By Juan Kalvellido. Spanish. Graphic designer, Artist. originally posted on: palestinethinktank.com]]>
While
as a nation moving towards commemorating the Nakba day each Palestinian
has a story about that day. Among the Palestinians in Lebanon in the
sixties the tradition was to raise black flags to commemorate the 15th
of May and people stay at home to tell new generations what happened to
them in 1948.
On the 14th of May teachers used to devote the last two hours to tell pupils about the events of that period and how they lived it. We the pupils of that period would hear many stories of how Zionist terror organizations attacked their villages and pushed them to move on foot until they reach the Lebanese borders. Teachers told us stories about the resistance which the villagers with their limited resources showed to the invading Zionist terror organizations, and also about the tragedy which occurred in various places in Palestine.
There was a particular teacher whose account was particularly vivid. He was perhaps the only teacher who did not only tell of the brutality of the Zionist organizations but was critical of our ways of resisting the Zionist project. He went further and analyzed cultural and social patterns in the Palestinian culture in his efforts to understand what was wrong with us that we lost our homeland. Even though it was not always easy to understand what he said, he was the first teacher who told us not to be satisfied with the current culture which blames the Arab regimes alone for the failure of keeping Palestine. However from him I heard the first time the words that even if we are out of Palestine, Palestine is not out of us - words which I have repeated many times in my life.
Only once was the commemoration of that day totally different from others. One morning our headmaster along with a Lebanese army officer told us that they would take us to see Palestine. The school was electrified at the news. The younger pupils went to the older pupils to hear from them further details about the exiting trip. Our excitement increased when we saw the Lebanese army carriers had arrived to take us to the border area.
As we approached the border we experienced a feeling we had never
experienced before as all of us were born outside Palestine. When we
reached the furthest point of the border they informed us that we could
go few meters inside Palestine. It was the first time I walked on the
soil of Palestine, in the Galilee area which I had been told about
innumerable times. Just a few kilometers from there lay the village of
Bassa and further still the villages and cities of the Galilee,
Nazareth, Tiberius, and Safad.
Most of the children began to cry, and one of the teachers who tried to
calm down us was also crying. Then the pupils began to collect
Palestinian soil to bring back to their families.
Several years later I heard for the first time the idea of marching peacefully towards Palestine. The idea was proposed by one of my acquaintances. Many did not take his idea seriously and down played it. Yet I still remember his enthusiasm when he said we would march to our home - men, woman and kids - and if the Israelis shoot and kill we must continue marching towards our villages. Today the idea is being proposed by some Palestinian politicians. The Israeli media used the term “invasion” in order to associate this with violence. Yet the fact is when Palestinians march towards their villages they are not invading for the simple reason that nobody can invade his home country.
Moreover, the peaceful march towards Palestine is carrying the title of peace and coexistence between Palestinians and Israel, and must open Israeli eyes towards new horizons for peace and coexistence in Palestine. I think the idea is great and deserves to be studied deeply not only as part of commemorating the Nakba day but also as part of the Palestinian strategy to restore the Palestinian rights. It would permit Palestinians to implement UN resolution 149 peacefully; it would help in redefining the conflict in its historical dimension, as a conflict between the native Palestinians and the east European settlers. In recent days when I heard that 100,000 Palestinians in Lebanon will march on the 15th of May towards the border area with Palestine, I remember the time when we returned back and went a few meters into Palestine, yet it was a great moment because it gave us hope that the bell of return will ring one day in Palestine.
Originally published in Friends of Lebanon
*** Dr. Salim Nazzal, a Palestinian-Norwegian historian on the Middle East, was born and raised in Lebanon. He has written extensively on social and political issues in the region. He can be contacted at: snazzal5@gmail.com
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Credit:Mohammed Omer GAZA CITY, May 14 (IPS) - The Israeli siege of Gaza that has restricted access to food, water and medicine is now beginning to hit unborn children and newborn babies. "Many babies are born suffering from anaemia that they have inherited from their mothers," Dr Salah al-Rantisi, head of the women's health department at the Palestinian ministry of health in Gaza told IPS. And the mothers are becoming anaemic because they do not now get enough nutrition through pregnancy. That in turn happens because the Israeli blockade has choked the supply of food and medicines. Dr al-Rantisi also heads the women's health unit at Nasser hospital, where about 30 to 40 children are born every day. Many suffer from anaemia, he says. Anwaar Abu Daqqa, 30, has lost three babies prematurely. The foetuses were malformed as a result of lack of nutrition and medicine for the mother, Dr al-Rantisi said. And in the last case she reached hospital late because she could not find transport. "Premature babies born dangerously underweight is a daily and increasing phenomenon in Gaza's hospitals," he says. The Gaza Strip is poorer and harder hit than the West Bank, but there too there are well documented instances of women having to give birth at checkpoints because of restrictions on movement. The ministry of health says 9,000 to 10,000 babies are born in the Gaza Strip every month. Of every 1,000 born, 28 die from malnutrition, anaemia and other poverty-related causes. The ministry has no figures for surviving babies suffering from malnutrition. "There are many cases of pregnant women who need medicines that are not available in Gaza," al-Rantisi said. Most families could not afford them if they were available, he said. The World Bank said last month that the poverty rate in Gaza is now close to 67 percent and that economic growth last year was zero. One consequence of poverty is anaemia. The condition, a direct consequence of poor nutrition, is not new to Gaza. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported in 2002 that 19 percent of Gazans suffer from anaemia. That figure is estimated by UNRWA now to be 77.5 percent. Children receive on average only 61 percent of their daily need of calories from UN supplies. Many of the newly born have been hit by the political situation before they could open their eyes to the world. Of the many deliveries that take place at al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, no one can tell how many of these children could grow up to live happy and healthy lives. Through the many dangers has arisen awareness of this new one – that sanctions can hit Gazans quite literally prematurely. The fear of bombing comes later; the first dangers are the lack of food, water and medicines. Tahani Safi, 29, lies worrying about the caesarean section scheduled for the next day. She suffers from malnutrition, high blood pressure, diabetes, and a shortage of protective water around the child in the womb. There are many mothers with such difficulties. Such cases can be found at any hospital, but doctors say the number of cases of conditions a result of poor food and medical care in Gaza is now rising. Health authorities have warned that the life and health of countless unborn babies is in serious danger all across Gaza. So far 146 Gazans have died directly as a result of the Israeli siege, and the border closures and shortage of medication and health care this has brought, according to the ministry of health. The U.S. celebrated Mothers Day Sunday May 11. No one in Gaza did. (END/2008) www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42367 |
19th Little Rock, AR Juanita’s Cantina
20th New Orleans,
21st Dallas, TX The Loft
22nd Austin, TX Emo’s
25th Phoenix, AZ The Brick House
26th San Diego, CA Soma (Sidestage)
27th Los Angeles, CA The Roxy
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Tickets for these shows will not be available until the day of the show at the
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Tickets will be $20 cash.
There is a two ticket maximum per person. No cameras and cell
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