Operazione Colomba

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?

Armed Israeli settlers invaded the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani

On March 10 at 11.00 am, more than 30 armed settlers from the illegal Israeli outpost of Havat Ma’on invaded the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani.
More than 20 Israeli soldiers, police and border police arrived in the village, but did nothing to remove the settlers, who remained in the village for more than two hours. The residents of At Tuwani, including the women and children and accompanied by international and Israeli activists, confronted the settlers and prevented them from entering homes in the village.
The Israeli settlers threw stones and threatened Palestinians with guns. In response the soldiers used teargas and sound grenades to move the Palestinians and activists out of the area, and then declared a large area of Palestinian land, including agricultural areas and olive groves, a closed military zone. Army and Border police continued to occupy the village throughout the day.

I have a problem, I can’t feel rage

I left the first time with a good dose of unconsciousness mixed with carelessness. I left probably not fully comprehending the intensity of emotions I would have felt once arrived in At-Tuwani. I didn’t understand that it couldn’t just be three months, a relatively small chapter in my life. I didn’t know that that departure, so unaware and naive, would have led me to today. After, nothing has ever been done ingenuously and nothing has ever been easy.

It hasn’t been easy to see my parents’ reaction to the “mum, dad, I’m going back and I will stay for two years”, I was aware that I has hurt them and gave them pain. I will forever remember that moment in which I clearly felt that I was torned in two: on one side them, and on the other simply the foggy image in my eyes of Aboud and Meriam, my neighbours’ toddlers in this village. They won, I’m here in At-Tuwani.

Abu Rabiya speech: Presentation of the book Badheea

Rome, 03/01/2017 – Presentation of the book Badheea, written by Mattia Civico. The book tells about the Italian initiative to open humanitarian corridor meant to welcome Syrian refugees who fled to Lebanon. One year later, Mattia Civico writes about the expirience. During the presentation, Abu Rabiya, one of the Syrian who reached Italy through the humanitarin corridor, addresses a speech to Italian people, associations and isntitutions.

A dangerous road to education

Palestinian students under settlers violence and military negligence
SUMMARY OF THE 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR – 1 st SEMESTER
Period: 2016/08/28 – 2017/01/10

Children from the Palestinian villages of Tuba and Maghayir Al-Abeed began the first semester of the 2016-17 school year with Israeali soldiers escorting them to their school in the nearby Palestinian village of At-Tuwani. This is the thirteenth continuous year that these children have needed a military escort in order to walk to school safely.
To get to school the children must walk along a road which once provided easy travel between the villages, but which now runs between the Israeli settlement of Ma’on and the illegal outpost of Havat Ma’on. For the past thirteen years violent behavior by settlers from the outpost, the existence of which is illegal under both Israeli and International law, has made the road inaccessible to Palestinians. Even escorted by Israeli soldiers the schoolchildren continue to face the possibility of violence, harassment and intimidation as they walk to and from school.