KARAMA
Gaza, Dignity Under Siege
by Adriana Zega
Nasser and Azeiza
Qarara, Khan Younis
What remains of their house is on a hill, the ruins are overlooking the no-go-zone area and the military towers. During the war, Nasser and Azeiza could see the land incursion starting. So they decided to escape. The border appears 800 m away, beyond the empty now uncultivated fields to which access is denied. Further on, are the green of the pine trees on the Israeli side. Their two-storey house was almost completely destroyed. It was home to eleven people.
As we sit in the wall-less entrance, they tell us to be careful and not to take pictures in the direction of the border. Our gaze turns to a white balloon suspended in the sky. It carries cameras, the Israeli army uses it to inspect the area.
Azeiza, laughing tells us: “You know, they can see even if we are drinking tea or coffee!”
Interview:
“We are farmers. We have four dunums of land next to our house we can still cultivate, but we have another four dunums closer to the border we cannot reach since 2000, since the Second Intifada. All our family was living close by, also my brother and his sons. There were more than 70 families in this area. All the people left and no one is able to come back. Even if they have land it’s forbidden to cultivate it. Anyone who tries to reach his field will get shot”.
“If these stones could speak they would tell you how many military incursions we had even before the war. Three times the soldiers came inside our house and shut all of us inside one room for hours. Once they shouted aggressively at my wife: “SHUT YOUR MOUTH OR I’LL BEAT YOU”. The last incursion before the war, happened in August 2008. They came at 10 in the night and shut us inside until the next morning. They destroyed, by bulldozer, our 50 olive trees, the guava and grape tree”.
“We didn’t expect the war. The war started on Saturday, the following Saturday we left our house. It’s a day we cannot forget. The Israeli soldiers destroyed many houses and that night around 8 people were killed. They stopped only in the middle of the night when they withdrew their tanks. We saw a big number of bulldozer and tanks advancing. I cannot say how many. There were many, more than 50. We could make out from a distance soldiers walking around. They invaded from North and South and surrounded our area from 1 km distance. Then the soldiers went up on the building’s roofs. That day we saw the army demolishing a house. So we decided to escape”.
“We have lived here since 1975, all our memories and life are in this house. For 3 years now we are sleeping in a rented house, but we come here everyday to tend our land and feed the animals. They destroyed our house but not our ability to live. It’s not easy for us to leave our house. We want to rebuild it again right here. We will challenge the Israelis and rebuild it, whether they agree or not”.
“We were used to living on our land in a good situation. We are farmers and bedouins, we miss the life here, we miss our freedom. We feel very sad because they stole it. Birds need freedom. We are like birds and we are calling for freedom. The occupation is imprisonment. No one is happy to live in a prison. All the time we will call for our freedom.
How should I feel? Imagine, if they killed your brother, they killed your father, your sons, they took your homeland, they destroy your house. Imagine how I am feeling”.
"As a mother, I feel more scared for our children. I want them to live in a safe environment. I reared them for 26 years and all of a sudden they can disappear. The Israelis can strike anywhere, in the sea, in the middle of the town. Three weeks ago a man in a tuktuk was killed in front of his house. People went to collect his pieces. He left two children, the youngest one is 14 days old. I’m worried all the time. When I go to bed I imagine that one day we will rebuild our house and our children will come back to live together again. We know it will be dangerous , we will face the same difficult situation. I ask myself , when we will have built our house will they invade us again, will they destroy our house again? I wish peace for my children, for all mothers, for all Palestinians”.