The story of Samarah

This is a story from a friend of mine about her daughter trip to Palestine/Israel.

As you know she is a British subject who wanted to spend a couple of weeks Christmas holiday. seeing friends and family in Jerusalem and Haifa to “have a bit of fun” as she puts it. She arrive Sunday at 3:30 pm at Tel Aviv airport not expecting any problems . Sammarah is 17 years of age and is in year 12 of school in a school in the UK.

What she went through from the moment she arrived at the airport until she was sent back to U.K was unbelievable. She was taken in a white van to what I presume the detention center at the airport. There she was questioned by a “bulky big man who kept shouting at me and asking silly questions about my friends and family. I kept saying yes to everything he asked so that he would stop shouting”. The reason given to her for refusing to allow her in was that they thought she may not leave the country, even though it was clear from what she said and the school books she carried with her that she was a school girl .

At any rate after the interrogation , she was put in a cell “filthy small cell with a double bunker bed . the bottom mattress was filthy, the top one was rubber with many holes in it but looked cleaner than the bottom one. No bed cover apart from a very dirty looking blanket. I slept on the top bed with my Palestinian “kufia” for a cover. They initially said they would leave the door open as I was under age. But woke up at some point to find the door locked and kept that way all the time. I screamed my head off to get them to open the door but they did not. The food they gave me was a sandwich part eaten. I was given some water to drink and some tea which I held very tightly to warm my very cold hands. They took all my things away from me including my telephone and they refused to let me call anybody from my family to let them know what was happening. At 6:30 am I was taken by a police car to board a plane to UK, only to find out they managed to put me on the wrong plane which was heading to Denmark! Eventually I was on the right plane to London”.

Surrealism

More than 1000 casualties in 24 hours. And what does the world say?

"These people are nothing but thugs, so Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas that indiscriminately kill their own people,"

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe

“Clearly, we are calling on Hamas and other militants to cease shelling southern Israel.”

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard

“Whilst we understand the Israeli government's obligation to protect its population we urge maximum restraint to avoid further civilian casualties.

"We also call on militants in the Gaza Strip to immediately cease all rocket attacks on Israel."

British Foreign Office Statement

Yes, no one can say that Hamas are angels. They are not. But doesn’t it sound absurd that while F-16s and Apaches are bombing Gaza and while tanks are taking position around the strip, the calls are coming out to Hamas to stop the violence?

But surrealism, as stark contrast between elements, can only be strengthened by a third element in our case. What adds to this surrealism for me is not to be found in the world reaction, not the Arab reaction, but the reaction of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah. A small march goes out in Central Ramallah, and it appeared to be infested with agents of the Intelligence apparatus. It was disgusting to see that Hamas supporters were being arrested in the heart of Ramallah, by Palestinians. What added to the sadness is the sight of a line of riot police that blocked the road to the Muqata’a (the presidential compound). If we are to treat a peaceful demonstration in such a manner that calls for the use of riot police then what should we expect from others?

It might not be easy for me to list my expectations. After all, who is capable of doing what? Everyone is wrong, no one is doing the right thing, but things have entered into a spiral of wrongs and blames that it is now impossible to say that one thing can stop everything. This is why my thought goes back to the root of the problem, at least its root on our side of the game.

The bottom line of my analysis is that we do not have sincere leaders. No one is genuinely interested in the best interest of the Palestinian people, not even the Palestinian leaders themselves. On the one hand, the PA cannot be expected to come out strongly against military action that can potential restore power in the strip to them. Nor are the Hamas leaders expected to leave their throne after the finally got there. Nor are we, as a people, intelligent enough to stand up against this catastrophic leadership and create a new one that represent us. It looks so gloomy.

Arabs agree on something

Arab information ministers met in Cairo last week and agreed, and they rarely agree on anything, on a new convention that would severely restrict the freedom of satellite channels. The convention comes because "Some satellite channels have strayed from the correct path" as phrased by the Egyptian minister. His country indicated it is very keen on adopting and implementing the convention after its government has become subject to scrutiny by numerous channels due to its records of human rights abuses, long term emergency rule, and, more recently rumors of preparing the monarchist president's son to succeed his father.
The convention will prohibit all stations operating in the Arab World from broadcasting material which is considered offensive to "the leaders or national and religious symbols" of Arab countries. Let alone that this phrasing puts the leaders in the same category as God, a tradition long upheld in many Arab countries (Jordan and Morrocco kings claim descent from Mohammad's lineage, while Gaddafi claims ancestral roots with no other than the angels of heaven) it is so vaguely written, that the lines between offensive and subjective criticisms are not longer relevant.
The document imposes on channels that no less than 30% of broadcast material should be produced by the Joint Arab Productions. A frameworks which lacks professionalism, content, funding or proper structures to provide material for 21st century journalism.
Channels could risk the permits being withdrawn, frozen and not renewed for not abiding by the document. They will also be subject to legal processes both in origin countries and second countries.
So when Arab leaders meet on something, this is what we get? Thanks, but no thanks! Please go home!

Mr. President

President of the Palestinian Authority
Chairman of the PLO
and all the other names and titles you claim for yourself!

Your excellency,
You once said, at the height of the PA's financial crisis that bread is more important that democracy. few months later, Hamas rebelled against the democracy that brought it to power. You, on your end, rebelled against Hamas. A few more months down the road, we don't have democracy anymore, we also don't have bread. You honourable government is doing nothing to fight the crazy hike in prices. We understand they are busy fighting Hamas, but what do we have to do with that?
Let me tell you where I think the blame can be laid: On Everyone, me included, but primarily you people in power.
Hamas won a fair elections. She came to a government that is totally yours. If we are such a pluralist country, then why does the whole nation have to celebrate the launching of your party? Why on earth did you replace the nice national anthem we grew up with in this land, with the anthem of your party? Why is it that on your party's anniversary, the campaign against stolen cars suddenly stops and Ramallah is full of these cars, driven by careless youths, so long as they carry your yellow banner? Isn't the police force and the army for everyone? Why do they carry your party's flag? And isn't the presidential complex for all Palestinians? What would you say if Hamas wanted to have a rally there?
You see, Mr. President, you never handed over power, your party continued to play as if it owns the country. And your followers made hell of the life of the new ministers.
Hamas, totally inexperienced in the politics of the modern world, thought the can do just the same. They never had money to pay the salaries, but still were oblivious to the needs of the people.
Tell me, had Fatah been in power during the financial crisis, would the so-called union of public employees ever gone on strike? Of course not!
So between your party's thirst for control, and Hamas's irresponsible attitude to us, we were lost in the middle. Then you guys start killing each other, what a nice ending to our national struggle!
Then you guys share the pie. Hamas in Gaza to do whatever she wishes, and you go on with your nice plan for the West Bank.
In a situation of National Emergency, you bring Fayyad, a professional, but still a neo-liberal. He tries to enforce his free market ideology. The thing is, we don't have a market, or an economy. So lets play the guessing game: What do you guess will happen?
Let me try to explain, if there is no substantial market in this country, and you opt for a free market policy, then people with money can buy everything, and can become filthy rich. People who are already poor, are likely to just get poorer. The socialist revolution in Latin America has had its roots in a similar situation, when the US was pushing its allies in despotic regimes across the continent to adopt a free market strategy. Now, two or three decades later, the situation has become unbearable for the poor majority that they are willing to rebel against this system that institutionalises their marginalisation. You, and your government, are doing just that.
You people (both in Fatah and Hamas) act as if this country is yours, and yours alone. You seem to be oblivious to the fact that what you are doing now is going to significantly impact the lives and aspirations of Palestinians for generations to follow. You have no right to decide for us if you are not sharing with us or getting our thoughts and wishes on your agenda.
You have no right to sell our rights to your private sector cronies, or to Israel. Just as Hamas no right to impose on us that financial crisis. If she could not deal with such a problem they should have had the courtesy to just leave office. It is people's lives you guys are playing with and it seems to mean nothing to you.
What we want is a country for US, all of US. A country to live in in dignity and to be able to make a decent living. If you are not going to do that, then you might as well pack and go. Better late than never!

sincerely,

Take it or get lost!

When summing up Israel's attitude to peace with the Palestinians, and its other neighbours, it is a "take it or get lost!" attitude. These are the same words that Zvi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister told Saeb Erikat when he was trying to negotiate the joint declaration at Annapolis. He took it! After all to him we owe the great self-boasting quote: "The Palestinian Negotiation school is the most developed in the region!" Yeah right, and the results are obvious!
Annapolis came and went. We saw, for the first time in years, PA police using extreme force against demonstrators. Yesterday witnessed an unconstitutional ban on all demonstrations. If this was the PA's response to demonstrations against the conference, how are they going to respond to demonstration against an unfair deal? It is getting a little scary here. I hope my darkest thoughts wont materialise.