A Handful of Dirt, and Maybe a Documentary Too

Damascus is full of cultural events. Recently I attended a film festival which was showing films from all over the world, for free. “Slingshot Hip-Hop” was the film that caught my attention in the program. A film made by a Palestinian-American about hip-hop in Palestine, that sounds right up my alley. My Palestinian friend, Khalid (see previous post/email A Handful of Dirt, That's All I Ask), attended the film with me.

There were truly great moments in the film. Scenes of the lyricists flowing their politically charged lyrics to scores of Palestinian youth. Lines such as, “Miin il haalbii? Ana haalbii? La, inte halbii (Who is a terrorist? I am a terrorist? No, you are a terrorist.” These angry lyrics came out of the 2nd intifada when young Palestinian men were targeted for being young men. The lyrics respond by saying, 'don't call me a terrorist, when you are the one detaining me, threatening me, torturing me, bombing me, and demolishing my home; you are the terrorist.'

Other scenes depict a Palestinian living in '48 (Israel), who is boarding an Israeli bus full of soldiers. The Palestinian rapper talks about what's it's like to get on an Israeli bus as an Arab. He recalls being young and speaking Hebrew with his Arab friends when they were in public places because it made them stand out less. But after the 2nd intifada, he decided to stop being ashamed of who he was. Now he boards a bus and speaks Arabic, even though it causes soldiers to raise their eyebrows, especially if he is carrying a backpack.

See the film if you can, it's brilliant. It shows an alternative form of resistance: rap. These musicians write music that speaks to Palestinian youth, and they stay involved in young people's lives, so that they don't get into drugs, but instead, they start to actively resist the occupation, rather than being silent.

At the beginning of the film, the filmmaker asked how many Palestinians were in the house. My friend Khalid raised his hand with force, and with a big smile. He looked at me and exclaimed, “Yeah, I am Palestinian.”

After the film, Khalid and I talked quite a bit about the film. He quite liked the film, but it was hard for him to watch. It's hard to see a place that he desperately hopes to visit, but knows he may never see it, except on the silver screen. Khalid already had heard much of the music in the film, and knew most of the words. Of course we talked some about the Palestine issue at large, and America's role in perpetuating the injustice.

There was a pause in our discussion, Khalid turned to me with tears in his eyes, “When she asked if there were any Palestinians in the theatre...I was so proud to raise my hand.” I had nothing to say, except for the tears that started running down my face too.

- - - - - - -

Later that evening, Khalid invited me to stay with him at his home in the refugee camp, I accepted. When I stepped foot into his room, I was amazed. His room was awesome! The decorations were amazing. Pictures, flags, maps of Palestine adorned the walls. The largest map had the village of his mother and father circled with a Sharpie pen. The Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish (often called the voice of Palestinian people), was all over the walls: pictures of his face and excerpts from his poems. Yasser Arafat, Che Guevera, Marcel Khalife (musician who often writes music to Darwish's poems), were some of the faces who covered the walls. Scribbles of “Free Palestine” in English and Arabic were all over.

It struck me what a large part of Khalid's identity comes from his Palestinian roots. He desperately longs to see this land, and to meet these people. I pray to a justice-loving God, that Khalid may see his dreams come true, that the blanket of injustice that covers the Palestinian people will be lifted. Amen.

A Handful of Dirt, That's All I Ask

Arabs are generally curious about why a young foreigner is learning Arabic.  The problem is that the place where I hope to use my Arabic is often called “Disneyland” by foreigners in Syria. 

The Israel-Palestine issue (hereon referred to as Disneyland) is a difficult issue for Syrians to talk about.  Even if you establish your disgust with the policies of Israel, the conversation is difficult if not impossible.  Israel stole part of Syria, and had settlers move into a part of Syria called the Golan Heights (see previous post).  Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees are in Syria, in between the Palestinian community and the Syrian community.  The government doesn't allow Israel to be discussed because they don't recognize the means through which Israel was born, or how it continues to retain its land and its power.  Thus, for various reasons and because of individual's experiences, Syrians don't like to talk about Disneyland. 

I recently found myself sitting with two young Palestinian-Syrians.  Each of them was studying English Literature at the University of Damascus.  Each of them had read far more Shakespeare and T.S. Eliot than I ever have, quite impressive cause it's confusing enough to me, a native speaker.  As my flatmate, myself, and these young Palestinians laughed, talked, and shared proverbs and idioms in English and Arabic, the conversation eventually came to the forbidden, “Sam, why are you learning Arabic.”

I tried to brush it off, because you know, I am just studying spoken Arabic, not classical Arabic like my flatmate.  And, it's just for my work, you know, for my work I need to improve my spoken Arabic. 

“Really, well what's your work?” 

I turned to my flatmate and gave him a nervous smile.  Shoot, I don't know how to get around it this time, and these people seem really cool, maybe it won't be such a big deal. 

“I live and work in Palestine, in the West Bank.” 

I got blank stares.  “What do you do there?”

I began to explain the work, which felt like the hugest episode of preaching to the choir in history.  Well, there are problems with the settlers, oh yeah, you know, that's why your mom and dad got kicked out of their house and their homeland when they were five.

Then it dawned on me.  I am an IDIOT.  It's not a big deal to talk about this because Disneyland is a sensitive issue for the government and thus for Syrians.  This is a big deal for an ENTIRELY different reason. 

I have been to Palestine, and I can travel there freely, whenever the hell I want.  But Jameela and Khalid, the Palestinian-Syrians who I was speaking with, have never been to Palestine.  They can't go.  Israel won't let Palestinians return to their homes, to the land where generation after generation of Jameela and Khalid's family lived.  I am such an idiot.  For a moment, I wished I had never been to Palestine.  I wished I could have gone back in time and heard them talk about how they wish they could go see the village their parents, grandparents, and great grandparents were born.  I wished I had never been to Palestine.  If they can't go, I shouldn't be able go. 

I offered some cheap apology about how I wish they could go see the place of their heritage and their family.  I bumbled over it being a tragedy that I am allowed to go, but they are not. 

In the middle of my apology, Khalid developed a serious expression over his face.  “Are you coming back to Syria after you go back to Palestine?”  I wasn't sure of the intention of his question. 

“Yeah, I hope to come back for some language study sometime next year.”

Khalid leaned forward, getting as close to me as possible.

“Sam, please go to my village just outside of Haifa.  Bring me back something.  A rock, a handful of dirt, anything.  Please, I am very serious about this.”

The weight and significance of his request hit me immediately. 

Khalid pulled out his flash drive and showed me pictures of his village and his family in Palestine.  The photos were black and white and had been scanned onto a computer.  The first photo showed his grandmother, uncle, and father sitting outside of their home in Palestine.  As I scrolled through the pictures, I came upon the pictures of the village that someone had taken in 1987, almost 40 years after the Nakba of 1948.  The landscape was stunningly green.  Olive tree orchards surrounded by tall green grass, all sitting in a valley surrounded by rolling hills.  Khalid pointed to a pile of stones in the photo.  “Here is one of the homes, they were all destroyed when my family had to leave.”

- - - - -

This is a sensitive issue for a lot of reasons.  But it doesn't stem from some oppressive regime which hates Israel and wants all Jews to burn in the fire of Allah.  Come on, think harder than that. 

This is a sensitive, crazy, terrible issue because it involves a lot of real people.  Real people like Khalid and Jameela, who have never seen their homes or the land of their ancestors.  Real people like Khalid and Jameela's parents, who were born in Palestine and left for Syria when they were young kids, confused wondering why they had to leave, yet never have been able to return. 

- - - - -

Later in the evening, Khalid told me of his plans to attend a university in Europe on a scholarship from the Palestinian Authority to get a masters degree in English Literature.  Khalid said that the biggest benefit of that would be that he might get a European passport, so that he could visit his homeland.  But the tragedy of the situation is that if his passport plan doesn't work, all he will get is a few rocks and a handful of dirt, brought to him by a North American.  

A Dispossessed People, A Destroyed Village, And Vivid Memories

My first day trip away from Damascus was to a place called Quneitra.  Quneitra is in an area called the Golan Heights.  The Golan Heights includes a section of land that comprises the border between Syria and Israel.  In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel annexed territory from Palestine, and also annexed the Golan Heights from Syria.  Israel wanted a buffer zone to protect against attacks from Syria.  Following the Yom Kippur War on 1973, a delicate arrangement was arranged between Israel and Syria, brokered by the U.S. In which Israel agreed to relinquish 450 square kilometers of the annexed territory.   

Enter, Quneitra.  Quneitra was the administrative capital of this region of Syria, the Golan Heights.   Israel's decision to relinquish a swath of the annexed territory back to Syria was not without consequence for the Syrian's of Quneitra.  As Israel withdrew from the 450 sq km, they destroyed everything in their path.  First, they evacuated 37,000 Syrians, and then they systematically and effectively wiped Quneitra off the map.

Quneitra is now a ghost town.  Banks, museums, shops and homes are at ground level, reduced to fist-sized chunks of concrete intermixed with mangled rebar.  Larger buildings such as mosques, schools, and hospitals have been shelled heavily with pockmarks scarring the remaining pillars and walls.   

The Golan is a particularly green and lush area, especially by Middle East standards.  The day I visited Quneitra, the wind was quite strong and light rain was being whipped around by the rain.  Fog sat on the horizon, limiting visibility.  Among the calm and quiet and beauty of the landscape, were scenes of the most destruction and desolation that I have ever seen. 

After traveling through the center of the town and traversing the barren staircase that once provided access to the 4 stories of the Quneitra hospital, we headed closer to the border between the UN controlled zone, and the rest of the Golan, which Israel now occupies and controls.  Looking out on the horizon, into the annexed Golan, you could see houses and cultivated fields.  I asked our driver if Syrians still live in the homes that we could see in the distance.  He assured us that many Syrians still live in the Golan, but family or friends who want to visit must obtain a permit from the Ministry of Interior.  Many young people leave the Golan for many years to finish school and then return to live with their families.  These Syrians who travel back and forth in the territories, face Israeli and UN troops and are made to cross many checkpoints after applying for numerous required permits.  But after talking about the Syrians, our driver reminded us that Israeli settlers also live in the Golan.  The settlers came in 1981, solidifying Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights.   

Continuing down the road to the border gate, I saw a sign in the distance.  I squinted and made out a sign which stopped me dead in my tracks...  

“Welcome to Israel” 

There were also Israeli flags dotting the barbwire fence which demarcated the border.  It felt so unfair.  I didn't know what to say or do.   

One of the other people with us, asked our driver, “Is that Israel over there?”

“No, it's Syria.  It's all Syria.” 

Getting back in the car, my eyes were glued to the window of the van, to see once more the destruction and devastation that was brought upon Quneitra.  As I talked with the driver on the way back, I found that he was from Quneitra. 

“Wow I didn't know.  Do you remember 1967?  Do you remember 1973?  Do you remember it all?”

“Of course.  I remember it all.  I remember everything.  It's hard to forget.”

Justice: The Only Guarentee of Peace

This a column I submitted to the PLNU newspaper. It's a column regarding the crisis in Gaza.

I am opposed to war and violence. Therefore I am vehemently opposed to the tactics employed by both parties in the recent war in Gaza. Hamas’ continuing rocket attacks on southern Israel, and similarly, Israel’s sophisticated air assault and ground invasion of Gaza are both morally bankrupt actions.

The problem with the current analysis of this conflict is that we start the analysis only a few months ago, when Hamas increased their rocket attacks on Israel. We think that sometime in the recent past, bearded Islamist fundamentalists, haters of diversity, democracy, and Judaism, decided to start attacking their closest democratic neighbor.

We need to take a few steps backward.

When the State of Israel was born in 1948, Palestinians experienced this as the Nakba, meaning, the catastrophe. Over 700,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes in order that Israeli Jews would comprise a majority in the territory, hoping to provide a safe-haven following the genocide of Jews in the holocaust.

In 1967, Israel forcefully took control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which were previously governed by Egypt and Jordan respectively. Thus began the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

For more than 40 years, Palestinian Gazans have lived under the watchful eye of Israeli military. Palestinians constantly have to show identity cards to Israeli military, face long waits at Israeli checkpoints and roadblocks, and are forced to stay inside the Strip under poor conditions. According to the UN, 45% of Gazans are unemployed (the highest rate in the world) as 95% of factories in Gaza have closed in recent years. 70% of Gazans live on less than $1.20 per day.

Some say that Palestinian Gazans have brought this on themselves, arguing that Israel completely withdrew from the Strip in 2005, leaving it up to Palestinians to govern the territory. Others argue the Israeli occupation continues as Israel regulates every good, gallon of fuel, and drop of water that comes into the Strip by controlling all border crossings.

The situation worsened for Gazans in 2006 following the democratic election of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Despite the legitimacy of the election, harsh economic sanctions were placed on Gaza and the border crossings were completely closed when Hamas took power.

Now we arrive at the 2008-2009 Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip. As of now, over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed, 410 children and 104 women. 13 Israelis were killed in the fighting, 3 of which were civilians.

I condemn the killing on both sides. Those who bomb civilian populations should be prosecuted for war crimes. Nevertheless, 60 years of cruel oppression along with the current Israeli siege of Gaza, certainly provides justification for Palestinian resistance to the Israeli siege and occupation. Condemning the chosen means of resistance from our ivory towers is useless as long as Palestinians are cruelly oppressed in the open air prison known as the Gaza Strip.

Israel cannot bomb its way into peaceful coexistence with Palestinian militants, nor can the United States secure safety from Islamic jihadists by providing Israel with fighter jets and bombs to carry out their missions. But rather, the violent subjugation and oppression of the Palestinian people in Gaza will surely intensify the armed resistance in Gaza and will push Palestinians to respond through the only means that Israel has demonstrated, violence. Rockets fired into Israel are clearly a response to the cruel Israeli siege and occupation of Gaza, and the subsequent humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The time I have spent in Israel/Palestine has shown me that as long as the subjugation of the Palestinian people continues, as long as Palestinians are treated as less than human beings, Palestinians will resist, and frankly we are not in a position to choose which form of resistance they will employ. Whether we are pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian, or pro-peace, we can agree on a solution to the conflict: grant Palestinians the dignity, respect, and freedom to which all human beings are entitled. The first step is a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which will provide Palestinians the ability to work, move, and live. This and only this, will provide the foundation and framework for lasting justice and peace.

60 Minutes Reports of Israeli Apartheid in the West Bank

This is the most accurate picture of the West Bank I have EVER seen reported by the U.S. Media.

"Has peace in the Middle East become nothing more than a pipe dream? As Bob Simon reports, a growing number of Israelis and Palestinians feel that a two-state solution is no longer possible."


Watch CBS Videos Online

Here is an interview with Dr. Martin Luther King from Meet the Press in August 1967. The whole video is good, but focus on the question at the 16:30 minute mark. The relevancy of Dr. King's answer speaks volumes to the current situation in Gaza.

When Israel Expelled Palestinians: What if it was San Diego and Tijuana Instead?

*This is an incredibly important article, something I feel very strongly about. This is a fantastic summation of the crisis in Gaza, and brings home this reality for those of us familiar with the San Diego/Tijuana region.

by Randall Kuhn, from the Washington Times

In the wake of Israel's invasion of Gaza, Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak made this analogy: "Think about what would happen if for seven years rockets had been fired at San Diego, California from Tijuana, Mexico."

Within hours scores of American pundits and politicians had mimicked Barak's comparisons almost verbatim. In fact, in this very paper on January 9 House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor ended an opinion piece by saying "America would never sit still if terrorists were lobbing missiles across our border into Texas or Montana." But let's see if our political and pundit class can parrot this analogy.

Think about what would happen if San Diego expelled most of its Hispanic, African American, Asian American, and Native American population, about 48 percent of the total, and forcibly relocated them to Tijuana? Not just immigrants, but even those who have lived in this country for many generations. Not just the unemployed or the criminals or the America haters, but the school teachers, the small business owners, the soldiers, even the baseball players.

What if we established government and faith-based agencies to help move white people into their former homes? And what if we razed hundreds of their homes in rural areas and, with the aid of charitable donations from people in the United States and abroad, planted forests on their former towns, creating nature preserves for whites to enjoy? Sounds pretty awful, huh? I may be called anti-Semitic for speaking this truth. Well, I'm Jewish and the scenario above is what many prominent Israeli scholars say happened when Israel expelled Palestinians from southern Israel and forced them into Gaza. But this analogy is just getting started.

What if the United Nations kept San Diego's discarded minorities in crowded, festering camps in Tijuana for 19 years? Then, the United States invaded Mexico, occupied Tijuana and began to build large housing developments in Tijuana where only whites could live.

And what if the United States built a network of highways connecting American citizens of Tijuana to the United States? And checkpoints, not just between Mexico and the United States but also around every neighborhood of Tijuana? What if we required every Tijuana resident, refugee or native, to show an ID card to the U.S. military on demand? What if thousands of Tijuana residents lost their homes, their jobs, their businesses, their children, their sense of self worth to this occupation? Would you be surprised to hear of a protest movement in Tijuana that sometimes became violent and hateful? Okay, now for the unbelievable part.

Think about what would happen if, after expelling all of the minorities from San Diego to Tijuana and subjecting them to 40 years of brutal military occupation, we just left Tijuana, removing all the white settlers and the soldiers? Only instead of giving them their freedom, we built a 20-foot tall electrified wall around Tijuana? Not just on the sides bordering San Diego, but on all the Mexico crossings as well. What if we set up 50-foot high watchtowers with machine gun batteries, and told them that if they stood within 100 yards of this wall we would shoot them dead on sight? And four out of every five days we kept every single one of those border crossings closed, not even allowing food, clothing, or medicine to arrive. And we patrolled their air space with our state-of-the-art fighter jets but didn't allow them so much as a crop duster. And we patrolled their waters with destroyers and submarines, but didn't even allow them to fish.

Would you be at all surprised to hear that these resistance groups in Tijuana, even after having been "freed" from their occupation but starved half to death, kept on firing rockets at the United States? Probably not. But you may be surprised to learn that the majority of people in Tijuana never picked up a rocket, or a gun, or a weapon of any kind.

The majority, instead, supported against all hope negotiations toward a peaceful solution that would provide security, freedom and equal rights to both people in two independent states living side by side as neighbors. This is the sound analogy to Israel's military onslaught in Gaza today. Maybe some day soon, common sense will prevail and no corpus of misleading analogies abut Tijuana or the crazy guy across the hall who wants to murder your daughter will be able to obscure the truth. And at that moment, in a country whose people shouted We Shall Overcome, Ich bin ein Berliner, End Apartheid, Free Tibet and Save Darfur, we will all join together and shout "Free Gaza. Free Palestine." And because we are Americans, the world will take notice and they will be free, and perhaps peace will prevail for all the residents of the Holy Land.