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Sunday, July 22, 2007
Saturday, May 19, 2007
This is an email I received today, from Mohammad Omar, Palestinian journalist and photographer, reporting from Gaza. I'm not going to comment on this, you just try to put yourself in his place as an eye witness to the horrible situation there, not as a hero, not as a defender of the right, but as a human being...
Dear friends,
I'm scared, i was almost killed or at least bleeding
till death. three militants were closing all roads and
they sudden, they said to me stop during the curfew, i
stop and then the masked-men open fire under my feet
hitting the ground under my feet. i thought I'm
killed, and i could not explain or scream as the
shooting was louder than my scream, so I said, :" No,
don't do that, stop stop, please" oh, i was in tears,
this is the first time I'm begging someone not to kill
me, and then the other guy who's also militant was
standing in my side and said, we don't want to kill
him, lets shoot him in his legs and leave him bleed. I
said, what? why? and then he said, your ID, I show it
with the press card and then they let me go. I was
scared that they would shoot at me once I turn my
back, but alhamdllah this didn't happen, I was scared,
scared, scared to death. this was not pleasant
experience, and they were doing this, as I got stuck
and could not find transport back home, so I went
walking in the streets. I'm scared to death. those are
just evil and terrible people. I don't wish to be in
that position again. i can't stand in my feet
anymore, I feel pain and scared. those are working for
preventive security, which is working closely with
Israelis. I was wearing my bullet proof vest, but this
didn't protect me enough. today, more than 10 were
killed and tens were injured, many by Israelis, but
still some by Palestinian clashes between Hamas and
Fateh. they don't want this to be reported. I didn't
tell about this to my mother, she will be scared
again!
sad greetings!
Mohammed
posted by Ola Eliwat,
in Arab World, Palestine
@ 8:10 PM,
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Saturday, March 03, 2007
This is a small excerpt from Mohammad Omar's article, Coming to America, published in Washington Report magazine, March issue. It's a very good article by the way...
...My Officer seemed confused. "What kind of passport is this?" he asked, waving it before me.
"Palestinian," I answered.
It seemd that Palestinian passport simply did not compute! More gruffly, he asked again, "What passport is it?"
When I repeated my answer, his face lit up and he responded affirmativel, "Oh! A pakistani passport!"
At that point I was ready to be Pakistani if it meant I could complete the exam! I took a deep breath, wondering, "Is this guy for real?" But I quietly told myself, "Patience, Mohammad. Perhaps he's color blind and cannot read green."
"Palestinian," I answered.
It seemd that Palestinian passport simply did not compute! More gruffly, he asked again, "What passport is it?"
When I repeated my answer, his face lit up and he responded affirmativel, "Oh! A pakistani passport!"
At that point I was ready to be Pakistani if it meant I could complete the exam! I took a deep breath, wondering, "Is this guy for real?" But I quietly told myself, "Patience, Mohammad. Perhaps he's color blind and cannot read green."
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Few days ago I saw a documentary about Naji Al-Ali, and I don't think I need make an intoduction here, it suffices to say Handala, and the famous Palestinian cartoonist comes to mind immediatly.
Naji Al-ALi made a revolution in Arab journalism and more specifically in the way political cartoons dealt with the ongoing events in the Arab world. Naji Al-Ali dealt with criticism from another angle, by criticising the Arab stance on the Palestinian cause and putting the blame on them for what was going on in Palestine.
Meet Handala. Handala was born at the age of 10, and he will always be 10. If you are wondering why he's always giving you his back, he's not. He's just looking back at Palestine in his way out, forced.
Handala represents the new generation that inherited the agonies, suffering, failures and isappointments of the previous generation. He represents the human conscience that aches for the suffering of others, the heart that bleeds for the agonies of his brothers, the rebel that defends the right, and stands up to the wrong. Handala represents whatever good that is left in us, that will always be there, and the hope that never dies.
كاتم الصوت or "The Muffler" was the symbol Naji Al-Ali created to represent those who try to suppress the voices that rise against tyranny. The same muffler by which Naji Al- Ali was assassinated on the 22nd of July, 1987, on his way to deliver the daily cartoon to Al-Qabas newspaper in London. He was admitted to hospital, where he passed away 40 days later.
In the documentary, they showed some cartoons done by Arab cartoonist in the memory of the assassination of Naji Al-Ali. One cartoon in particular moved me incredibly; in fact it was the reason that prompted me to write this post. I looked it up on the net and I was not surprised as much as impressed when I found out that it was done by Imad Hajjaj. Makes it clear how courage triumphs over cowardice, and the real meaning of "to live". The cartoon speaks for itself:
"Here rests the muffler, and Handala lives on"
To know more about Naji Al-Ali and Hadala, check out Naji Al-Ali's official website
Saturday, December 02, 2006
From yesterday to this evening, I've watched 2 documentary films about Palestine, or more precisely: about the palestinian people and their cause.
The two documentaries succeeded in viewing the conflict in occupied Palestine from a humanistic perspective. Something that brings a lump to your throat, and makes you realize that the palestinians are no super creatures living on patriotic mottos, they are nomal people, like us, who want to practice their most basic right: Life.
The first documentary, Goals & Dreams, sheds light on the Palestinian diaspora national team, if I may call it so. Young men, all have from a palestinian origin, come from different countries to play for the play for the Palestinian national team, preparing for their upcoming big match, in the road to World Cup.
The film shows how hard it was for them to get all the players to Cairo, where the training camp took place. Players who live in Gaza were not allowed to cross Rafah border, and they were returned from where they came several times, after hours of waiting, before they were finally allowed to join the team in Cairo.
Then it shows how the coach tried to get FIFA to postpone the game; because there were not enough players, but they refused, saying that they don't want to get involved in political matters. Sadly, sports and politics were insaperable in that case, whatever they said to justify their position.
It also highlights the difficulties of communication between the players; being a mix of English, Arabic and Spanish speaking people. It was not only about the language, but also about the cultural differences between them.
One of the players, a Palestinian-American, said at the beginning of the movie that he had no problem being an American and a Palestinian at the same time. However, after having that trying experience with the Palestinian National Team, he said that he didn't feel the harmony he used to feel between his two identities, and that he then felt more Palestinian than ever.
In another scene, they show a stand-up comedian who seems to be a Palestinian-American, who says: "They ask me: where are you from? and when I say Palestine they go like: Pagastine? What's Pagastine? Where's that? I say: No! it's not Pagastine it's Palestine, you don't know it because we are technically a part of Israel... so they say: Isreal, Ah! so you're Jewish! I say: No! I'm not Jewish, I'm Plaestinain! We are the ones who do bombings, how many places do we have to bomb before you start to recognise us as people!
What's so special about the film is that it showed no blood, no destruction, but yet managed to convey a very strong message: Those people are living under unbearable circumstances.
Moving to the second movie, Arna's Children, the tone changes 180 degrees. A movie that makes you smile, and even laugh for a moment, and makes you choke with tears the next. It's about an Israeli woman, Arna, who gets married to a Palestinian man, and then devotes her life to support the Palestinian cause.
First,, they show some Palestinian kids, normal kids with ambitions and dreams for the future. Then, it shocks you when they show you what happened to them after some years. Four of them were killed by the Israeli occupation forces.
Ashraf was a very talented kid. He loved theater. He said that he'd like to be the Palestinian Romeo, and when they asked him who would his Juliet be, He said: wa7deh men el mokhayyam, qarabetna (A girl from the refuge camp, a relative of mine) His answer was so innocent that it made us laugh for a moment, but that laughter was soon interrupted by the next scene, in which Ashraf was wrapped in white sheets, smeared with his blood.
A mesmerizing movie that shows how, even some Israelis, who choose to see the reality as it should be seen, turn agaisnt their government for its brutal and descriminating acts against the Palestinians.
But, the more important point I could see is that how the atrocities of the occupation turn the Palestinian people from ordinary citizens into militants. Normal people who, after facing the unimaginable from the occupation forces, decided that the best thing they could do than joining the armed conflict against the occupation. I know many people would argue about how Palestinians are terrorists and some such crap, but the point is: Who started it all? Before you jugde someone for carrying out a boming, you have to first put yourself in his shoes, and picture yourself carrying a 10 year-old bleeding, lifeless girl.
One of the things that stuck in my head is something Arna said at the beginning: There's no peace without freedom. No peace without freedom.
Both films stressed a very important idea: You have a just cause. It makes you believe that hoever small the contribution, you can do something. It makes you realize how grave the situation is, and how hard it's getting everyday for the people who are living it.
Here are some excerpts from the second movie, Arna's Children, sorry fo rthe bad quality but youtube doesn't accommodate videos bigger than 100 MGs.
If you missed the movies and want to see them, you can contact the royal film commission. There are plans to show them at JU.
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