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VISIT PALESTINE: POSTCARDS FROM OCCUPIED TERRITORIES / 2

Az Zawiya village - Agricultural checkpoints

Abu Sameer leaves his house and proceeds through the streets of the city, wrapped in darkness. While he is walking, other villagers join him. It is 5 in the morning; the city is still silent. Only the workers are following this routine made by greetings, yawn, waiting, swearing, injustices and solidarity. A walk between the city and the woods to the gate, a small iron door who give them the possibility to get to the “other side”.
There are already people over there, waiting. Workers, generally. But there are also many farmers, which are prevented to reach their land freely due to the separation barrier. Abu Sameer is one of them.
The gate opens at 6 in the morning. But the opening hours depends on the soldiers, who are late sometimes few minutes, sometimes hours. In the meantime, the workers are waiting, even under the flowing rain in winter.

VISIT PALESTINE: POSTCARDS FROM OCCUPIED TERRITORIES / 1

Az Zawiya village - Land grabbing

“Talla (look)! Can you see the ruins over there?” Amir asks. “That’s where I was born and grew up. All that land belongs to my family”.
The wind blows hard almost to return the pride of those words.
From the hill Amir looks that land, now so far from him. A military jeep patrols the road on the other side of the fence. Voices are heard in Hebrew, and the sound of machinery which are working in the quarry. Amir lets slip his usual contagious laugh. “When I was a child, I always got closer to the quarry to play”.
The silence returns. Amir can’t go back on that land.
Now the grey buildings of Israeli cities are there, and not so far Tel Aviv.
For someone, a wall to protect from a world considered hostile but that people refuse to see and to know; for others, a cage which is becoming narrower and oppressive.
Now the wall separates and divides a land that before stretched free until the sea.
The wall imposes itself vehemently, following a line deliberately not regular. Delineates spaces, not only physical, but mental.
An “outside” and an “inside” where it’s easy to get lost.

Carpe Diem - Seize the day

February 2020

I still have a few days to live here before going back to Italy. That very same Italy which now, due to a “SmartVirus” (as I call it), is suffering and going crazy.
I said “live”, rather than “remain” or “spend time”, because here, in the South Hebron Hills, and in particular in At-Tuwani, we live.
It does not matter the time going by, especially in this season when the days get longer and time passes slowly.
We live every second in a more authentic and full way, without wasting it.
We enjoy the beauty of the small things, of being together, of the family, of the friends, of the neighbor.
Almost, I would say, we are in peace, light heartedness, freedom and serenity.

Burin (Nablus), October 19

In the Palestinian village of Burin, Israeli settlers of the illegal outpost of Givat Ronin attacked Palestinian farmers who were picking olives. The settlers stole olives, threw stones by hand and slingshots, burnt the field, shot live ammunitions against Palestinians, Internationals and Operation Dove volunteers on the spot. Three Palestinians were injured in the attack.

Never give up

Stars never cheat. Here the sky offers always a marvellous show. Tonight in Sarura the orange nuances of the moon invade the space together with the immense Big Dipper.
Sit beside me, A. is lighting a camp-fire, trying to stoke the embers. The flame revives the still life at our feet. Satisfied by the fire, A. turns to me and says: “See, it's the things where you put yourself and all of your energy to give you the biggest satisfactions”.
I nod and smile back.
Fire now gives us heat.
I turn to him and ask: “How can you be so peaceful and full of energy? So empathic with us and the world, despite your land is frayed by violence that tries to erase your lives and your freedom?