Martha Yager is the Coordinator of the American Friends Service
Committee's program in Southeastern New England.
Full Article:
The AFSC/Interfaith Peacebuilders Delegation members stood on a small hill overlooking the Gaza Strip. This was as close as we could get, as the border is sealed by Israel. In the hazy distance we could see the buildings of Gaza City. Behind us was the Israeli city of Sderot, with a population of about 20,000. It was quiet and beautiful. As our guide, the local director of security, spoke to us about the rockets that come from Gaza and pointed to where they landed, his beeper went off. "That usually means a launch" he said casually. We scanned the sky while he spoke on the phone.
Fifteen seconds. That is the amount of time between launch and impact in Israel. There were no bomb shelters here, as there are everywhere in town. We each tasted the anxiety the Israelis in Sderot experience several times every day. By the time he was off the phone, well more than 15 seconds had elapsed and we went back to talking about the effects of daily rocket attacks on the Sderot area. Later he showed us a collection of rocket fragments, including one from a rocket that had landed that morning.
Mika, our hostess for the afternoon, talked about how the constant fear wears on the people of Sderot, how children have trouble concentrating in school and many older ones are embarrassed by bedwetting. Adults quarrel often and they, too, have trouble concentrating. Eric spoke of his efforts to maintain communication with his friends in Gaza. Both Mika and Eric ended their comments about their own community's struggles by noting that the people of Gaza have it so much worse. "They are in a big prison, with no jobs and not enough food and no goods getting in. They have no hope. And they can't leave. We can." They were clear that the Israeli policies that are destroying Gaza are also the reason for the rocket attacks on their city and that there cannot be peace while this level of devastation continues.
Same Conflict, Different Stories
At this point it becomes difficult continuing to tell one story. This was my experience. But as is often the case with Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, it is necessary to tell at least two narratives about a common event. Mika and Eric are unusual in their insistence on continuing to call the people of Gaza their neighbors and in viewing the rockets not simply as weapons of aggression but as frantic pleas to the world to see and respond to the crisis in Gaza. We need to add the official Israeli government narrative. And we need to add the narrative of the people of Gaza.
Israel's response to each homemade Qassam rocket is swift and massive. The daily routine is much like the one we witnessed: A couple of Qassam rockets land in and near Sderot, causing no damage or injuries, and two helicopters fly in to attack Palestinian "targets." The nightly news reported four dead in Gaza, one described as a Hamas fighter, and one a child. A report by Btselem, an Israeli human rights group, said Israeli security forces killed 290 Gaza residents in 2007.1 According to the Internal Security Force Shin Bet figures published in January, 13 Israelis were killed in attacks in 2007 -- seven civilians and six soldiers.2 Any questions about the disproportionate nature of the violence, which we asked about many times, were always dismissed with "It is for security purposes." End of conversation.
The Gaza narrative tells of more than a million people under siege in an area one-tenth the size of Rhode Island (which also has a population of about a million). The borders, controlled by Israel, have been sealed since June 2007. Thousands of laborers have lost their jobs both in Israel and in Gaza. Hundreds of businesses have gone bankrupt due to import and export limitations. Life-saving treatments are no longer available in Gaza's hospitals and 17% of patients with referrals to hospitals outside of Gaza have been denied exit. Only emergency food supplies (sugar, rice, flour, and oil) from the UN are allowed in. Water is contaminated as there are no spare parts to fix broken water purification systems and there is no fuel to power functioning systems. The sewage system is broken down and raw sewage runs in the streets.3 In addition to almost daily attacks by the Israeli Defense Force, Israel has imposed periodic power blackouts on the entire Gaza Strip. 4 The level of despair grows daily. Yet the world hears almost nothing of this humanitarian crisis.
Speaking Out in the US
When the members of our delegation asked what we could do, Israelis and Palestinians both told us to work on the policies of the US government. It is the US's silence that allows Israel to collectively punish the entire population of Gaza, which is prohibited by the Geneva Conventions. We can call for immediate humanitarian aid for Gaza. It is the US that pours vast amounts of money and weapons into Israel, making the helicopter attacks possible. We can write letters to the editor calling attention to the siege of Gaza. And we can appeal to our Congressional delegations to end this humanitarian nightmare. And finally, taking advantage of the election year in the US, we can ask Presidential candidates to call for an end to collective punishment of an occupied territory5 and for immediate humanitarian relief -- this strategy gives visibility to the crisis and also puts candidates on record as to how they will address such problems.
Citations available on request.
For More Information
www.afsc.org/israel-palestine/activism/default.htm [5]