Housan
Today we were working in Housan again. We've been working there for the past two days. We're trying to help the village renovate a cistern (hm... maybe this isn't the right word) for a natural spring that provides the village with water. This is the last natural spring that the village posses, all of the other springs (I think there were three or four) have been confiscated by the Israelis. The course of the wall will ensure this final spring is confiscated as well, as the spring will end up on the west (Israeli) side of the wall. There is obviously little we can do about this, but we hope to leave a message for the Israelis on the wall of the cistern when it's finished. Also, there is some hope that through renovation, the village will be able to prove that the land belongs to them as there will be evidence that there has been recent work in the area. This is a small posibility due to a technicality in Israeli law, but in all likelyhood, the land will be confiscated anyway.
What does that mean, you ask? It means that the village has no source of water and will be forced to by water from the Israelis to meet its domestic and agricultrual needs. The economy in this village is not in good shape (I will explain the economic situation in agrian villages in later), as in all the villages we're working in, so paying for the water is gonna be tough.
There are many other stories from Housan. For example, one of the schools in the village was recently attacked by the Israeli military after they tried to impose a curfew on the village and the students refused to comply. Apparently the children, some as young as eight-years-old still have vivid memories of this. I've heard stories of eight year olds being lined up, forced to put their hands on a tank, and then hit on the hands with a wooden shaft.
Alright, so now I want to say abit about the economic situation Palestinian farmers find themselves in. (I know I'm jumping around a bit, but there is just so much to say and I don't have much time, so sorry if its a bit disorganized and incoherent at this point. I will organize my thoughts when I get home.) I just want to say before I write anything that I'm talking mainly about Nahalin, because that is where I've talked with the most local Palestinians, but its pretty much the same everywhere from what I've gathered.
Ok, so first there are major problems with transporting crops to market, often palestinians have to take indirect routes because main roads are blocked by gates and checkpoints. I heard a story two days ago from a farmer in Nahalin that he left at 2am in order to bring his crops to Bethlehem. He had to go on a circutous route by foot (through Housan and Jerusalem) because the gate on the road from the village was closed (it doesn't open until 7am). I think he must have caught a taxi after he walked through Housan... so anyway, you get a sense of how difficult transportation is. At the end of the day, farmers cannot make a profit on their crops because they have to cover transport costs. Also, the Israelis flood the market with cheap, high quality produce, and since the palestinian economy is in a very bad state, Palestinians end up buying the cheaper Israeli products rather than those grown by local farmers. Thus, as a result of these and many other factors, Palestinian crops often rot in the fields or in storage containers. It's very tragic.
Alright, I think that's all I'm gonna write for now. I've got a lot more, like I said, but I'm at an internet cafe again (we were supposed to have i-net access at the Y in Beit Sahour, but its still down.) So anyway, there was a car bomb today at a checkpoint not too far from the route I took from the airport on the way in. I hope it doesn't cause problems getting out.
Otherwise, I've gotta go. I'll write again when I can.
What does that mean, you ask? It means that the village has no source of water and will be forced to by water from the Israelis to meet its domestic and agricultrual needs. The economy in this village is not in good shape (I will explain the economic situation in agrian villages in later), as in all the villages we're working in, so paying for the water is gonna be tough.
There are many other stories from Housan. For example, one of the schools in the village was recently attacked by the Israeli military after they tried to impose a curfew on the village and the students refused to comply. Apparently the children, some as young as eight-years-old still have vivid memories of this. I've heard stories of eight year olds being lined up, forced to put their hands on a tank, and then hit on the hands with a wooden shaft.
Alright, so now I want to say abit about the economic situation Palestinian farmers find themselves in. (I know I'm jumping around a bit, but there is just so much to say and I don't have much time, so sorry if its a bit disorganized and incoherent at this point. I will organize my thoughts when I get home.) I just want to say before I write anything that I'm talking mainly about Nahalin, because that is where I've talked with the most local Palestinians, but its pretty much the same everywhere from what I've gathered.
Ok, so first there are major problems with transporting crops to market, often palestinians have to take indirect routes because main roads are blocked by gates and checkpoints. I heard a story two days ago from a farmer in Nahalin that he left at 2am in order to bring his crops to Bethlehem. He had to go on a circutous route by foot (through Housan and Jerusalem) because the gate on the road from the village was closed (it doesn't open until 7am). I think he must have caught a taxi after he walked through Housan... so anyway, you get a sense of how difficult transportation is. At the end of the day, farmers cannot make a profit on their crops because they have to cover transport costs. Also, the Israelis flood the market with cheap, high quality produce, and since the palestinian economy is in a very bad state, Palestinians end up buying the cheaper Israeli products rather than those grown by local farmers. Thus, as a result of these and many other factors, Palestinian crops often rot in the fields or in storage containers. It's very tragic.
Alright, I think that's all I'm gonna write for now. I've got a lot more, like I said, but I'm at an internet cafe again (we were supposed to have i-net access at the Y in Beit Sahour, but its still down.) So anyway, there was a car bomb today at a checkpoint not too far from the route I took from the airport on the way in. I hope it doesn't cause problems getting out.
Otherwise, I've gotta go. I'll write again when I can.
posted by Ben at 7:19 PM
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