Tag: Asira al-Qibliya - Page 2 - International Solidarity Movement

An interview with Hakima Hasan Motlaq on positive resistance and women’s empowerment in the village of Asira al-Qibliya

6th December 2013 | International Solidarity Movement | Asira al-Qibliya, Occupied Palestine

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Hakima Hasan Motlaq and I am from Asira al-Qibliya where I have always lived. It is south of Nablus and I’m 35 years old and I am married. I am the head of the village’s women and children’s resource centre, Retaj. This is a voluntary role. Our main aim is the empowerment of women across many fields, education, culture, and financial empowerment if we can.

Would you be able to tell us a bit about the village of Asira including some of the history?

Asira is a very old village with Roman ruins. So it dates back to the Roman age with a lot of evidence of the Ottomans being here as well. Some of the Roman ruins lie in the west of the village. The village lies 14 Km south of Nablus and is 6,440 dunams in its size. The population is 3,200. But 50% of the population are refugees of the 1948 war mostly coming from Haifa.

The economy of the village relies on agriculture especially olives, figs and almond trees. A few people work as employees of the Palestinian Authority (PA) or other groups, often NGOs. Other than this people work as builders or sometimes with cows and sheep.

Is there problems with unemployment or a lack of work in the village?

Yes. We have many graduates from the university and they have no chance of work even though they have graduated. Some young people are able to stay and work but others have had to move to Nablus or Ramallah as there is such little work in the village.

So my group Retaj have actively tried to help the women in particular who are struggling to find work. Many are stuck at home cleaning or cooking rather than living their lives. We have many workshops to help them and get them to improve themselves.

So obviously unemployment is a big problem for the village but what other sorts of problems is the village facing at the moment?

The water is a major problem. We don’t have our own water supply so we are forced to buy water in tanks for 140 shekels at a time. However in 2002 a project started with the water. Before we had our own water from local springs but the nearby settlement with the Israeli army took this for themselves. But yes in 2002 this project started but the Israelis have kept stopping and starting work ever since by withdrawing their permission for it to go ahead and then changing their minds again. Water is very expensive for us. A big family needs about two tanks a month.

Another problem is the dust which is caused by the quarry and lorries going to that quarry and back again. The pollution has caused children, and babies in particular, breathing conditions such as asthma.

We also don’t have somewhere to put our rubbish. A car comes once or twice a week but this is not enough especially in summer when the flies and smell becomes unbearable. Seven children are disabled which has been blamed by doctors on the pollution from the quarry when the mothers were pregnant.

Also, with the quarry the lorries come through the one road in the village and it’s very dangerous. We had a strike to try and stop them and said to the lorries that they could not pass. But the problem is that they need to work even if it is dangerous for the people. So yes the quarry is a also a big problem.

The school is also too far from the village. The children have to travel a long way as we don’t have buses to them. Especially in winter this is very difficult.

Wild pigs have also been a problem.

In Deir Istiya complaints have been made that settlers have released wild pigs to disrupt the olive farming, is that the same here?

Yes. The problems with the pigs have only been taking place in the last 2 or 3 years so we definitely think the settlers from Yizhar are behind it. They attack people’s gardens and where food is stored as well as the crops on the farmland. Another village near here found boxes of insects that were released onto the land and destroyed much of the olive harvest so this is something that the settlers have been doing in this area for a while.

It sounds like the village has many challenges facing it. But to make this all even worse you have disruption caused by the nearby settlers. But do the settlers ever come to the village itself?

The main problem we face is the occupation and the settlements. In the beginning the settlement had only 18 dunams of land that had once belonged to Asira. But now they have 1,800 dunams of land taken from 6 villages including Asira but also Burin, Madama, Huwwara, Urif and Einabus. But also they come to the villages up to 3 times a week at the moment. They burn cars, burn trees, burn crops. So we’ve had to stop planting crops nearby to the settlement as they always come and destroy whatever we plant.

When they come at night they are also causing a big problem for the children in particular. The children suffer from insomnia, bed wetting and their performance at school is worse all due to the psychological effects of this constant fear. Even when they play you can see it. They are always playing violent games like “settler and Palestinian” where they hurt each other. This is their favourite game and they pretend to shoot each other and all the parents are scared for their children and the psychological damage that is being done to them.

But even worse than this in recent times rather than just coming and throwing stones settlers have come with guns. Last year a man was shot in the head. We have a video of this incident. [Yizhar is considered the most violent settlement in the West Bank due to the number of reported incidents coming from there.]

So in the face of all these problems caused by the settlers what has the village done to try and make things better?

We can’t really do anything. But when they come the whole village comes and protects the houses at threat. This is to protect and support these people. Clashes between us and them happen all the time. But when we go to the court for these families the courts do nothing as they are Israeli courts. We are in a struggle with them [the settlers] all the time.

It sounds really difficult to do anything to directly stop this. But can you tell us some more about the women and children’s resource centre and the group Retaj that you are part of? What is the role they are playing in making things better for the village?

The idea we had for Retaj was to work with women with the help of other organisations. We created it this year on January the 14th and wanted to do something good for the village’s women and children. We currently have 70 members and have seven in our council which decides what we’re going to do and runs the group. I am the head of the organisation. The majority of the 70 women who are our members are housewives although some are younger university graduates. Our members who are housewives find that once the children have gone to school and they have done the housework they have nothing to do. So they come to Retaj. They want to improve and empower themselves as many of them left school at a very young age. They see education as a great way to do this.

We put on many workshops for them from stuff like pregnancy workshops, to healthy eating to help their children’s health but also workshops on First Aid as we don’t have a medical centre here in Asira. So now if anyone is injured, for example from the tear gas inhalation which affects the children particularly, the women in the village know what to do whether it is in the village or in her house specifically. Once women have finished the First Aid course they are given a bag of medical supplies so they really can make a difference. Recently a child hurt themselves falling over and one of our members got there and helped them until the ambulance came [ambulances are often hindered traveling to and from the nearest hospital in Nablus as two Israeli checkpoints lie on the route.] In fact this workshop has been so useful we do it for women and men now. Another incident saw a car accident happen in the centre of the village. A woman who had done the workshop managed to help out someone who was quite badly injured. This makes me happy as it feels like we are really doing something useful and positive.

So what other sorts of workshops do you do?

We do many other workshops, for example growing vegetables. They can then sell them and it gives the housewives a chance to earn some money for the family which helps a lot. I would say that for the woman in the family almost all the stress falls on her. The man leaves the house early in the morning and the woman is left with the children. She has to look after them and then cook and clean. Because she is in the house all day she is far more aware of the problems the family is facing whether it is fear of settler attacks, pollution or not having enough money. In fact the extra money that can be earned by selling vegetables can also help to put their children into the university.

We also have psychological workshops as well. They talk about the fears they have and what’s on their mind. A lot of the women really enjoy these workshops as they have a lot to say living where they do with such day to day problems.

We also have many widows and women whose husbands have left them. So they come to Retaj searching for a chance to earn money or just learn about herself by increasing her knowledge or culture. But we also do more practical workshops on women’s rights as many women are unaware that they have any. Many women do not get the land from their families that they are entitled to inherit. So we can offer women the chance to go to court and fight for this and support them when they are nervous as they are not use to these sorts of legal environments which are dominated by men.

So what does Retaj do for the children of the village?

We work with the children a lot as well. After school there is nothing for the children they are just in the street. This year 3 children have had accidents in the street with cars. One child now has a shorter leg, such was the extent of his injuries.

We do many workshops. We did one for art but it was only 2 weeks which wasn’t good as we need more long term courses and projects. So we have focused on English lessons as their English is very poor. We get about 60 children a week. We have three lessons a week for English.

Music lessons are also 3 times a week and we have over 60 children for this. Mostly playing the guitar but also singing as well. We took them to Ni’lin to a musical festival to perform with a London choir and also in Nablus with a French choir. So far we’ve also had two concerts in Asira.

But now the music lessons have stopped as we don’t have any more volunteers until February. So we’ve been trying to think what we can do with them instead. Last week we went to the zoo in Qalqiliya for example.

They also do psychology workshops with the YMCA. They draw what they feel and we tend to focus this on children living closest to the settlement.

So who are the volunteers?

In English and music all the volunteers are international. Initially I did some English lessons but it was too much work as I have a lot of other things to do with Retaj. Then ISM and other groups started doing the English lessons.

But sometimes the psychology and art workshops are run by groups and individuals from Palestine.

And how are these projects funded?

We have no income source so everyone is a volunteer. We don’t want to have to ask the children for money we just want them to learn. Trips like the one to the zoo last week was paid for by the YMCA. We proposed to them that they do this and they were happy to and took 18 children on this trip.

But this is a problem with having a lack of money. The Retaj centre is a very old building that needs work. The building was in fact donated by a woman of the village for us to use. But yes it does need work. Some groups are happy to help including Première Urgence but they can’t fund the whole renovation.

As you come into the village you see that a water project is going on and you mentioned it briefly earlier. Can you tell us a bit about this?

It’s funded by U.S. Aid. It’s been carried out by a company from outside Asira so we have little to do with it. But it is very important for the village as water is so expensive. However I believe the village council has made a mistake with this project as we have so little involvement. Yesterday the company dug into the ground and there was no electricity for four hours.

But another issue is that the settlers attack it all the time. One time they burned down the room with all the equipment in it. On other occasions they have stolen materials and take the CCTV tape when they do this. Because of this the company wants the village to put a guard by the project at night but this would be very dangerous for someone as they would definitely be attacked.

For me I also find this difficult as it’s U.S. Aid funding it. The U.S. government protects Israel. It gives them arms. Not only this but they say we are guilty and Israel is innocent. We are terrorists and the Israelis are victims. The truth is that the U.S is lying and don’t care about us and whether we live or die. They give us small projects but give the Israelis money and guns to kill us. I boycott all U.S Aid projects and refuse to work with them. With this project in particular something is wrong anyway. When work started in 2002 the Israelis immediately took more land for the nearby settlement and said go ahead and have your water project. But when there is pressure on them to not take more land they oppose the water project. So only while we lose will they allow us this small project.

What does the future hold for Retaj and Asira?

We hope the future will be good for Retaj and the women and children of the village. We want to be involved with other projects that will empower people in the village. We hope that we can have a specific centre for the children to learn English and music but also do other things we haven’t done before like sports. We also want the children to learn how to perform dabke (a traditional Palestinian dance). We have started to meet other women from villages around Ramallah and Nablus who are doing similar things or want to start to. This looks like it might be really useful and we can share skills with each other. We have already helped some potential new groups with the applications they need to complete to become registered groups or organizations.

So yes, hopefully the future will be good for Retaj and Asira. Insha’Allah [if God wills it].

Attacks on Asira: Occupation stealing childhoods

19th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Asira al Qibliya, Occupied Palestine

In the evenings of the 15th and 16th of August, the village of Asira al Qibliya was raided by Israeli occupation forces, who fired teargas canisters and sound bombs throughout the village. Residents of Asira are concerned for the children of the village and how life under the occupation is stealing their childhoods.

The Israeli military recently posted a blog that used falsified images to claim that there was not a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that Palestinians were enjoying the holiday season of Eid, which comes after the fasting month of Ramadan. It is true that Palestinians all over Palestine are enjoying the holiday season particularly the children, as they have a break from school but they still face the difficulties of living under the occupation on a daily basis.

Palestinian dubke dancing from a children's event in Asira (Photo by ISM) — Palestinian dubke dancing from a children’s event in Asira (Photo by ISM)

In Asira, children have been involved in various activities and workshops. On Saturday the 18th of August they celebrated the end of their music workshop with a party. The holiday had not been problem free however, as on the nights of the 15th and 16th of August, at around 9.30pm, the Israeli army drove into the village and shot teargas and soundbombs. Because it was the holidays, children had been playing in the street and families had been relaxing as they were not at work. The army invasion led to everyone being trapped in their homes, suffocating from the gas.

The army shooting their weapons in the night was ‘like lightning,’ an organiser of children’s activities said, ‘leaving people shocked and scared.’ The children’s organiser was confused about the reason behind the attack, asking ‘why do they come now? There have been no incidents or clashes, it’s the Ramadan holiday when people are relaxed, I don’t know why they come.’ The army stayed for 30-40 minutes and made no arrests, leaving the village in shock. Many people wondered why the army would come, other than to add to a list of problems and harassment that the villagers already face.

The villagers of Asira have faced problems with settlers almost daily, even during Ramadan. Settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar regularly attack the village, an attack which the army then join against the villagers when they come out to defend their homes. Settlers have been focusing their attacks on a water project on the outskirts of the village, which is being constructed in order to provide the people of the village with water. Asira has a shortage of water – unlike the nearby illegal settlement of Yitzhar – so families are required to buy tanks of water. However, these are so prohibitively expensive that villagers always have less than they need. The children’s organiser spoke about an attack that day where settlers had managed to set a small fire at the water project, but it was thankfully swiftly extinguished. The water project is scheduled to be finished in 18 months, but with almost daily attacks by the settlers, who knows its fate.

Asira al Qibliya being attacked by settlers on 30th May 2013 (Photo by ISM)

The children of Asira are naturally conditioned by the occupation. The activities organised for them aim to offer an escape and psychological support for the fear and hardships that the occupation creates. During the holidays, children were encouraged to make a film about themselves but instead wanted to make a film about the army and the settlers. This saddened the organiser who said: ‘They should take opportunity to talk about themselves and their feelings. If they want to talk about settlers it will take too long, as the history is long. Children should escape and should not always have to think about the occupation, they should talk about what they want to talk about, they must start now to talk about what they want.’

The party celebrating the end of the music project was a break from the children’s typical games of playing soldier, settler and shabab (Palestinian youth). The children listened to music and joined in with the excercises they had learnt in the workshop, before celebrating Palestinian culture through dabka and traditional songs. The party was interrupted briefly when a boy commented on gathering military on the hill and so everyone believed it would lead to a settler attack. Fortunately that evening they did not attack the village, allowing the children to enjoy their workshop.

Settler harassment continues in Asira’s Water reservoir project

4th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Asira al Qibliya , Occupied Palestine

This week, settlers from Yitzhar attacked the Asira village water project and its workers, once again. Israeli occupation forces who went to the scene did not to stop the settlers and instead occupied the roof of a Palestinian house located nearby.

On July 31st settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar attacked workers at the water reservoir project above the village of Asira. The Israeli army came to intervene and then in order to “check” invaded the house closest to the water project belonging to a family with small children. The army then stationed themselves on the roof of the water project for the remainder of the day.

The water reservoir project is aimed at providing residents from Asira with running water. Attacks on the project have been happening every day that there are workers present in the last months. Settlers trespass on to Asira village land and attack the workers often making “demonstrations” against the water project which will not affect the settlement in any way.

Asira al Qibliya, an ancient village with the current population of 3,500, and the other villages which surround the illegal settlement of Yitzhar face daily violence from its settlers.

In mid-1980s, the illegal settler colony of Yitzhar was established on the hilltop located around six Palestinian villages. Before the colony, the hilltop area was the locals’ breadbasket, thanks largely to its generous water resources. The nearby natural spring used to be Asira’s main source of water but the illegal settler colony, backed up by the Israeli government and the army, has completely blocked Palestinian access to the spring. Since then, villagers are forced to rely on water tanks; one such tank costs NIS 130 (US $36) in a place where unemployment is high; it is enough for a family for only a week. residents of Asira hope that when the project is completed, they will have access to water.

UPDATED: Illegal settler colonisers attack workers in Asira

17th June 2013 | International Women’s Peace Service | Asira al Qibliya , Occupied Palestine

UPDATE 19th June: Settlers from the illegal settlement of Yizhar again attacked the water reservoir project in Asira. At 4pm on the 19th of June fifty settlers, accompanied by over thirty Israeli soldiers trespassed onto village land and attacked locals working on the site. The workers left the project immediately, but the settlers and army remained in the area until 8pm. The army threatened to arrest concerned locals and international activists, stating that the area was now a closed military zone. Tear gas was shot at villagers who stood observing the scene. A number of villagers have noted an increased military presence around the village, with training exercises taking place nearby the past three mornings.

UPDATE 18th June: The illegal settler continue their attacks on the village of Asira. Yesterday (18 June) they burnt the power/electricity switch box of the water reservoir project. Apart from the immediate labour and financial costs, such criminalities aim to further block Palestinian access to their water.

*******

In the evening of Sunday 16 June, a gang of illegal settler colonisers, accompanied by some 30 Israeli soldiers, attacked the small group of Palestinian men who were working on a water project in the village of Asira, south of Nablus. The settlers threw stones while the army threw stun grenades and fired tear gas at the workers and the villagers who had gathered at the site to protect them. The attackers then told the workers that they “must leave the area”.

Such criminal activities against the workers are committed almost daily in Asira. Even despite the fact that the project they are working on – building a water reservoir and a pipe to connect the surrounding villages of Madama, Burin, and Asira, to a water source – has a building permit, they are not allowed to do their work uninterrupted by violence from the illegal settler colonisers and the Israeli army, who have also destroyed some 100 pipes originally bought for the project.

Asira [al Qibliya] is an ancient village with the current population of 3,500. West of the village Roman ruins are still visible; before the Romans the territory was inhabited by the Phoenicians and the Canaanites.

Tradition has it that at the beginning of spring, the villagers of Asira would gather for celebrations on a hill close to the village, which according to Islam is a holy site. Among other festivities, they would play with brightly coloured eggs: one who cracks an egg against another’s, wins.

In mid-1980s, the illegal settler colony of Yitzhar was established on that very hilltop. That was the end of the Palestinian spring celebrations, and the beginning of Asira’s land and, crucially, water theft. Before the colony, the area was the locals’ breadbasket, thanks largely to its generous water resources. The nearby natural spring used to be Asira’s main source of water; the illegal settler colony, backed up by the Israeli government and the army, has completely blocked Palestinian access to the spring. Since then, villagers are forced to rely on water tanks; one such tank costs NIS 130 (US $36) in a place where unemployment is high; it is enough for a family for only a week. In this context, water theft is yet another method intended to drive the indigenous population off their land.

Residents of the illegal Israeli settler colony of Yitzhar are considered to be among the most violent in occupied Palestine; they physically attack Palestinian villagers (oftentimes children), set their land and property on fire, destroy houses, and cut or burn olive trees together with other vital sources of livelihood. “[The illegal settler colony of Yitzhar] is like a cancer in the heart of this area,” a local resident told IWPS. “… And in our hearts.”

Arson attack on Asira village by illegal settlement of Yitzhar

30th May 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Asira, Occupied Palestine

At 1.30pm today, 30th May, thirty settlers from the illegal settlement of Yitzhar trespassed on to land above the village of Asira, lighting fires and throwing rocks at around seventy villagers who came to extinguish the flames and defend their village. Israeli military and Border Police cooperated with the settlers whilst standing in front of them, firing teargas and blocking the Palestinians and fire service from putting out the spreading fires that in total burned 200 dunams of village land over the course of two hours.

Settlers from Yitzhar throwing rocks at villagers from Asira while Israeli army looks on

After setting fire to the village land above Asira the settlers then stood and threw rocks at any villagers who came near. Several youth from Asira were injured after being hit by rocks during the attack. Twenty five Israeli soldiers and Border Police were present at the scene throughout the course of events. Countless times the settlers ran down the hill towards the villagers throwing rocks and the army stood by or attempted to prevent the villagers from standing their ground and stopping the settlers from entering the village. In attempts to disperse the villagers the army threw sound bombs and shot tear gas into the stationary crowd.

The villagers could only stand and watch as their land containing olive trees and wheat crops burned in front of them. A tractor with a front end loader was visible at the nearby military outpost digging a trench around it to prevent the fire spreading into the outpost with no consideration taken for the many dunams of village land ignited. At 3pm the settlers turned and ran back up the hill whilst the army stood in front of the villagers threatening them with their guns.

Once the settlers had vacated the area, the villagers were still prevented from putting out the fire on their land. In desperation the villagers began to harvest wheat that was in danger of being burned. Another ten minutes passed before the army began putting out the fire themselves and then allowed the Palestinian Fire Brigade to complete the job. In total over 200 dunams of land had been burnt across land owned by the village of Asira and on to that of the neighbouring village of Urif.

Security employed by the illegal settlement of Yitzhar was also present, parking their truck with three Israeli Military army jeeps, observing the attack from above. This assault comes a month after a violent settler attack on Asira and neighbouring villages of Urif and Burin in retaliation for stabbing of a settler from Yitzhar settlement. Yitzhar is considered the most violent of settlements in the West Bank by the UN.

Asira and the other villages which surround the illegal settlement of Yitzhar face daily violence from its Zionist settlers. Palestinians are regularly injured, schools are frequently attacked, agricultural land it often set alight and residential homes are often damaged. The Israeli army also frequently raid the villages, often in the middle of the night, to search houses and make wanton arrests, often of children. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention collective punishment is a war crime.