Sana's 2nd roll-Aida (Adyah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

I have not been able to translate the photographs. This will happen tomorrow!

The one with the watch tower, is one of many located in Adyah camp, this tower is across from the UN building and the school. It is also down the street from the community center where we hold our meetings. When the wall was first built, the Israeli soldiers would sit inside and watch, there are also camera's everywhere overlooking the camp. The soldiers used to shoot at the children and anyone else who walked down that street from the tower.

Once the wall was finished, the soldier's left that tower, and then they built another one around the corner...they soldiers remain in the towers.

The scary looking photograph is a painting on the wall inside of the camp. It reflects the fear in the hearts of the Palestinians.

Bara'a 2nd roll-Aida (Adyah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

Bara'a took a photograph of her view from her home in Biet Jala. She also likes green, there is not enough green around the Camp, in fact...no green unless you are lucky enough to live in Biet Jala. The Israeli's control the amount of water the people get in the camp. They never know when the water will be shut off and for how long. I was wondering why, sometimes people smelled more of sweat than normal. The Palestinian's are normally very clean people and like to shower often. I felt that it was unusual.

She also took a photograph her neighbors home that is being re-build. It seems they spend most of their lives re-building their homes. They can only use cash and have to get permission from the Israeli government to build their homes.

Oli second roll-Aida (Adyah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

Oli likes Green. She took a lot of pictures of green. She also took one photograph of the garbage that is outside of her home from the destruction that occurred in 2001. They cannot move the debris from their home because they do not have a vehicle. They cannot afford to pay someone to remove it. So it stays, while they are trying to re-build their home for the third time.

She also took a photograph of her cat.

Hayatt is from Ellar-Aida (Adyah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

Hayatt's family was from Ellar (Allar) and was re-located to Adyah Camp in 1948. Her family still holds the key to their old home. All of her family were depopulated and live in the camp near one another with the continual hope to return to their historical lands.

Ellar (Allar)

(Allar al-Fawqa)

Allar is located 17.5 km from Jerusalem.
In 1931 the population was not known. In 1944-1945 it was 440. The land usage in 1944/45 was 12,353 dunums for Arab, 0 for the Jewish and 3 for public use.

The village overlooked Wadi al-Sarar with a secondary road that connected it to Bayt Jibrin to Bethlehem. In 1596 the village was in the nahiya of Jerusalem with a population of 204. They paid taxes on wheat, barley, olive trees, molasses, goats and beehives. The sister village is Allar al-Sufla. By 1875 the population of All al-Fawqa was 400.

The houses were built of stone and connected by narrow winding streets. There were small shops and had four maqams (shrines). The village had an elementary school.

Israeli historian Benny Morris, said that Allar was captured on 22 October, 1948 during Operation ha-Har. This was an Israeli offensive launched by the army’s Har’el and Etzioni brigades after the second truce. The objective was to widen the Israeli-held corridor to Jerusalem and link it with territory occupied in the Hebron hills. They moved in to occupy a number of villages in the southern half of the Jerusalem corridor. The operation worked with Operation Yo’av, that was further south in the Gaza district. Their aim was to get rid of Palestinian civilian communities in the areas occupied.

The population was either expelled or fled under pressure, to the direction of Bethlehem (to Adyah Camp) or to Hebron. Many of those that fled went to live in caves in the hills around Hebron, but a few months later, they were expelled.

Today, the settlement of Matta is located on the village and it was occupied in 1950. Gar-Giyyora was also founded in 1950, and is located just on the northeast side, on the village lands.

There still remains rubble of the stone terraces and walls, one structure was the old school building that overlooks the site.

Sana'a,Baraa' , Zenub, Ola and Amber are from Al-Malha

Most of the women in the group in Adyah camp are from Al-Malha. Sana'a is Bara'a's aunt in the same family, Zenub is the niece of Bara'a and Ola and Aber are cousins with everyone. The families all were depopulated at the same time to Adyah Camp and have never left since. It has been since 1948 that they have not seen their old homes to which they still hold the keys, from the Ottoman time period.

Below is a history of the village Al-Malha.

Al-Malha (al-Maliha)

Al-Maliha is in the Jerusalem District 5.5 kms Northeast of Jerusalem. In 1931 the population was 1,410 (including Ayn Yahu) and in 1944/45 it was 1,940. Land usage in 1944/45 was 5,798 Arab, 922 Jewish and 108 for the public. In 1931 there was 299 homes.

Road connected to neighboring villages and in 1596 the population was 296 who paid taxes on wheat, barley, olive and fruit trees, goats and beehives. The houses were built of stone.

On 6 March 1948, the village was first attacked from a Jewish unit that infiltrated the outskirts and clased with the village’s defenders. The village was evacuated in two waves, in April as a result of the massacre in nearby Day Yasin on 9 April. The second wave occurred in mid-July, after the first truce of the war. The Haganah approached the village on 1-2 May at night. The village was occupied about 10 weeks later in conjuction with operation Dani (al-Ramla District). A fierce battle lasted for several days and on 13-14 July a company from the Irgun Zvai Leumi (IZL) and two platoons from the Yonathan Company of the Gadna entered the village. The Arabs counter attacked on 15 July that forced the IZL to withdraw. Later the IZL gathered reinforcements and on 16 July, but the Arabs counterattacked which left Irgun men killed and others wounded. The Haganah withdrew from the assault. A few days later on 22 July, David Shaltiel, the Israeli commander told the Times that the village and Ayn Karim has been occupied.

An Israeli settlement Manachat was established in 1949 which later became part of the Israeli West Jerusalem. Many houses are still occupied by Jewish families in 1986, and a few homes from the south of the village has been destroyed. Some of the homes were still standing but abandoned (in 1986).

Ghada is from Dier Aban (Dayr Aban)

If you recall in some of my previous entries, I explained the history of the refugee camps.
I asked the women from Adyah Camp what villages they came from. Ghada, our partner/leader of the women is from Dier Aban, she is 34 with two children, and 3 brothers and 2 other sisters.

Dier Aban (Dayr Aban)

Dier Aban is in the Jerusalem District 21 kms from Jerusalem to the North East. The population in 1931 was 1,534 and in 1944/45 it was 2,100. The land use in dunums in 1944/45 was 21,578 Arab, 376 Jewish and 780 for the Public. There were 321 homes in 1931.

Dayr Aban was located 3km from the highway that linked Bayt Jibrin to the Jerusalem-Jaffa highway. The village is identified with Abenezer in the Roan period and later fell into the jurisdiction of Bayt Jibrin. In 1956 Dayr Aban had a population of 127, and paid taxes on barley, wheat, olive trees, vineyards, fruit trees, goats and beehives.

The village first came under attack on 17 January 1948, surrounded by the Jewish Army. This occurred during the battle of Kfar Etziyon, a settlement near Bethlehem. The attack came against three villages in the area, Dayr Aban, Bayt Nattif and Zakariyya. It was the Haganah force of around 100 men and the battle lasted for over 24 hours. Another fire exchange occurred 2 months later with the settlement of Hartuv. Day Aban was the first village to be occupied during operation ha-Har. On October 19-20 the village was taken over and the population was probably displaced in Bethlehem or to the Hebron Hills.

In 1986 stones of rubble, collapsed roofs, iron rafters and parts of standing walls are visible on the site. A well with a metal stone can be seen next to the lone arch that is still standing.

282-284

Aida (Adyah) Camp a small history

Adyah Camp small history and story


Since the problem of these refugees was not resolved, United Nations began, in 1951, the construction of small houses made of one or two rooms, and a small kitchen (rooms of 9-12 m2, and ~2 to 2,5 meters high). However after years and years of waiting, the refugees could not live in these temporary shelters created by the UN. Most of the shelters started to fall down. People, mostly poor and not able to buy a piece of land outside the camp, started reconstruction inside the camp of new houses. They became refugees on their own land, in their own country. Since the space is very limited in the camp, and no possibilities of horizontal expansion, the construction expanded vertically. That’s why the camp lacks children corners and playgrounds where children could eventually play. After 53 years of living in this refugee camp, as well as for other refugees in other camps, people know that this is a station in their life; they are still dreaming and asking for the application of the UN resolutions concerning the right of return to their own lands occupied and taken by Israeli state in 1948 and 1967. Till now, the community international plays the blind role concerning the Palestinian refugees.

Around 40% of its population is children under the age of 18, with equal distribution between males and females. The camp has two schools run by UNRWA, one for boys and another for girls (till the end of preparatory classes- age 15). There is also a youth center and a kindergarten run by the local community. The camp is located at the northern border of Bethlehem. Its main entrance is closed by cubes of cement, placed by the Israeli Army at RachelÕs Tomb (originally a mosque Ð Mosque of Bilal Ibn Rabah- and converted into a synagogue in 1967), which composes a military observation point next to the camp. The Gilo settlement, built mostly on the lands of the Palestinian town of Beit Jala, which is bordering the camp from the north and north west as well as the RachelÕs tomb observation point at the eastern side, both constitute a serious threat to the people of the camp through frequent harassments, shooting and shelling.

During these hard times, and in all cases, children were the most to suffer. Many children got traumatized, several of them were reported to wet their beds, and the academic achievement of many others retreated, their childhood has become a nightmare. This, in fact, is an added serious complication to the poor condition of the social and cultural infrastructure in the camp due to lack of safe and healthy playgrounds, childrenÕs corners, green areas and other physical settings and programs where creative activities could be organized for children.

There is no health center located at Aida camp. The people used to get health services by UNRWA center outside the camp. But during the last Intifada the need for a center inside the camp emerged as the people had no possibility to reach the outside center. This was especially the case in the time of Israeli invasions, which made the people to turn Al-Rowwad Cultural Center into a site for medical help, which was entirely provided by nurses.

http://www.ippnw-students.org/ReCap/Background.html

Aida (Adyah) Refugee Camp Facts and Figures Bethlehem

AIDA (Adyah) REFUGEE CAMP


New shelters in Aida camp in the 1950s

Aida camp was established in 1950 on an area of 66 dunums between the towns of Bethlehem and Beit Jala. UNRWA's installations in the camp also provide services for the refugees in nearby Beit Jibrin camp. Health services are provided by the UNRWA health centre in the sub-area office in nearby Bethlehem.

As with other camps in the West Bank, Aida camp faces severe overcrowding. There is no vacant space in the camp to build a badly needed community centre.

FACTS AND FIGURES

* Registered Refugee Population: 4,456
* Special hardship cases: 152 families.
* Number of damaged shelters that have been affected due to the IDF incursions in - the West Bank since the beginning of the Intifada till March 2004: 29 in which 29 were assisted.
* Number of families receiving emergency food rations: 478
* Number of pupils: Male: 885, Female: 725
* During the current Intifada, the Girls’ school sustained severe damages. The school was renovated and the damages were fixed.

http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/westbank/aida.html (information retrieved on June 27, 2007)

The Birth of the Palestinian Refugees

“Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you because geography books no longer exist, not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahlal arose in the place of Mahlul; Kibbutz Gvat in the place of Jibta; Kibbutz Sarid in the place of Huneifis; and Kefar Yehushu’s in the place of Tal al-Shuman. There is not one single place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.”

Moshe Dayan, Address to the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology), Haifa (as quoted in Ha’aretz, 4 April 1969)

The colonization of Palestine began in the early 1880’s and continues to this day. This represents the most remarkable colonizing ventures of all time and the most successful.

The demographics, socio-economic, cultural and political status have been revolutionized. Two developments occurred at the same time, the flux of Jewish immigrants and their desire to control over the natural resources of the country and the marginalization, dispersal, thinning out of the Palestinians who until 1948 was the vast majority of the population.

The 1948 war in Israel created three-quarters of a million Palestinian refugees. Over half of them were villagers who went into exile. A majority of the displaced Palestinians came from areas incorporated into Israel. Some 156,000 of the original inhabitants of the territory that became Israel remained in their towns and villages and 13,000 Palestinians were killed during the 1948 war.

The total of 418 villages were depopulated with a total of 383,150 Palestinians population. Palestinian inhabitants of neighboring villages that were spared also fled in the atmosphere of fear and chaos surrounding the military operations. In nine districts that were wholly incorporated into Israel where the military and psychological pressures were most intense were, some reasons for the volunteer exile from the villages with the promise of return, when things became “calmer”. They fled for their family’s safety. The total of volunteer exile is estimated at 6,994 totaling a refugee total of 390,144.

There were also urban areas incorporated into Israel and where subsequently depopulated the totals for the depopulation in the cities and towns is 241,016. In addition, an additional of 12,000 Arabs were not expelled until 1950 from urban centers adding the two urban numbers totals 254,016 Palestinian refugees.

The total refugee figure is estimated at 714,150 to 744,150 depending on the amount of the Bedouin exodus. (Khalidi, 1992 p.581-582)

Most of the villages were destroyed and left as rubble of stones. Many of the Palestinian homes in the larger cities, such as Jaffa, Haifa and West Jerusalem remain standing and occupied by the Jewish population.

It is important to note that 80% of the lands of the Palestinian/Israeli citizens, those who were not depopulated have been confiscated since 1948 and that number continues to increase especially since the building of the Israeli security wall.

Oli- Aida (Adyah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

Oli’s house was destroyed, (9)(10)and the trash from the destruction is piled on the side of her home. (18) (24) They have not been able to take it anywhere to dispose of it, so instead they lived with it. Oli’s neighbor is her Aunt, and her house was destroyed also, (12)from the mislile hitting her home. She has a little sister who likes to play with animals and she has some rabbits.(8) Oli also has a brother who likes to raise animals for food. (9)

Oli’s house has not yet been re-built like it was before.(9) She hopes that someday they can re-build the home as nice as others that she likes.(2) She feels that people have the right for a place to play outside and have space for sports. (6) She loves trees and green things.(13)(15)

She see’s the occupation as destroying the life of a little girl (her sister) who had to live in the dark like in prison. (20) She was put into a small room during the height of the Intifada and the 40 incursion by the Israeli’s. She views little children as being innocent, and not mean or cruel. (22)

Oli took a photograph of photographs that are hanging on her wall in her home of 2 men that may not be alive anymore. (r2/0) Her mother (r2/1) ,of herself (r2/2) and their cat (r2/7).

For the second roll, she did not write any text. Her friends just said that she is finished.
In her second roll there are many photographs that are similar to the first roll. Homes that are not repaired yet (sr/11,13)and green things. (sr/12,26,18,1916) and a new garden (17). There is a photograph of a vew outside of the door, the darkness, unrepaired home to the garden full of green. (22) There is a photograph of the rabbit.(15)

Another photograph of the girl in darkness with light shinning on her. 25)

Hayat photo translations-Aida (Adyah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

7) This Photo shows the Israeli soldiers jeep and his traveling in the Palestinian territories very easily, while the Palestinians cannot move easily.
24) This photo shows a girls school, which is in Idyah Refugee Camp, and this school is near the wall, even the students are still going to the school.
22) This shows a grocery store for vegetables but it is not prepared with the facilities that make somebody to by from this shop.

This shows an Israeli checkpoint, which is built from huge stones.

Oli's photo story - Adyah Refugee Camp

Unfortunately, our house was destroyed and when it was destroyed we put all the trash in this side and this view is very hard for us.
This photograph, is showing that the occupation destroyed the life of the little girl and there is some life and a little dark as well as she was in prison, this girl was put in a small room from the occupation.
Sometimes I miss the smell of the roses and of the trees because the occupation helped us to forget our people and there is something that we can remember as our house.

It’s a photograph of Beit Jala and it’s a photograph which was when the bullets that flying from the Israeli soldiers, at that time we were crying and screaming from the injured here and here and the blood from the dead people.

Zenub Photo Story - Adyah Refugee Camp

This is a house from the houses of Beit Jala and you can see the beautiful art which is a proof that the Palestinians are going to live and survive in this country.


It is a photograph of a bridge that the Israelis are using now and they are putting danger to the Palestinian children who remember how many bullets and missiles came to their houses from that bridge.
Its for the storage, this storage belonged to Mr. Banduck and you can see the danger that the Israelis caused to it.

It’s a watchtower near the wall to put upon fear into the Palestinians heart who live in Adyah refugee camp and opposite to that tower is a school.