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Beersheba! Stories from Jerash Camp: 1948 Revisited SAMAH SABAWI See Also: Photo Story The journey from Amman to Jerash takes you through winding mountain roads and incredible scenes of vast open spaces and wide horizons. Once you arrive at Jerash camp, lying 50km north of Amman, about 5km from the historic town of Jerash, you’ll feel your eyes having to adjust to smaller, narrower streets and overcrowded housing structures.  Jerash camp, known as Gaza camp,
has a reputation for the worst living
conditions. It was established in 1968 for 11,500 Palestinians who fled
Gaza in the aftermath of the 1967 war. Thirty seven years later, it has
become home to 27,916 refugees.Palestinian refugees from Gaza cannot work for the government, vote or run for election. They cannot serve in the Jordanian army, or work in the civil service or any other employment for which Jordanian nationality is a prerequisite. They are thus highly dependent on UNRWA and the Department of Palestinian Affairs. Gazan refugees do not carry Jordanian citizenship and are only entitled to a Jordanian travel document valid for two years. The fee for the renewal of this document is now so high that many can’t afford it and have to go without it. This has had a strong impact on families who are spread out among camps in Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. The Story of Mohamad Mousa Hassan: “It was the Jews who told us to leave” My first visit was to Abu Ali (Mohamad Mousa Hassan)’s home. This is his story: “I am a Bedouin from Asheerat (tribe of) Abu Amra. I was born in 1923. I come from Shweehy in Beersheba near Al Imara. I was exiled in 1948. "Before 1948 we had no problem with the Jews. Then an incident happened in '48: they killed our chief. That was the year we fled. This incident happened right after the harvest. When the chief was murdered, we ran west. It was the Jews who told us to leave, not the Egyptians. The Jews told us that your Arab nations betrayed you. They told us King Farouq gave you guns that don’t work. "So we ran as far as the Sinai desert. We stayed there for a month. The Quakers took care of us there. They gave us tents and then later on they moved us to a camp in Rafah. We stayed in the Rafah refugee camp until the war of 1967. "In 1967 some of our children joined Al Shukairy’s army, and after the war they couldn’t come back, so they ended up here in Amman. We decided we should also flee the war and occupation and we wanted to be with our children so here we are. "We weren’t the only ones to leave. As soon as Jordan opened the borders many people crossed over. The Jews gave us money, put us on buses and drove us to Amman. They gave us 50 Shekels each. At the border they made us sign a document but we don’t know what it was [1]. We thought our signature was just to process our travels. "Back then I had seven children. We had two more in this camp. A total of 9 children. We are just simple people and we keep thinking we’ll return. If given a choice between money or right of return I’d choose to return to my country - not to Gaza but to Beersheba. "I want to go home, not to settle on a land that I don’t belong to. In Gaza they considered us refugees. We are distinct and we have our own land and we deserve to go back to it. We are from Beersheba and that’s where we should return. I’d rather live poor in my home in Palestine. It’s better for me than all the riches of all the Arab world. My rights.” When I left Abu-Ali’s house, his daughter insisted I take home with me some of their Eid Ca’ak for my children. I was touched by the generosity of those who have lost so much. The Story of Um Tawfiq: “I lived in refugee camps all my life, this is not fair. I have Bedouin blood. I like my freedom” The next visit was to Um Tawfiq’s house. Hers was a three room building and some rooms had concrete roof-tops, unlike most of the houses in the camps which had zinc roof tops. Her house was bigger and better furnished than most others and it even had a computer and printer in the living room. These belonged to UmTawfiq’s daughter who actually has full time employment through UNRWA. Her daughter lives with her but her daughter’s husband lives in Gaza. Because of ridiculous visa restrictions and residency requirements, the husband is able to come only twice a year from Gaza. He cannot reside in Amman and the daughter cannot reside in Gaza - not at all an unusual story. Currently Um Tawfiq carries a two year Gazan travel document. It used to cost 20 dinars to renew but now it costs 50 [about $100 CDN]. Um Tawfiq is from the Arabs of Sharee’a. Her tribe lived in Beersheba and they were exiled in 1948. She shared with me her story: “We lived in Beersheba in a well populated area. There were many Bedouin tribes around us. At that time, the Jews had a kibbutz nearby and we had no problems with them. Our lives were simple. We would take our animals to the creek and we would fill up our water from there. If the government [British] saw our animal stock they would make us pay taxes. The English would come and look at our harvest and our crop and they would force us to pay tax. They collected taxes from all the Bedouins. "I was about 6 years old when we were exiled. I was a good girl able to look after the herd and carry water. The Jews came to our homes on their tanks. They counted the young men and said if we come tomorrow and find one extra young man we will shoot him in front of you. Either you stay and take the risk or you leave. "At night the elders met and they decided not to take the risk. We had no way of guaranteeing that the number of young men will be the same. Some were out when they [the Israelis] did the count and if any of them came back the next day we would all be in danger. "It was too frightening and we were all families, many women and children in our tribe. The elders heard of stories of brutalities elsewhere - about the Jewish army burning down homes and killing people - and we were petrified we would all be slaughtered. So we fled.” The Story of Imad Hussien Mohamad Abu-Sosiel: “First they came by and collected our weapons." Imad Hussien Mohamad Abu-Sosiel is one of the most respected camp elders. His home is built in the same style as other homes in the camp but is made up of several rooms. He hosted us in a large, clean, freshly painted room. The mattresses were dry and clean. We took our shoes off by the door and walked across and sat on the floor. His son Imad offered us Arabic coffee. This is Abu-Sosiel’s story: “I left when I was 18 years old. I was married and had one son. The Jewish army attacked us and we ran to Khan Younis. The attack happened over two phases. First they came by and collected our weapons. This was after they took over Al Imara from the British. "Then the next day, nine tanks came and they started burning our homes. This happened just east of Al Imara in the Valley. We ran to the Western part of the Valley. Then the next day again they showed up and we ran again this time to Khan Younis. From Khan Younis we fled to Rafah until the 1967 war when we fled once again and ended up here. "I used to hold the temporary passports given to Gazans, but I don’t renew it anymore because of its big renewal fee. The paperwork to get this document is terrible and it takes days to get it approved from all the departments and much longer to actually process it. "Gazans in particular are denied justice here. They can’t work in the government, in the public service, in the education or in the agriculture. They were given the two year passports to give them freedom of movement in hope that they would leave Jordan and perhaps to help them process their most urgent needs. "All our life here is trouble. No work, no ownership; can’t be allowed to buy a car or to own a piece of land. Some people stay out of the law – they are illegals. But for that they can face imprisonment and deportation. If caught they would be forced to pay a heavy fine The right of return is our only hope. It is the only thing that allows us to continue living. We wait to go back home. No compensation or citizenship of any other country will persuade me to give up my right to my land." Messages to Canada Mohamad Mousa Hassan: “Canada, please don’t help the Zionists or make it easy for them to build on our land. Why should any strangers live in my land? Why should Russians settle there? I want to go home. Don’t give away my rights” Um Tawfiq.“Canada, please don’t help Israel take over my land. I lived in refugee camps all my life, this is not fair. I have Bedouin blood. I like my freedom to walk on my land. I don’t want to die here. Palestine is our home; Beersheba was our life and that of our ancestors. We are connected to its land and its people. If we return to its soil we’ll be happy. All the money in the world will not compensate me for being made homeless. I want to go home.” Imad Hussien Mohamad Abu-Sosiel: “We want the world to know there is no alternative to our right of return. Even the youngest of our children here know they have a right to return. We can’t allow the occupation to last. Give us back our land. Jordan is not our home, we only left because we were forced to. The Jews who were settled in our homes came from other countries. "During the British era we co-existed peacefully with the Jews. We never knew anti-Semitism – it is a western concept. When the English began to facilitate the Jewish immigration that was when we started to have problems with the Jews. If a Jew comes to me and says they’re against Zionism, I wouldn’t hate him. My enemies are not Jews; they are the Zionists who took my land by force.” Israel's continued attempts to expel the remaining Bedouin residents Beersheba is located in the northern part of the Negev desert, which today is part of the state of Israel. The Bedouin who remain in the Negev are Israeli citizens, but do not have the same rights as other Israeli citizens. The state of Israel, which likes to claim the status of being the only democracy in the Middle East, is trying to drive out the remaining Bedouin by destroying their crops. The following excerpt from an article on the Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions website explains: "On February 1 this week, in the early hours of the morning, the state "organized" itself for the purpose of assaulting its Bedouin citizens, in order to ruin their agricultural work on their land. Thus they destroyed close to 5000 dunams (about 1200 acres) belonging to the Elokbi, Altori, Abu Madigum and Abu Siam tribes ....... This act is clearly illegal. It is illegal even under the recently enacted "Squatter Removal Amendment" whose whole purpose is evicting and removing the Bedouin citizens of Israel from their land - land which is deemed to be "state land" regardless of the generations that they lived and worked on it. Even under this harsh and manifestly unjust law, the government is supposed to give the inhabitants a warning in advance and give them time to protest or challenge the act in a court of law. This requirement the government arrogantly ignored, sending their troops in without any warning." Full Text Photos of Jerash Camp [1] Palestinian civilians who were fleeing areas of conflict were strafed by Israeli aircraft, while others were transferred out of the West Bank on Israeli buses. In some cases young Palestinian men were forced to sign documents that they were leaving voluntarily. As in 1948, Israeli forces shot at Palestinian civilians, including women and children, attempting to cross the border and return to their homes and lands. Women of Color Against Violence: Palestinian Refugees Related facts:
Samah
Sabawi, originally from Gaza and whose permanent residence is now
Ottawa, is a writer and activist with Canadian Friends
of Sabeel. Her work also appears in several other media, including
a play, "Cries from the
Land" co-authored with her father, Abdel-Karim Sabawi,
and sponsored by Friends of Sabeel and Canpalnet-Ottawa.org.“...between 1949 and 1953, the State of Israel expelled close to 17,000 Bedouin. In 1953 alone, the State of Israel forcibly expelled 7,000 Bedouin. Such expulsions were often conducted with brutality.” Charges Against Israel - Statement of Indictment. Marwan Hassib Barghouti, on behalf of the Palestinian People, Plaintiff - Versus - The State of Israel, Defendant October 3, 2002 “Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes inside Israel. In 2003 demolitions of Bedouin homes in the Naqab (Negev) increased by 8 times. More than 100 homes were demolished. An additional 280 homes were destroyed in the Galilee and the Triangle. In total more than 500 homes were destroyed. There are an estimated 12,000 outstanding demolition orders in the Galilee and some 30,000 in the Naqab (Negev).” BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights Press Release 18 May 2004 (E-18-04) Your Comments |
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