Nedal Khaleel Hamdan (Photo: Rosa Schiano, il blog di Oliva)
This morning at the Eretz border in Beit Hanoun, Israeli soldiers shot a 14-year-old boy, Nedal Khaleel Hamdan. We went to the hospital to meet him. We found him sitting on the bed with his left shoulder bandaged, surrounded by his family.
Nedal was collecting metal along with other boys in an area near the border. Often young people his age collect metal, then sell it to earn some money and help their families as well. At about 8:30 in the morning, Israeli soldiers started shooting at them; Nedal and the other fled, but while they were running Nedal was hit in the shoulder by a bullet.
He was transported on a cart to Balsam Hospital, which provided first aid, and was then transferred to Kamal Odwaan Hospital in Beit Hanoun. There the doctor told us: “We made an incision to remove the M-16 bullet. There is a total lack of supplies in the emergency room. We have to ration everything. People get a lot less medicine than they need. ”
Nadal’s recovery time will be a month. Fortunately, there have been no complications.
When we asked Nedal why he works there, told us: “We try to sell the metal to give our families the money they need to live.”
His father, Khaleel, has 16 children, and cannot work due to a problem in his legs. Lack of money forces his children to work in these dangerous areas, even if they do not earn more than 10 shekels for the sale of the metal. Sometimes his family depends on this money. Khaleel adds: “We live in a situation of injustice in Palestine and suffer from this occupation, but we want to work and need some way to make money. We hope that this occupation and the siege end soon and we can have a better life.”
How long can such crimes continue? Here they fire on children, while the world keeps its eyes and ears closed.
Children walk past a poster welcoming freed Palestinian prisoners in Qalandiya refugee camp near the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 19, 2011. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Twenty-eight cases of children being shot at by the border fence between Israel and the Gaza strip whilst gathering building materials like gravel, or working by the fence, have been documented by Defence for Children International in their latest report ‘Children of Gravel’.
The shootings reportedly took place between March 26 2010 and October 3, 2011, according to Defence for Children International (DCI)-Palestine Section . According to DCI, the Israeli soldiers often fire warning shots to scare off workers by the border. Their report also states that ‘these soldiers sometimes shoot and kill the donkeys used by the workers, and also target the workers, usually, but not always, shooting at their legs.’
‘That children are in a situation where they need to work to help their parents meet basic family needs is an infringement of their rights. That children are in the line of fire to meet these needs is appalling,’ says World Vision Programme Director for Gaza, Siobhan Kimmerle.
Forty percent of Gaza’s population is unemployed and 80% of the population is completely reliant on foreign assistance. In addition, Israeli restrictions limit the amount of construction material entering the Gaza borders for reconstruction and development. As a result, many workers collect gravel and sell it to builders to use for concrete. The children among the gravel collectors earn about US$8-$14 per day to help support their families.
The North Gaza governorate is one of the most impoverished governorates in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and the neediest in the Gaza Strip. In comparison to the other governorates in the Gaza Strip, North Gaza’s food insecurity rate is the highest at 60% and the unemployment rate the second highest at 39%. World Vision works with communities in North Gaza to help improve family livelihoods and help ensure their children are cared for and protected.
Currently there are 2,411 registered children in World Vision’s North Gaza Area Development Programme, with 7,061 beneficiaries and as many as 22,594 indirect beneficiaries. World Vision’s programming in North Gaza includes rural development, job creation, and child empowerment projects.
The blockade of the Gaza Strip, including Israeli restrictions on items entering the borders, continue to harm Gaza’s deteriorating economy. The Israeli military continues to restrict Palestinians’ access to the land on the Gaza side of the Israeli-Gaza border, maintaining that anyone that comes within 300 metres of the borders puts his/her life at risk, which has had a negative impact on the physical security and livelihoods of Palestinians living in that area. DCI’s documentation indicates that children have been shot at while being between 30 to 800 metres within the Israeli border fence.
World Vision continues to work for the well-being of children and advocate for an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. World Vision believes that this conflict threatens the lives of all Palestinian and Israeli children, and one of the greatest obstacles to achieving fullness of life for each and every child is the ongoing conflict and the perpetuation of violence.
3 December 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
It is hard to describe the joy of a simple yet so meaningful clean up day, and the beauty of children playing in a stress-free environment. We joined residents of Balata Refugee Camp in a clean up and play day. Many people came out Friday, December 2nd and Saturday December 3rd to help with cleaning a field. The youngest volunteer was barely over two years old, but that did not stop her from clearing scattered rocks. The anticipation for the games to come excited us all.
Volunteers and locals make room for children to run free - Click here for more images
Balata children are clearly affected by the Israeli Occupation and possibly one of their biggest struggles is lack of space to play. There is no area where they can play freely. Even the field they cleaned up this week will be plowed in two weeks. They already knew this field will be no place to play in two weeks, and they still wanted to clean up the field. They did not give up when the job of field cleaning seemed never ending. The spirit of never backing down when the odds are against them is apparent in all of these children. We have no doubt that these children will continue to resist for their right to play, one game at a time.
Amal is a volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed).
6 November 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, Gaza
Photo: Hama Waqum - Click here for more images
In the afternoon, we went to a special Eid children’s fair at a park in Beit Hanoun, in the north of the Gaza Strip. Fifty percent of the population in Gaza is under the age of 18, and as we arrived, that statistic became quite clear. There were kids everywhere. Playing, dancing, singing –riding horses — all in their brand new Eid clothes. Poofy synthetic dahlia barrettes were all the the rage among the girls. Volunteers from the Beit Hanoun Local Initiative, which works with children traumatized by Israeli violence (among other things) were singing and clapping as dozens of kids shrieked with pleasure as we arrived.
Then there was a sort of homemade karaoke where Arabic songs were played over speakers and kids would sing along. Everyone got a prize.
29 October 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank
On Thursday October 29, in Huwarra, around 3:00PM, soldiers detained busses and services for no apparent reasons.
The busses that were stopped were filled with children going home from school. The passengers passports were taken from them, without any explanation, and held for about 45 minutes. Two internationals on their way back from olive harvesting in the area saw what was happening and made an attempt to ease the situation.
They were met with an aggressive appearance and threatend with arrest. The soldiers showed no concern that the detained were mostly young children. They said, “This is our job. We are the law, we only protect our country from people like them” and pointed at the children.
The internationals sat down and observed from a close distance after being threatened and insulted by the soldiers.
Soon after, the detained were given back their passports and were allowed to leave and the soldiers left as well.
Another group of soldiers placed a spike carpet at a near by road, to make it difficult for cars to pass, and randomly stopped cars.
When questioned about their presence the answer was ,”This is a dangerous area, we can´t talk about it.”
Emma and Becka are volunteers with International Solidarity Movement (names changed).
