Tag: Hebron

CPT Statement: CPTers Released

Released by the Christian Peacemaker Teams

Vigil for CPT hostages in Hebron

Our hearts are filled with joy today as we heard that Harmeet Singh Sooden, Jim Loney and Norman Kember have been safely released in Baghdad. Christian Peacemaker Teams rejoices with their families and friends at the expectation of their return to their loved ones and community. Together we have endured uncertainty, hope, fear, grief and now joy during the four months since they were abducted in Baghdad.

We rejoice in the return of Harmeet Sooden. He has been willing to put his life on the line to promote justice in Iraq and Palestine as a young man newly committed to active peacemaking.

We rejoice in the return of Jim Loney. He has cared for the marginalized and oppressed since childhood, and his gentle, passionate spirit has been an inspiration to people near and far.

We rejoice in the return of Norman Kember. He is a faithful man, an elder and mentor to many in his 50 years of peacemaking, a man prepared to pay the cost.

We remember with tears Tom Fox, whose body was found in Baghdad on March 9, 2006, after three months of captivity with his fellow peacemakers. We had longed for the day when all four men would be released together. Our gladness today is made bittersweet by the fact that Tom is not alive to join in the celebration. However, we are confident that his spirit is very much present in each reunion.

Harmeet, Jim and Norman and Tom were in Iraq to learn of the struggles facing the people in that country. They went, motivated by a passion for justice and peace to live out a nonviolent alternative in a nation wracked by armed conflict. They knew that their only protection was in the power of the love of God and of their Iraqi and international co-workers. We believe that the illegal occupation of Iraq by Multinational Forces is the root cause of the insecurity which led to this kidnapping and so much pain and suffering in Iraq. The occupation must end.

Today, in the face of this joyful news, our faith compels us to love our enemies even when they have committed acts which caused great hardship to our friends and sorrow to their families. In the spirit of the prophetic nonviolence that motivated Jim, Norman, Harmeet and Tom to go to Iraq, we refuse to yield to a spirit of vengeance. We give thanks for the compassionate God who granted our friends courage and who sustained their spirits over the past months. We pray for strength and courage for ourselves so that, together, we can continue the nonviolent struggle for justice and peace.

Throughout these difficult months, we have been heartened by messages of concern for our four colleagues from all over the world. We have been especially moved by the gracious outpouring of support from Muslim brothers and sisters in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. That support continues to come to us day after day. We pray that Christians throughout the world will, in the same spirit, call for justice and for respect for the human rights of the thousands of Iraqis who are being detained illegally by the U.S. and British forces occupying Iraq.

During these past months, we have tasted of the pain that has been the daily bread of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Why have our loved ones been taken? Where are they being held? Under what conditions? How are they? Will they be released? When?

With Tom’s death, we felt the grief of losing a beloved friend. Today, we rejoice in the release of our friends Harmeet, Jim and Norman. We continue to pray for a swift and joyful homecoming for the many Iraqis and internationals who long to be reunited with their families. We renew our commitment to work for an end to the war and the occupation of Iraq as a way to continue the witness of Tom Fox. We trust in God’s compassionate love to show us the way.

Living through the many emotions of this day, we remain committed to the words of Jim Loney, who wrote:

“With God’s abiding kindness, we will love even our enemies.
With the love of Christ, we will resist all evil.
With God’s unending faithfulness, we will work to build the beloved community.”

Related News Stories
BBC: British Iraq hostage Kember freed
Times Online Timeline: how Kember saga unfolded
Telegraph: ‘This is news beyond belief’
Times Online: Iraq hostages freed after four-month ordeal
Globe & Mail: Canadian hostages in Iraq freed
BBC: Why Norman was right to go
Scotsman: Western hostages freed after coalition raid
BBC: Peacemaker who wanted to do more
Aljazeera: Western peace activists freed in Iraq

Three peace activists freed in Iraq

From the BBC

Norman Kember, 74, of Pinner, north-west London, James Loney and Harmeet Singh Sooden, were three of four men seized in Baghdad in November.

Mr Kember is said to be in a “reasonable condition” while the two Canadians were taken to hospital.

The body of murdered US citizen Tom Fox was found in Baghdad two weeks ago.

The men were carrying out work in Iraq as part of peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams.

They were abducted on 26 November.

Beautiful, Terrible

more photos here

By Katie

Tel Rumeida is beautiful this time of year. Today I stood on my roof and talked to my roommate Wes in San Francisco. Wes is awesome and one of the people I miss the most. He’s been so supportive of me coming here for which I am very grateful. I originally called him to see if the woman who is subletting my room in San Francisco would like to stay there a month longer. Unfortunately she couldn’t and it was at that moment I could finally say out loud what I’ve known for the past few weeks, that I want to come back here.

From my roof I have a 360 degree view of Hebron, the second oldest city on earth. This place is so messed up and so beautiful all at the same time and I am constantly in awe of the patience, kindness and selflessness of the Palestinians who live here. They are subjected to violence, racism and harassment by settlers and soldiers on a daily basis and it would be so easy to become bitter and violent back but they are patient and full of restraint. They’re waiting for their time and I hope I live to see it. For every settler or solider who spits at me, throws rocks, calls me a Nazi, says something vulgar or threatens to arrest me, there’s a Palestinian who brings me coffee, tea, candy, fruit, invites me for lunch, or thanks me and my volunteer friends here for the work we are doing. That’s the ridiculous irony of the situation, it’s the Israeli settlers and soldiers who are doing the terrorizing here.

I need to come back here because for the first time in my life I feel like I am doing work that actually matters and really helps people. During the day I film and intervene in incidents of harassment, and when the streets are quiet, I study Arabic or draw. In the evening I go to Kung Fu with Grandmaster Jaafar and at night I paint, play soccer or hang out with my friends here. I really miss my friends at home though. I’ve already spoken to a couple of you about coming back here with me and I’d like to take this opportunity to invite anyone who is reading my lj. One amazing thing about this place is that it’s really easy to get things done. There’s less bureaucracy and red tape so if you see something that needs doing, you just do it. There are huge opportunities for creative people because there’s so much to do here whether you want to teach English, make a documentary film, write, take photos, work with kids, or just brainstorm clever non-violent methods of resistance. Don’t be scared because of all the crazy stuff I’ve written about, it was my personal choice to be in those situations. You can pick and choose the kind of work you like to do.

I’m leaving for Jordan in a couple of days and I am going to miss Palestine terribly. Everyone I’ve met here is so strong and brave and I admire them all so much. My heroes are people like H. who was tortured in jail and could have easily emerged a violent and bitter fighter, but instead became a leader of the non-violent resistance, people like N, who I admire because she is so dedicated and tough, people like M.A. and M.M. who’ve had so many friends killed but haven’t lost faith in non-violence, people like B. who is the first person I’d choose to have by my side when a group of settlers are looking to cause trouble, (I’m always repeating to myself “it’s gonna be ok, B. is here..”), R. who is young enough to be my daughter but has lived more than most people twice her age, F. who has been so gracious and entertaining, all the Israeli activists who use their position of privilege to support Palestinians in their struggle against the occupation, and Grandmaster Jaafar, my Kung Fu teacher. Several years ago Jaafar was stopped by some soldiers for a search. They told him to put his hands on a wall and spread his legs. Then a soldier kicked him in the balls. He reacted, of course, and ten soldiers jumped him. He kicked all their asses and was thrown in jail as a result. His Kung Fu school here was bombed during the first intifada and he built the next one himself. And also all the kids from Tel Rumeida. I used to find kids annoying at best, but these kids won me over; they’re adorable and so much fun to be around.

Me and Sifu Jaafar in front of the school’s logo I painted for him:

So yeah, I have to come back here. My heart was broken in Balata when I saw all those kids in such a hopeless situation. M.A. asked me to do an art project with them but I didn’t have time. I want to come back to Palestine and go to Balata to work on murals with the kids. In addition, I’d like to paint murals over all the racist graffiti in Hebron. There’s a lot of it: I did one the other day on a house down the street. The owners had moved out because they didn’t want their kids subjected to violence from the settlers. On the wall of the house, some settlers wrote this:

I painted this on top of it:

B and I made bets on how long it would last before some settlers graffiti over it. I don’t think it’ll be more than a few days.

I want to make more postcards of the inspiring people I meet and I want to keep monitoring the streets in Tel Rumeida because I feel like people in this neighborhood are finally beginning to trust me and to ask me for help when they are having a problem. I’m so sad to leave!

Well that’s about it for my time in Palestine, I have a bunch of paintings I need to scan which will have to wait til I get home. Thank you all for opening your minds and learning about a side of Palestine you will never see on television ! I’ll see some of you soon in Jordan, inshallah.

The Heroes of Tel Rumeida

By Mary Baxter

The heroes of Tel Rumeida are twelve children, who need to pass by or through the Tel Rumeida Israeli settlement to get to school. They are from about 5 to 14 years old. They are frightened of the settlers who threaten and at times attack them. But still they come six days a week. Israeli settler children travel by bus past Palestinian houses but Palestinian children must walk, often by themselves.

The settlers want their houses in order to expand their settlement but the Palestinians will not sell. Hence the threats! One family was driven out of their home but won a court case and are now back in the house. The court order said there should be police in front of their house when they return from school. This seldom occurs. Other families were shut in their houses for three years. Settler caravans have been placed on their street and they were not allowed use the street to come and go. In July 2005, they won a court order to have a rough track parallel to the street, on their own land. There was an incident in December 2005 when one of the families tried to have goods delivered to the track and settlers objected. Following that Israeli soldiers placed razor wire across the entrance and along one side of the track. The family again have access to the track but the wire is still there. Everyday children must open razor wire and walk along a track, where they are between settlers on one side and razor wire on the other.

These children are often yelled at or detained by young Israeli soldiers. The soldiers, who are mostly reasonable young men are “carrying out orders” and do not understand the situation. They see the settlers at their best. Although the Palestinian children are often very frightened, they keep the passage to their houses open. They are the bravest people I know.

The Ridiculousness of Tel Rumeida

by Katie

Here are a few incidents that happened in Tel Rumeida over the last few weeks. Keep in mind that these anecdotes are only a tiny fraction of the daily insanity happening here.

I don’t even blink…

The other day the soldiers at the IOF post near the Beit Hadassa settlement were detaining every single Palestinian man who walked by for up to 45 minutes for ID checks. Why ? “Security.” This is the generic answer you hear when you inquire about any outrageously unfair practice against Palestinians. Part of our work here is to try and get the men released sooner rather than later because the soldiers usually don’t detain the men for as long when we’re pressuring them. It was out of the ordinary for the soldiers to be detaining everyone who passed so I decided I was going to try to warn people to take a different route around the IOF post so they wouldn’t be detained. From down the street I could see a man I knew pretty well and I motioned for him to come over and talk to me. I told him the soldiers were detaining everyone and that he should go around and tell everyone he knew to avoid that IOF post today. What happened next just totally broke my heart because he replied “no, it’s ok, we’re used to it.” This kind of thing is so normal here that people just accept it as part of their life, but its not normal. It’s racist and unfair and it makes me so crazy to see it happening everyday. Even still, I’m getting resigned to it as well. The first time someone pointed his gun at me and cocked it, I was a little bit freaked out, now it happens so often I don’t even blink. I just laugh.

A baby or a bomb?

There’s a metal detector at the checkpoint going into Tel Rumeida that everyone must pass through. Because pregnant women and teachers don’t pose a security threat, the soldiers have orders to allow them to go through a gate instead of through the metal detector. This is so they don’t get X-rayed everyday which is unhealthy if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant. There is often a lot of hassle about this policy because soldiers will say they don’t know about the order, or they will make the women wait around for a long time or they just refuse to let them through the gate all together. When the soldiers refuse to let them through, I have seen women leave the checkpoint in order to take another route into Tel Rumeida so they don’t have to pass through the metal detector. This takes them three kilometers out of their way. Recently I saw an obviously pregnant woman waiting at the gate for the soldier on duty to let her through. The soldier was ignoring her and she motioned for me to come over and help her. I asked the soldier if he was aware of the order to allow pregnant women through the gate. He replied he had heard of no such order and that if she wanted to get into Tel Rumeida, she would have to go through the metal detector. He told me he couldn’t be sure if it was a baby under her dress or a bomb (!) This is the kind of insanity that makes me almost freak out, but freaking out at the soldiers doesn’t usually help so I took a few breaths and called the nice lady at Machsom Watch, an Israeli human rights organization that monitors and intervenes in checkpoint harassment. Usually when I call her, whoever is being detained is let go, and sure enough, a few minutes later the soldier got a call and he let her through.

Call the Moussad, they’ve built a house…

Settlers drive cars in Tel Rumeida. Palestinians are not allowed to drive cars in Tel Rumeida. Why ? “Security.” Roadblocks have been set up on roads going into the Palestinian controlled area of Hebron to prevent Palestinian cars from entering or leaving Tel Rumeida. One of our neighbors recently finished building a beautiful house here. When asked how he and his family brought the building materials in to build the house, he explained that they had to bring everything in by wheelbarrow. It took two years. The house is at the bottom of a steep hill and right now the family is building a concrete wall to protect the house from rocks or debris that may fall from the hill in bad weather. They need a car to transport sand and gravel to build the wall. In order to do this, first they must move the concrete roadblocks at the entrance to Tel Rumeida in the middle of the night and second they must distract the soldiers so they do not hear the car. Last night the young men in the neighborhood had to act really loud an obnoxious in front of the soldiers so that they would not hear the car being driven a block away. The next day, the Moussad (secret police) came to ask questions about how the sand and gravel got there. My fellow Americans, your tax dollars go to pay for special missions such as this.

While venting my exasperation about the situation here to F, he told me that compared to the way things were at the beginning of the intifada in 2002, it’s like paradise now. Back then there was a 24 hour curfew that lasted for 100 days. This meant that no one could leave their house unless the army gave them permission. If they were caught in the streets, they would be arrested. I am totally in awe of the restraint and patience demonstrated by the people of Hebron.