was this? It was crazy. I entered my kitchen, my kingdom. There was an awful smell coming from the fridge. As I opened it, I felt it was like opening sewage pipes. Worms wiggled everywhere, on the meat, the eggs, the fruits and vegetables. Everything was rotten, and changed its size, shape and color, and turned into thick watery objects. I
couldn’t stand the smell, and decided to go to the bathroom. As I turned I was surprised to see the crowd of neighbors who arrived to see what had happened to my house. Overwhelmed by what I discovered, I failed to notice their presence around me. I didn't distinguish their faces, nor did I figure out their speech. My body was there but my mind was missing. |
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The soldiers occupying Wafa's home stole her camera, so she's unable to provide photographs of the damage. However destroying Palestinian families and homes is not unusual.
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These photographs were taken August 6th, 2004 documenting the destruction by Israeli soldiers of another civilian's home in Nablus. Photos courtesy of Konstantin Kilibarda,
Nablus, Palestine
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Nothing is left untouched. The soldiers defecate, urinate and ejaculate throughout the homes. destroying, furniture, carpets, artwork and memories while piling up garbage, munitions and pornography. These are civilians who've done nothing wrong except be born Arab and practice either Christianity or Islam.
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In this picture, (courtesy of the ISM) a Palestinian woman looks in horror at the Israeli Missile shot through her home in 2003. Fortunately her family escaped unharmed. 91% of Israeli Attacks on Palestinians are attacks on civilians, not terrorists. The object is to make living in Palestine so difficult, the Christians and Muslims will leave.
This ethnic cleansing is heavily supported and funded by groups including the Christian Coalition, The 700 Club and the Anti-Defamation League via US taxpayer money, political clout and munitions.
As you can see, this has very little to do with "fighting terrorism" and everything to do with creating the situations that cause it. The United States is directly responsible. If you want to know why the Arab world is angry at the United States, Wafa's story illustrates the root reason.
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I went into the bathroom, which was dirty and stinking. It seems they had defecated on the floor instead of using the toilet. My mother-in-law has always been proud of my clean home specially the kitchen and toilets. Then I went upstairs. The steps were dirty and full of sand, spots of different kinds, sizes and colors, cigarette butts, empty cans and plastic bags, and used
toilet paper. The real mess was in my bedroom where the snipers spent their days and nights. The room was upside down. There were no beds. There were piles of blankets, sheets, and clothes on the floor. The walls were all covered with my brand new blankets that I kept in the storeroom. The blankets were nailed on the walls. The room was darker and there was a thick acrid smell that was strange. The drawers were all open and most of them were empty. There was a pile of
towels and underwear. The curtains were in two piles on the floor also. A chest of drawers that belonged to the girls’ room was in my room with empty drawers. It was unbelievable. The soldiers have used my house for their own purposes, which were unacceptable and illogical what so ever. But why did they sabotage its contents before they left? Weren't they supposed to
be thankful for us for using it? Weren't they supposed to be grateful for not being hit or injured? They have treated us as their enemies. But who is the real enemy? Who is crueler? Whose heart dwells in darkness? The girls’ room was not in any better shape. Two beds were placed, one on top of the other, with their mattresses, blankets and sheets removed. I remembered
that I saw the sheets down stairs among the furniture. I noticed parts of our beds placed on top on the third bed. The floor was also dirty. The furniture in the living room was piled in one corner. Next to the wall we discovered the remaining pieces of our beds. The color of the carpet had changed and become darker due to the sand, garbage, toilet paper and food stains and other stuff. Nammor’s room was also messy and the floor full of sand since it seemed to have
been used the snipers at the window that over looks the street. The bathroom was awful, and in the bath tub there was a pile of towels, clothes and the shower curtain. NEXT
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