GUEST BLOG: Martin and Lois Griffiths – A Woman, A Child and A Man

 

The numbers of Palestinians imprisoned in Israeli jails is shocking, or should be.  But mass  incarceration of Palestinians, including women and children, many under ‘administrative detention’  is nothing new , so generates little interest in mainstream media. Around 40% of the adult male population has spent some time in prison since 1967.

 Approximate current  figures are of around 7000 prisoners, including over 350 children and around 60 women.

Yet sometimes specific cases attract international attention.

 

A WOMAN – 33 year old Israeli citizen, Palestinian poet Dareen Tatour

At about 3am on October 11, 2015, Israeli police and border guards

broke into Dareen Tatour’s  home in Reineh, a small Palestinian village near Nazareth, and hauled  her away in her pyjamas. Her father pleaded with the police to be able to accompany his daughter but they refused. After 20 days of incarceration and 4 interrogations  she was charged with ‘incitement’ for  Facebook postings and a YouTube.

“Never in my life did I believe that a poem I would write would lead to this” After 3 months in prison, she was put under house arrest but not in her native village. Her brother and  sister-in-law had to quit their jobs and  rent an apartment in Tel Aviv,  to ‘guard’ her 24/7. After international pressure, Dareen was able to return to her home village but is still under house arrest, wearing an ankle electronic monitor. She still faces a possible 4 year prison sentence.

Palestinians have a tradition of expressing themselves, their experiences, their hopes , their concerns, in poetry. As Dareen explains, “ I am a human being, everything I live and experience, I turn into a poem.”

The Israeli regime has a tradition of harassing and arresting Palestinian poets and other writers.

The regime hopes that Dareen’s treatment will have   a chilling effect on Palestinians who want to express themselves on Facebook . Israeli authorities refuse to attempt to understand Arabic nuances..refuse to accept explanations of words such as the several meaning of “resist.”  Dareen’s YouTube reading was of her poem, in Arabic, translated as Resist, My People, Resist. For Palestinians, staying human is a form of resistance, “to exist is to resist” .

Dareen Tatour ‘s case has attracted international attention.  Over 150 artists and writers, including African-American poet Alice Walker,  have signed a petition for her release.

A CHILD – 12 year old East Jerusalemite , Shadi Farah, the Youngest Palestinian Political Prisoner

Last December, Shadi and his 13 year old friend Ahmad Zaatari were arrested at a bus stop in Jerusalem, at the request of  some  settlers . After several days of abusive questioning, with no lawyer or parent present, the boys ‘confessed’ to  going to Jerusalem with the intent of  stabbing  a soldier. They were charged with attempted manslaughter.  If the 2 boys had been ‘West Bankers’ they would have been tried as adults in a military court. But being East Jerusalemites and under14 , they were sent to  Al Marsa, a youth detention centre in Northern Israel. Shadi’s mother said, “It would have been better if he was in prison,” where Palestinians would help them. Al Marsa is a detention for older Israeli teenage criminals doing time for drug-related crimes and theft and  assault . Shadi and Ahmad have been threatened by the older detainees. They have been banned from activities and confined to their rooms. Shadi’s mother has visited her son only a few times since his arrest as it is very expensive for her to get to Al Marsa. Not only that, she does not have a Jerusalem ID , so every time she wants to visit , she has to through the hassle of obtaining a permit. Shadi maintains that he is innocent.

The Israelis are particularly oppressing East Jerusalem children. Not only are many being arrested and sent to prison, others are being put under house arrest, denying them the opportunity to go to school or  visit medical centres.

The Israeli agenda is destroy Palestinian childhoods.

A MAN – 34 Year old, of Nablus area ,West Bank  Bilal Kayed, Community Leader

Bilal Kayed has been imprisoned since 14 December 2001. He was 19 at the time.   While still  a teenager, Bilal became known as an outstanding organiser and leader, the sort of person the Israelis want to isolate.  Bilal has been repeatedly punished, with family visit bans and solitary confinement. On the day he was due to released, having served his 14 year sentence for his affliation with the left-wing Popular front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP),  his sister who had flown in from Germany,  joined the parents to welcome Bilal home. That very day, the family was told that Bilal would not be released, but would be held under ‘administrative detention.’  Administrative detention means no charge is made, no trial is held.   Bilal, in protest, went and remains on hunger strike. As of this writing, he has been on hunger strike for around  50  days. He  is still alive, but shackled to his bed. Other prisoners are on hunger strike too, in sympathy. The fear is that the Israelis will make a normal practice of renewing arrests after prisoners serve their sentences. Some  750 Palestinians are being held under ‘administrative detention.’

Bilal Kayed’s case has drawn international attention. There have been protests in many cities, including Milan and New York.

 

These are just 3 cases , of the thousands  Palestinians trapped in the  Israeli gulag system. Palestinian prisoners have names and stories that deserve telling.

Noam Chomsky has said,  “Israel’s policies of administrative detention have been an international scandal for decades.”  

Chomsky has also said, “Independent media ought to be telling the truth about things that matter. “   Surely the same should apply to publicly-funded media? Why aren’t we here in NZ told about Dareen Tatour, Shadi Farah and Bilal Kayed?

(see samidoun.net for more information)