Introduction:
The world is changing, time is passing by and people are developing there way of living. Whether its ancient or modern time; some things never change during time, just like traditions, the word tradition comes from the Latin traditionem, acc. of traditio which means "handing over, passing on", and is used in a number of ways in the English language as a set of beliefs or customs taught by one generation to the next(Reference: merriam-webster.com). Same as traditions is history, it is unchangable and in some way always connnected to the present. People in Palestine are committed to their traditions, and they look at it as a part of their history and heritiage. This image is clear in both of Turmos Ayyah and Battir, they both have different traditions due to the difference of their regions, the difference is in the content nonethless the form of these traditions is the same. Traditions are not about sticking to the past and not moving on with our lives, it is about identity and a motivation to create a better life for ourselves.
Traditions and its social affects:
Traditions could be a part of our every day life without noticing them, because we were raised up carrying them. In Turmos Ayyah the people are considered to be less attached to their traditions because most of them got mixed up between two identities, but when I went to their village, they proved that this was not correct. Despite the fact that most of them spent some time in the west, there were no signs that they were americanized, they were proud of their heritage and wanted to prove to others that they are true Palestinains. Some people might think that living in the west makes the individual adapt their habits, while in fact this made the people of Turmos Ayyah more attached to their habits and they never forgot where they came from. Battir, it has the same attachment, but a different situation. The village attracts many tourists from around the world who come to visit its natural beauty, the villagers of Battir make sure to show these tourists the pure Palestinian traditions that include hospitality and genoursity, not only tourists but we also had a share in experiencing these manners in our walk there. Moreover, traditions unite the people of Battir and Turmos Ayyah no matter what their social status is, they all share the same habits wether they were from an upper class or a lower class, thus they break the social classes barriers and act like a one body.
Traditions as a way of resistance:
It is clear that both of Battir and Turmos Ayyah had a long history of resistance. It is also clear that resistance is not just about holding the gun and fight, sticking with traditions could also be a way of resistance. The occupation had a long-plan to erase these traditions within the years, in a way to erase the Palestianin heritage and their right in the land. However they never succeded in doing that, because there was a big awareness of this plan and the Palestinains didn’t allow it to go thourgh. It only strengthened their will and made them more attached to their identity.
Turmos Ayyah (Lost in between):
-Introduction:
Homeland is a strong word that carries a lot of meanings to each person no matter what their origins are. It gives each person a sense of belonging and able him to identify with the nature around him as a part of his own. It shapes the identity of the person and gives him some sense of responsibility towards his country and his nation. Just like what Yasser Arafat said: “This is my homeland no one can kick me out”, this suggests that the homeland is the heritage of the human, and it is one of the reasons for his survival. Even if the person is not physically in his homeland, but still, his soul is left there roaming in the beauty of his being.
-Social differences and immigration:
Turmos Ayyah must be one of the most unique villages of the West Bank that I visited, because it holds an interesting story of a land, that you never find something familiar to it in other villages. Even the name of the village has an interesting story that became one of the village’s symbols to narrate for others who come to visit it. One important thing that I noticed that the village had a lack of is a middle-class. It was either an upper class or a lower class. This difference in the social structure leaves a big gap between the two classes leading to creating social issues in the region. I suppose this difference is resulted from the reality that the village is living, which is the immigration of the native inhabitants of Turmos Ayyah to the United States. The motives behind their immigration are to find job opportunities so they can create better lives for their families. Thus, I believe that the difference in the social structure is related to the this fact of immigration, because it is clear that the people who immigrated worked hard to make money, and then got back to their hometown to spend it there, whereas the majority of the lower structure remained in their hometown and didn’t go out. Our guide Ashraf said that:” The people of Turmos Ayyah eventually come back to their hometown after years of migration”, this suggests that they are attached to their original roots, and nothing can separate them from their country, it’s a part of their own flesh, and this implies that when they were working in the West, their heart and mind was left in Palestine, and they looked forward for the day when they can get back to Turmos Ayyah. However, being a citizen of two different places, create two identities and two perspectives about their way of living, but not for them. Even when they are in the US, they try to hold on their traditions and they remember that they came from a conservative village that has a particular perspective about particular things.
-Life and Landscape:
Turmos Ayyah is enclaved like the most other Palestinian villages by a settlement. Shilo settlement is located near Turmos Ayyah and lies within the boundaries of the municipality. The villagers of Turmos Ayyah are not allowed by “Israel” to build anything or use their lands near the settlement in the name of security. The Israeli plan is to confiscate more lands of Turmos Ayyah to expand the settlement. This reality affected the villagers who count on agriculture as a main source of work. The shrinking of their lands limited the production of their crops, thus it reduced the export of food to other Palestinian villages and reduced the village’s economy.
-Conclusion:
The inhabitants of Turmos Ayyah are proud of their heritage and their origins. It doesn’t matter where we exist on earth to make change and to contribute to a cause as long as we believe in it. Thus, we should always balance between satisfying our own needs and the needs of what matters to us.
Battir (Battir: Past and Present are the future)
There is a big difference in the structure of the land in Palestine between the past and present. Although this does not prevent from the enjoyment of walking in such a historical place. For some people walking is a style of life, especially for the old generations who were lucky enough to live in a time where the land was suitable to walk on for different reasons. I think of walking as a communication between my inner self and the nature around me. It’s a spiritual engagement where I can free my soul and let it roam in between grass, rocks and even air itself. I always had this feeling with me whenever I walked, but it’s just lately I realized what I was feeling, and I started to interpret this feeling to understand my goals of these walks I take. Every walk has a goal and a destination, but the plot is to find out these two things, sometimes you start a walk without knowing your goal or destination, it’s the matter of the walk itself to clarify all of this confusion.
Battir, an ancient village in the West Bank. It lies in between the two famous cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This was not the first time for me to enter this historical village, but indeed every time I entered it I had a whole different experience, because as I said before, on each walk the purpose always change and so does the final destination.
Before arriving to Battir, we started our walk from the DCO checkpoint of Beit-Jala. The DCO checkpoint separates between the West Bank and Jerusalem. The idea of how politics is always involved in my walks makes me wonder about the reason, but what other than politics would be involved in such walks? From this walk I discovered that politics is a part of my everyday life, there is some kind of fraction in home, school and even in the streets with it. I started to accept this fact and dealing with it, because it is the best way to react with what is around me. In the valley where we walked there were a lot of caves which might have been homes for families a very long time ago. This connection of past and present gave me a sense of responsibility towards this land, and I felt that what our ancestors started should not go to waste.
After we arrived to Battir, I could notice the difference of the structure of the buildings, some were old and some were new. This difference is related to the development of the cities and villages around Battir, which affected Battir and made it follow the current criteria of the other cities. Some of the old buildings of Battir are established before the war of 1948, which make some of these buildings a historical place. If we compare Battir’s situation to other West Bank villages we see a big difference in the structure of the villages. Battir is one of the small villages that chose to keep its traditions till to this current day. But other villages like Al-Ezaryah (the village that I live in) chose the opposite, thus it followed the path of establishing new buildings on the ruins of the old ones. This comparison between the past and the present allowed me to understand the role of history in creating or demolishing civilizations, and the effects that it can leave for the future of the land. As I learned in our history class, the history is not only related to the land itself, but also there is the history of ideas and how they develop and change with the years.
A one important aspect is how the land of Battir is divided. The rail road in the middle of the valley implies a lot of things. This rail road is currently connecting Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, but its history is a lot bigger than this. The rail road took more land towards the West Bank because of the resistance fighters during the war. They played a huge part in resisting the Israeli army, which made them to fall back. The rail road is still playing a big part in the political situation of the land of Battir to this day. There is a plan since 2003 to surround Battir with the separation wall, but the rail road gave the people of Battir the right to negotiate with the occupier to stop the establishment of the wall on their lands. Nothing separates between the West Bank and Jerusalem but the rail road which can be passed by foot, but it is not really that simple, because there is a motion camera on the top of a tower on one of the hills that covers the whole area and stop people carrying the West Bank IDs to enter Jerusalem. I wonder how the land would be if the rail road didn’t pass from the land of Battir, would Battir be the same? Would it affect the agriculture of the land? The separation wall will take place over the cultivated land, it would be a disaster. It is sarcastic that I am glad that the Israeli rail road passes from Battir’s land, but it is the truth, because if it didn’t, the whole structure of the land would be different, different to the worse.
Hassan, one of our guides, told us when we were walking “Right where we now stand, this is where the green line passes”. We learned about the green line in our history classes back in high school. The green line separates “Israel” from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The history behind the line’s name is that green ink was used to draw the line on the map during the talks. It separated heavily populated regions, and divided towns and villages and separated farmers from their fields which limited the movement in some areas. When Hassan told us about the green line I had to do some research about it to find out what its role and aim. It might sound like something that brings joy because of how its name sounds, but it is the entire opposite, it only brought suffering to the Palestinian people. As we were walking in the middle of the valley the train passed by us, Israeli citizens were in that train. I wonder what their feeling is when they look from the window to Battir, how it feels to pass from a land that doesn’t belong for them, do they care or do they not.
After that we started climbing up to the hill to plant olive trees. Just like what Raja Shehadeh said in his book “Palestinian Walks”, that according to the Israeli law, any Palestinian land that is not cultivated or is not used, gives the Israeli authorities the right to confiscate it. This is why we wanted to challenge their lame laws by cultivating the land with olive trees; it was a way to break our silence and let our voices be heard. It was also a way for us to connect with our roots and ancestors by planting the tree that represents Palestine in one way or another. I think resistance is not just about fighting; it can also be economical, social and educational resistance in the face of the enemy. Planting trees is a way of resistance from my opinion, and I believe that it has the same effect if not even stronger. We dug into the ground and planted the trees, what I did deserved every drop of my sweat, I feel that I did something that will not go to waste, and the later generations would benefit from.
Monday, 24 May 2010
Monday, 19 April 2010
Lost in Between
Introduction:
Homeland is a strong word that carries a lot of meanings to each person no matter what their origins are. It gives each person a sense of belonging and able him to identify with the nature around him as a part of his own. It shapes the identity of the person and gives him some sense of responsibility towards his country and his nation. Just like what Yasser Arafat said: “This is my homeland no one can kick me out”, this suggests that the homeland is the heritage of the human, and it is one of the reasons for his survival. Even if the person is not physically in his homeland, but still, his soul is left there roaming in the beauty of his being.
Social differences and immigration:
Turmos Ayyah must be one of the most unique villages of the West Bank that I visited, because it holds an interesting story of a land, that you never find something familiar to it in other villages. Even the name of the village has an interesting story that became one of the village’s symbols to narrate for others who come to visit it. One important thing that I noticed that the village had a lack of is a middle-class. It was either an upper class or a lower class. This difference in the social structure leaves a big gap between the two classes leading to creating social issues in the region. I suppose this difference is resulted from the reality that the village is living, which is the immigration of the native inhabitants of Turmos Ayyah to the United States. The motives behind their immigration are to find job opportunities so they can create better lives for their families. Thus, I believe that the difference in the social structure is related to the this fact of immigration, because it is clear that the people who immigrated worked hard to make money, and then got back to their hometown to spend it there, whereas the majority of the lower structure remained in their hometown and didn’t go out. Our guide Ashraf said that:” The people of Turmos Ayyah eventually come back to their hometown after years of migration”, this suggests that they are attached to their original roots, and nothing can separate them from their country, it’s a part of their own flesh, and this implies that when they were working in the West, their heart and mind was left in Palestine, and they looked forward for the day when they can get back to Turmos Ayyah. However, being a citizen of two different places, create two identities and two perspectives about their way of living, but not for them. Even when they are in the US, they try to hold on their traditions and they remember that they came from a conservative village that has a particular perspective about particular things.
Life and Landscape:
Turmos Ayyah is enclaved like the most other Palestinian villages by a settlement. Shilo settlement is located near Turmos Ayyah and lies within the boundaries of the municipality. The villagers of Turmos Ayyah are not allowed by “Israel” to build anything or use their lands near the settlement in the name of security. The Israeli plan is to confiscate more lands of Turmos Ayyah to expand the settlement. This reality affected the villagers who count on agriculture as a main source of work. The shrinking of their lands limited the production of their crops, thus it reduced the export of food to other Palestinian villages and reduced the village’s economy.
Conclusion:
The inhabitants of Turmos Ayyah are proud of their heritage and their origins. It doesn’t matter where we exist on earth to make change and to contribute to a cause as long as we believe in it. Thus, we should always balance between satisfying our own needs and the needs of what matters to us.
Homeland is a strong word that carries a lot of meanings to each person no matter what their origins are. It gives each person a sense of belonging and able him to identify with the nature around him as a part of his own. It shapes the identity of the person and gives him some sense of responsibility towards his country and his nation. Just like what Yasser Arafat said: “This is my homeland no one can kick me out”, this suggests that the homeland is the heritage of the human, and it is one of the reasons for his survival. Even if the person is not physically in his homeland, but still, his soul is left there roaming in the beauty of his being.
Social differences and immigration:
Turmos Ayyah must be one of the most unique villages of the West Bank that I visited, because it holds an interesting story of a land, that you never find something familiar to it in other villages. Even the name of the village has an interesting story that became one of the village’s symbols to narrate for others who come to visit it. One important thing that I noticed that the village had a lack of is a middle-class. It was either an upper class or a lower class. This difference in the social structure leaves a big gap between the two classes leading to creating social issues in the region. I suppose this difference is resulted from the reality that the village is living, which is the immigration of the native inhabitants of Turmos Ayyah to the United States. The motives behind their immigration are to find job opportunities so they can create better lives for their families. Thus, I believe that the difference in the social structure is related to the this fact of immigration, because it is clear that the people who immigrated worked hard to make money, and then got back to their hometown to spend it there, whereas the majority of the lower structure remained in their hometown and didn’t go out. Our guide Ashraf said that:” The people of Turmos Ayyah eventually come back to their hometown after years of migration”, this suggests that they are attached to their original roots, and nothing can separate them from their country, it’s a part of their own flesh, and this implies that when they were working in the West, their heart and mind was left in Palestine, and they looked forward for the day when they can get back to Turmos Ayyah. However, being a citizen of two different places, create two identities and two perspectives about their way of living, but not for them. Even when they are in the US, they try to hold on their traditions and they remember that they came from a conservative village that has a particular perspective about particular things.
Life and Landscape:
Turmos Ayyah is enclaved like the most other Palestinian villages by a settlement. Shilo settlement is located near Turmos Ayyah and lies within the boundaries of the municipality. The villagers of Turmos Ayyah are not allowed by “Israel” to build anything or use their lands near the settlement in the name of security. The Israeli plan is to confiscate more lands of Turmos Ayyah to expand the settlement. This reality affected the villagers who count on agriculture as a main source of work. The shrinking of their lands limited the production of their crops, thus it reduced the export of food to other Palestinian villages and reduced the village’s economy.
Conclusion:
The inhabitants of Turmos Ayyah are proud of their heritage and their origins. It doesn’t matter where we exist on earth to make change and to contribute to a cause as long as we believe in it. Thus, we should always balance between satisfying our own needs and the needs of what matters to us.
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Between the Land and the Soil
There is a big difference in the structure of the land in Palestine between the past and present. Although this does not prevent from the enjoyment of walking in such a historical place. For some people walking is a style of life, especially for the old generations who were lucky enough to live in a time where the land was suitable to walk on for different reasons. I think of walking as a communication between my inner self and the nature around me. It’s a spiritual engagement where I can free my soul and let it roam in between grass, rocks and even air itself. I always had this feeling with me whenever I walked, but it’s just lately I realized what I was feeling, and I started to interpret this feeling to understand my goals of these walks I take. Every walk has a goal and a destination, but the plot is to find out these two things, sometimes you start a walk without knowing your goal or destination, it’s the matter of the walk itself to clarify all of this confusion.
Battir, an ancient village in the West Bank, was my destination this time. It lies in between the two famous cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This was not the first time for me to enter this historical village, but indeed every time I entered it I had a whole different experience, because as I said before, on each walk the purpose always change and so does the final destination. Battir is famous for its vegetables market in Palestine; this is related to a very important factor, which is the pure water that feeds the soil of Battir. People of Battir depend on agriculture to feed their families, thus they take a good care of the land which make them experts in their fields.
Before arriving to Battir, we started our walk from the DCO checkpoint of Beit-Jala. The DCO checkpoint separates between the West Bank and Jerusalem. I thought I would see the wall around me when we were walking, or at least see it from the distance because I’m always used to see it whenever there is a checkpoint separating between the West Bank and “Israel”. The idea of how politics is always involved in my walks makes me wonder about the reason, I mean I know the reason but still I don’t understand it. It makes me wonder if it will be the same thing if I took a walk in the mountains of Switzerland or a hike in the Rockies. I found an answer for this question, no, it will not be even close to the same, but this raises another question, what other than politics would be involved in such walks? From this walk I discovered that politics is a part of my everyday life, there is some kind of friction in home, school and even in the streets with it. I started to accept this fact and dealing with it, because it is the best way to react with what is around me. Down deep in the valleys of Bet-Jala and Battir there were a lot of olive trees laying down side by side with spring weeds. In the valley there were a lot of caves which might have been homes for families a very long time ago. This connection of past and present gave me a sense of responsibility towards this land, and I felt that what our ancestors started should not go to waste.
The sky was clear and blue on that day; the fresh air was blowing giving me refreshment from the hot son. The green nature of Battir never stops to amuse me with all its beautiful surroundings, I think it’s a great example for Palestinian villages to follow. If I had to choose between living in an industrial city or living in a calm rural neighborhood, I would definitely choose to live in the rural neighborhood among the nature. I see of it a place to relax and enjoy the environment that God has created; it is good for my body and my soul.
After we arrived to Battir, I could notice the difference of the structure of the buildings, some were old and some were new. This difference is related to the development of the cities and villages around Battir, which affected Battir and made it follow the current criteria of the other cities. Some of the old buildings of Battir are established before the war of 1948, which make some of these buildings a historical place. If we compare Battir’s situation to other West Bank villages we see a big difference in the structure of the villages. Battir is one of the small villages that chose to keep its traditions till to this current day. But other villages like Al-Ezaryah (the village that I live in) chose the opposite, thus it followed the path of establishing new buildings on the ruins of the old ones. This comparison between the past and the present allowed me to understand the role of history in creating or demolishing civilizations, and the effects that it can leave for the future of the land. As I learned in our history class, the history is not only related to the land itself, but also there is the history of ideas and how they develop and change with the years.
As we continued our walk in the valleys of Battir, I noticed the irrigation system of the land, the water canals went all the way down to irrigate the fields. Every land owner had his own share and percentage of the water. This distribution of the water and the structure of the canals go way back to decades ago, but it suggests that the old citizens of Battir were educated people and are familiar with architecture. This helped them a lot to reduce the time of irrigation and to save water. It is a very simple strategy, but its inventors are only simple farmers. And according to the time it was established, it is conceived as a very important step towards promoting agriculture.
A one important aspect is how the land of Battir is divided. The rail road in the middle of the valley implies a lot of things. This rail road is currently connecting Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, but its history is a lot bigger than this. The rail road took more land towards the West Bank because of the resistance fighters during the war. They played a huge part in resisting the Israeli army, which made them to fall back. The rail road is still playing a big part in the political situation of the land of Battir to this day. There is a plan since 2003 to surround Battir with the separation wall, but the rail road gave the people of Battir the right to negotiate with the occupier to stop the establishment of the wall on their lands. Nothing separates between the West Bank and Jerusalem but the rail road which can be passed by foot, but it is not really that simple, because there is a motion camera on the top of a tower on one of the hills that covers the whole area and stop people carrying the West Bank IDs to enter Jerusalem. I wonder how the land would be if the rail road didn’t pass from the land of Battir, would Battir be the same? Would it affect the agriculture of the land? The separation wall will take place over the cultivated land, it would be a disaster. It is sarcastic that I am glad that the Israeli rail road passes from Battir’s land, but it is the truth, because if it didn’t, the whole structure of the land would be different, different to the worse.
Hassan, one of our guides, told us when we were walking “Right where we now stand, this is where the green line passes”. We learned about the green line in our history classes back in high school. The green line separates “Israel” from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The history behind the line’s name is that green ink was used to draw the line on the map during the talks. It separated heavily populated regions, and divided towns and villages and separated farmers from their fields which limited the movement in some areas. When Hassan told us about the green line I had to do some research about it to find out what its role and aim. It might sound like something that brings joy because of how its name sounds, but it is the entire opposite, it only brought suffering to the Palestinian people. As we were walking in the middle of the valley the train passed by us, Israeli citizens were in that train. I wonder what their feeling is when they look from the window to Battir, how it feels to pass from a land that doesn’t belong for them, do they care or do they not.
After that we started climbing up to the hill to plant olive trees. Just like what Raja Shehadeh said in his book “Palestinian Walks”, that according to the Israeli law, any Palestinian land that is not cultivated or is not used, gives the Israeli authorities the right to confiscate it. This is why we wanted to challenge their lame laws by cultivating the land with olive trees; it was a way to break our silence and let our voices be heard. It was also a way for us to connect with our roots and ancestors by planting the tree that represents Palestine in one way or another. I think resistance is not just about fighting; it can also be economical, social and educational resistance in the face of the enemy. Planting trees is a way of resistance from my opinion, and I believe that it has the same effect if not even stronger. We dug into the ground and planted the trees, what I did deserved every drop of my sweat, I feel that I did something that will not go to waste, and the later generations would benefit from.
Battir, an ancient village in the West Bank, was my destination this time. It lies in between the two famous cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. This was not the first time for me to enter this historical village, but indeed every time I entered it I had a whole different experience, because as I said before, on each walk the purpose always change and so does the final destination. Battir is famous for its vegetables market in Palestine; this is related to a very important factor, which is the pure water that feeds the soil of Battir. People of Battir depend on agriculture to feed their families, thus they take a good care of the land which make them experts in their fields.
Before arriving to Battir, we started our walk from the DCO checkpoint of Beit-Jala. The DCO checkpoint separates between the West Bank and Jerusalem. I thought I would see the wall around me when we were walking, or at least see it from the distance because I’m always used to see it whenever there is a checkpoint separating between the West Bank and “Israel”. The idea of how politics is always involved in my walks makes me wonder about the reason, I mean I know the reason but still I don’t understand it. It makes me wonder if it will be the same thing if I took a walk in the mountains of Switzerland or a hike in the Rockies. I found an answer for this question, no, it will not be even close to the same, but this raises another question, what other than politics would be involved in such walks? From this walk I discovered that politics is a part of my everyday life, there is some kind of friction in home, school and even in the streets with it. I started to accept this fact and dealing with it, because it is the best way to react with what is around me. Down deep in the valleys of Bet-Jala and Battir there were a lot of olive trees laying down side by side with spring weeds. In the valley there were a lot of caves which might have been homes for families a very long time ago. This connection of past and present gave me a sense of responsibility towards this land, and I felt that what our ancestors started should not go to waste.
The sky was clear and blue on that day; the fresh air was blowing giving me refreshment from the hot son. The green nature of Battir never stops to amuse me with all its beautiful surroundings, I think it’s a great example for Palestinian villages to follow. If I had to choose between living in an industrial city or living in a calm rural neighborhood, I would definitely choose to live in the rural neighborhood among the nature. I see of it a place to relax and enjoy the environment that God has created; it is good for my body and my soul.
After we arrived to Battir, I could notice the difference of the structure of the buildings, some were old and some were new. This difference is related to the development of the cities and villages around Battir, which affected Battir and made it follow the current criteria of the other cities. Some of the old buildings of Battir are established before the war of 1948, which make some of these buildings a historical place. If we compare Battir’s situation to other West Bank villages we see a big difference in the structure of the villages. Battir is one of the small villages that chose to keep its traditions till to this current day. But other villages like Al-Ezaryah (the village that I live in) chose the opposite, thus it followed the path of establishing new buildings on the ruins of the old ones. This comparison between the past and the present allowed me to understand the role of history in creating or demolishing civilizations, and the effects that it can leave for the future of the land. As I learned in our history class, the history is not only related to the land itself, but also there is the history of ideas and how they develop and change with the years.
As we continued our walk in the valleys of Battir, I noticed the irrigation system of the land, the water canals went all the way down to irrigate the fields. Every land owner had his own share and percentage of the water. This distribution of the water and the structure of the canals go way back to decades ago, but it suggests that the old citizens of Battir were educated people and are familiar with architecture. This helped them a lot to reduce the time of irrigation and to save water. It is a very simple strategy, but its inventors are only simple farmers. And according to the time it was established, it is conceived as a very important step towards promoting agriculture.
A one important aspect is how the land of Battir is divided. The rail road in the middle of the valley implies a lot of things. This rail road is currently connecting Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, but its history is a lot bigger than this. The rail road took more land towards the West Bank because of the resistance fighters during the war. They played a huge part in resisting the Israeli army, which made them to fall back. The rail road is still playing a big part in the political situation of the land of Battir to this day. There is a plan since 2003 to surround Battir with the separation wall, but the rail road gave the people of Battir the right to negotiate with the occupier to stop the establishment of the wall on their lands. Nothing separates between the West Bank and Jerusalem but the rail road which can be passed by foot, but it is not really that simple, because there is a motion camera on the top of a tower on one of the hills that covers the whole area and stop people carrying the West Bank IDs to enter Jerusalem. I wonder how the land would be if the rail road didn’t pass from the land of Battir, would Battir be the same? Would it affect the agriculture of the land? The separation wall will take place over the cultivated land, it would be a disaster. It is sarcastic that I am glad that the Israeli rail road passes from Battir’s land, but it is the truth, because if it didn’t, the whole structure of the land would be different, different to the worse.
Hassan, one of our guides, told us when we were walking “Right where we now stand, this is where the green line passes”. We learned about the green line in our history classes back in high school. The green line separates “Israel” from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The history behind the line’s name is that green ink was used to draw the line on the map during the talks. It separated heavily populated regions, and divided towns and villages and separated farmers from their fields which limited the movement in some areas. When Hassan told us about the green line I had to do some research about it to find out what its role and aim. It might sound like something that brings joy because of how its name sounds, but it is the entire opposite, it only brought suffering to the Palestinian people. As we were walking in the middle of the valley the train passed by us, Israeli citizens were in that train. I wonder what their feeling is when they look from the window to Battir, how it feels to pass from a land that doesn’t belong for them, do they care or do they not.
After that we started climbing up to the hill to plant olive trees. Just like what Raja Shehadeh said in his book “Palestinian Walks”, that according to the Israeli law, any Palestinian land that is not cultivated or is not used, gives the Israeli authorities the right to confiscate it. This is why we wanted to challenge their lame laws by cultivating the land with olive trees; it was a way to break our silence and let our voices be heard. It was also a way for us to connect with our roots and ancestors by planting the tree that represents Palestine in one way or another. I think resistance is not just about fighting; it can also be economical, social and educational resistance in the face of the enemy. Planting trees is a way of resistance from my opinion, and I believe that it has the same effect if not even stronger. We dug into the ground and planted the trees, what I did deserved every drop of my sweat, I feel that I did something that will not go to waste, and the later generations would benefit from.
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