Author: Daniel Roberts | Date: March 2015

wall action
Photo by: Daniel Roberts

 

During the months of October and November of 2014 I went to Palestine to work with ISM as a volunteer. I had many life changing experiences, made some great friends, learned more about the non-violent resistance movement in Palestine, and ultimately developed a deeper passion for the people of Palestine.  Here are a few stories from my time.

The Olive Harvest

 

It was my first day helping with the olive harvest. Our group walked through the countryside in the small Palestinian village of Burin to assist a farmer named Abed Asos. Abed operated his family farm, which they had owned for many generations. Olive cultivation in Palestine has been happening for thousands of years. Israel imposes restrictions on Palestinian farmers; they require them to get permits to pick on their own land. They are given only three days out of the entire year to harvest their crop. Many volunteers come to Palestine during the harvest in the month of October to help the farmers pick their olives.

 

We walked up the hill towards the olive trees and immediately Israeli soldiers drove up in an armored vehicle. Heavily armed they approached us. “You can’t be here,” a soldier shouted. I attempted to take a video as the soldiers tried to prevent us from entering Adbed’s farm. We explained that we could be here and that Abed had a permit.  A soldier came up to me and tried to take my camera. I stepped back to prevent him from taking it. After arguing for some time they let us continue walking to the grove. I was so frustrated that the soldiers would use intimidation towards us. The experience showed me that even simple things like picking olives are difficult under the occupation.

 

According to the UN nearly half of all cultivated land in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip is planted with olive trees, and olives are a main source of income for around 80,000 Palestinian families. Olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians. Olive trees are symbolic of Palestinians’ attachment to their land. The trees are drought-resistant and grow under poor soil conditions; a metaphor for Palestinian resilience. The olive branch is a symbol of peace but the hostile presence of illegal Israeli settlers who attack Palestinian farmers means that it has also become one of violence. From 2006 to the end of September 2014, the UN recorded 2,300 settler-related incidents of violence against Palestinians or their property in the West Bank.

 

Later, we met Abed’s wife Intsar who was pregnant with their first child. The child would be named “small farmer” in Arabic. They welcomed us into their house giving us tea and lunch. They explained how illegal Israeli settlers poured gasoline and burned a 100 of their trees in their olive grove. Their story is a microcosm of what farmers experience in occupied Palestine.

 

 

 

The Wall

 

A small group of us waited outside the ISM apartment in Ramallah. It was early. A white van slowly rolled by and opened its door. We quickly jumped in and weaved our way through town. It was the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. Some local Palestinians decided it would be a powerful direct action and symbol to break a piece of the apartheid wall. We jumped out of the van and ran down to a gully. Some Palestinians pulled out a saw and cut out a framed area of the wall. Activists joined with the locals in using sledgehammers to break pieces of the wall away. I moved around taking pictures of the action. Suddenly a burst of light broke through. We had busted through! It felt like a religious experience as cheering filled the air. The small hole grew into a large opening in the wall and many of us crossed over.

 We had busted through!
It felt like a religious experience
as cheering filled the air.

We suddenly turned and ran back to the van and speed away. I submitted my photos to the organizers who made a press release. Within an hour international media published reports of the event. Several global media outlets used one of my photos from the action. It was a very satisfying experience being part of such a historical event. Drawing the parallels between the Berlin Wall and the apartheid wall in Palestine was a powerful symbol.

wall action2
Photo by: Daniel Roberts

 

 

Daniel is an American artist and activist who began working in Jordan with Palestinian refugee in 2012. Since that time he has been involved in ongoing projects in Gaza, and the West Bank of Palestine. The pictures are of the wall action, some kids, and demonstrations.

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