December 2009
Resistance to the Wall Continues in Nil’in and Bil’in
By Tracie De Angelis Salim, November 2009
Optimystical is a word coined by one of the doctors treating Tristan Anderson at a hospital in Tel Aviv. Nancy Anderson, Tristan’s mom, uses it to express her feeling about Tristan’s recovery.
On March 13, 2009, Israeli Occupation Forces shot Tristan in the head with a high velocity tear gas canister as he stood in solidarity with Palestinians in the village of Ni’lin. He had been drawn to Palestine because he is a human rights activist and recognized the need for internationals to stand with the local population against injustice— in this case by demonstrating against the Israeli Apartheid Wall that would take a third of their land for an Israeli settlement. Tristan suffered severe brain injuries, and his survival was by no means certain.