Aida Refugee Camp Night Raid, 7/21/14 Raw Video

The Crossing Borders Project conducted a project with those living in Aida Camp.  The violence continues not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank.  My question is, why is the IDF in Aida in Bethlehem?  Why are they still bothering these people?  The wall is up.

We share as a continuation for voice

Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem: The Crossing Borders Project

Hayatt Aida refugee Camp Bethlehem

Oli Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem: The Crossing Borders Project

Zenub Aida Refugee Camp, Bethlehem: The Crossing Borders Project

The Wall at Aida Camp, a video

The Apartheid Wall by Aida Refugee camp on the Northern edge of Bethlehem. On one side the crowded camp. In the other the Olive Groves stolen from Bethlehemites

A place to Play in Aida Refugee Camp

There is no room in Aida Camp for the children to play. The living spaces are cramped and surrounded by the new Israeli Security Wall. Most of the time, the children play in the dirt roads or at the community center. They used to play in the olive trees beyond the wall before the wall was constructed, the olive trees were once owned by an Aida citizen, before the Israeli State took the land from the family. The video was done by the organization: "Voices Beyond Walls"

To Aida Camp through Bethlehem Checkpoint

To get into Aida Camp you must first go into Bethlehem, then to Aida Camp. The process is something that can only be explained through Video. Even images do not express the difficulties that the local citizens must go through each and every day to continue to work on the Israeli side, at low wages. This video is only a small example, and you cannot view what goes on inside of the building, the continual locked gates, waiting and hearing over the loudspeaker in Hebrew what instructions to follow to get to the other side. Also, each and every time, one must provide their hand-prints going in and out of the border. The border was funded by the World Bank.

Press Release Italian and English

“Crossing Borders” è una mostra fotografica itinerante che cerca di mettere in evidenza l'esistenza quotidiana del Popolo Palestinese costretto a convivere all'interno del' ”Israeli Separation Barrier”, il “Muro” che divide i Territori Palestinesi della West Bank da Israele dal resto del mondo.
Susan Brannon fotogiornalista americana, ha organizzato e condotto un workshop fotografico con tre gruppi di palestinesi della West Bank: con un gruppo di donne del “Aida Refugee Camp”,del Campo Profughi di Aida, vicino a Bethlehem, con delle donne del” The Turner Institute for Education Youth Group “ di Ramallah ed con altro gruppo di donne del “ Society for Women “ sempre a Ramallah.
Il progetto si proponeva di offrire ai palestinesi una via diretta per esprimere con voce propria ciò che riguarda la loro vita quotidiana, piuttosto che altri lo facciano a posto loro.
“Gli ho messo a disposizione delle macchine fotografiche affinché riprendessero la loro esistenza per conto proprio e gli ho chiesto di registrare e raccontare la loro vita quotidiana attraverso l'obbiettivo fotografico e con annotazioni scritte.”
Susan Brannon si è occupata per sette anni. come fotogiornalista di conflitti del Medio Oriente
Il suo lavoro è stato pubblicato su giornali e riviste e attraverso le agenzie di aiuto umanitario in tutto il mondo. Essa mostra la vita reale, gli effetti e i retroscena dei teatri di guerra dai punti di vista di coloro che sono stati marginalizzati dai conflitti.E' membro del National Press Photography Association, e di Reporters Without Borders.

Crossing Borders is a traveling photography exhibit that gives light into the lives of the Palestinian People who live inside of the Israeli security barrier that divides the West Bank from Israel and the rest of the world.
Photojournalist Susan Brannon conducted a photography workshop with three groups in the West Bank, “The Crossing Borders project was to create an avenue for the Palestinians to create their own voice concerning their lives, rather than other people doing it for them. I gave them disposable cameras to photograph their own existence and asked them to record their lives through the lens and through text.”
Susan Brannon has been a photojournalist in the Middle East covering the conflicts for over 7 years. Her work has been published in newspapers, magazines and humanitarian aid agencies throughout the world. She exposes the real life effects and behind the scenes of war through the lens on those who have been marginalized from the conflicts. She is a member of the National Press Photography Association, Reporters Without Borders, and American Photojournalists.

The Israeli Security Wall - Photo Story

Photograph taken by Jumna from Ramallah, she lives across from the wall. Here this road used to go straight but it was cut off by the wall. Her mother lives on the other side. Now it can take her hours to go and visit her, when she used to cross the street.

The next photograph is of the wall taken by Sa'ana in Aida Refugee Camp located in Bethlehem. This tower is built across from the homes and a childrens community center.
Book Links: Ramallah:  "When the Birds Stopped Singing", by Raja Shehadeh
The Wall:  "The West Bank Wall: Unmaking Palestine", by Ray Dolphin
Bethlehem: "A Crisis in Bethlehem", by John Strohmeyr

Eilda

Eilda was my main contact in the West Bank, she works with the Holy Land Trust and offered use of the internet, office, assistance in translating, helping to find groups.

I give all my thanks to the Holy Land Trust and Samy who is the director, his vision for non violent peace is his main focus for the conflict. The group at the Trust works hard to find ways to establish peace through non-violent means!

Thanks everyone at the Trust!
Book Links:  West Bank:  "Law, Violence and Sovereignty Among West Bank Palestinians (Cambridge Studies in Law and Society)" by Tobias Kelly
Peace:  "The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict" by Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Bethlehem Checkpoint My Pics

The service taxi on the way to Bethlehem from Jerusalem, it is separate and smaller than the Israeli buses that take you around the cities. There are Arab drivers with ID's, many times the Israeli soldiers stop the service taxis to check the occupants ID's. Sometimes, they take those off of the service if they do not have the proper ID and arrest them taking them to a jail in an army jeep. Most of the time, the person who was picked up by the soldiers, cannot have legal representation, make phone calls and sometimes is not told why they are taken. The families search for the person, but unless they have connections, they cannot find out where he/she is. Even if they do find out where they are, they are not allowed to visit or talk to the prisoner.
This is a settlement located just outside of the Bethlehem checkpoint called "Gilo" most of the homes are empty. It is located on a hill. I saw an advertisement to buy/rent an apartment from the "luxury tower" it is the tall building located on the left of the settlement. Most settlements are built in circles, on top of hills. It reminds me of the Italian walled in old villages that are speckled throughout Tuscany.
This is the first entry into the checkpoint, and the last photograph that I could take until outside of the checkpoint area. This door is where each person must enter and sometimes, the door on the right is closed, creating smaller space to enter and exit. Both people exit and enter through this door, and there is not any real order as far as lines, and who goes next, when someone gets permission to approach the Israeli soldiers "stall" or to wait. You may hear a slight grunt, from the soldier, when it is your turn. Sometimes, when inside you can hear the soldiers yelling in Hebrew over the loudspeaker. The first time I went through, I heard a Palestinian woman, screaming and crying, inside the building, most likely inside one o the lines of "closets" that are inside of the building. They are small rooms with doors and no windows. I think that they are "holding" rooms for transportation of the person. The person is in there alone.
Here is the waiting line during rush hour to get back into Bethlehem after a day's of work. The people never know when they attempt to exit to go to work in the morning, if they will be denied. I did not take photographs inside of the checkpoint building, because I did not want my camera to be taken away. Once inside, there are bullet proof windowed stalls lined in a row, and not all are in use. For rush hour they may open two. When inside, there is not really a line and people are pushing through to get near the front. Only one person at a time can enter, they must first show their permit pressing it against the window, and then hand through a slot (like at a gas station stall) the ID, the soldier, puts the ID number into a computer and tells the person if they can continue or not. Then, the person must go through a turn style, and place the right palm of his/her hand on a machine that has rubber nails in a row, where you place your fingers in between while pressing the palm of the hand down for hand printing. (This procedure occurs when leaving or coming back) once they take their palm print, they are given permission to continue.
Once you enter into Bethlehem, you walk along the wall (on the right) and a fence on the left.
Once you enter into Bethlehem, you walk along a fence that leads you to another turn style, into a parking lot (where cars do not park, but tourist buses drop the tourist off, and pick them up) and then through another gate past a guard, and then down along the wall and a fence into Bethlehem.
There is a dividing fence once you cross the all to enter into Bethlehem, this man is coming into Bethlehem. It is hard to transport goods inside because you are on foot. To your right is where you need to exit.
Graffiti on the wall near the checkpoint and the taxi area, the square in between the two chairs was a scene of nature and blue sky.
Taxis waiting for customers just inside the checkpoint. Bethlehem's economy is falling into poverty levels. Many people lost their jobs in the surrounding area in Jerusalem (15 minutes away). Many people cannot get their work permits renewed and are denied exiting Bethlehem. The taxi drivers wait outside for an average of 15-20 tourists who walk in each day. They will offer 30 nis (10 dollars) to drive the tourists around to the sites and for them it is a good job to find.
Fenced in Church just inside the checkpoint, next to the wall, (on the right) the church is now closed and a driver is explaining to me what happened when they first built the wall at the Bethlehem checkpoint.


When leaving Bethlehem, you take the same route, however once inside the building, you walk through a series of dividing metal bars to direct your path. There are camera's everywhere. You walk until you see a "green light" over one of the turn stalls (not the half turn stalls, but the tall ones, with roatating bars). When the light is green, you can push on the bar, to turn and enter, when it is red, you must wait. There is only a camera, you cannot see a person. Sometimes they tell you what to do in Hebrew, but because it is over the loudspeaker, the voices become all muffled and you cannot understand what it is that they are saying. So you just wait. I saw a group of tourists wait two hours. You cannot find a person to find out why, or what is going on, you just stand there and wait. When this happened, I went backwards, to ask the soldier, on the other side of the parking lot, who sits inside of a windowed box, why he is letting people in the first gate, if they are closing the second? He told me that it should be open and he would call them. A Palestinian near me said, you can go ask those things, but we cannot. If we do, they will take us to jail, or beat us up because we are not being respectful.

Once through the first turn stall, there is a baggage x-ray machine, the Palestinians (not tourists) must take off their shoes, belts, hats, watches, money, cell phones, and put them in the box, and walk through. There is a soldier, that sits inside of a larger stall, bullet proof, without any way to talk to them, and waves you through or not.

Once finished, you go through another turn stall, when the light is green, and continue to the stalls to show your ID and take your palm prints before leaving.

Bara'a 3rd roll-Aida (Aydah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

By the third roll, Bara'a started to use the natural light. She chose to photograph old Palestinian buildings at sundown in order to capture the glow from the sunset. The older homes are made of stone. These homes are not in Idyah camp, and it is a dream for most of the refugees to return to a home such as this, like they used to own.

The tree is a symbol for life and food.

The photograph is a picture of the villages that were depopulated these are the villages that came to Idyah Camp. They told me that no-one feels at home in Idyah camp, with the dirt, the small roads, the wall, no green, no trees, no harvest. What they grew up on is now gone.

One woman told me that they are all depressed. Post-forced occupation, into their homes during the Intifada. They look at the wall as a reminder of a large prison. They say that this is how they feel. They feel that there is no rhyme or reason to believe anything will change or get better, but they still hold on to their dreams.

She said that when she was a child, she used to join in the olive harvest, that is the heart of Palestine and has been since the 1500's. The soil is their soul. But living in Adyah camp is to them the feeling of being temporary. They feel like their feet are not on the ground like before, the older people remember the villages and are now too scared to go and see their homes, some cannot leave Bethlehem and never have.

Hayatt 2nd roll-Aida (Aydah) Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

Hayatt also likes green. They cannot build parks of plant trees in the camp, so they can only grow the green in pots and hope that they can collect enough water to keep them alive. These are her plants outside of her home.

The street is a main road that enters into Adyah camp.
This is a store inside of Adyah camp.
This is a garden that is turning brown, outside of Adyah camp.

Zenub 2nd roll-Aida (Aydah)Refugee Camp, Bethlehem

One photograph was once a beautiful castle! It is now a hotel near the street where you enter into Adyah Camp.

The tower is Rachaels Tomb, it is walled in Bethlehem, it is not the same wall as the "security wall" but it has the the same structure inside of Bethlehem.There was a family who had a nice home in there, the Israelis told them to leave and they did not pay them anything. Then they built the wall around the home, so the Jews can visit Rachaels Tomb in safety. The cars have to drive by it daily coming into Bethlehem or leaving towards the checkpoint.

The photograph of the wall, is the view that Adyah Camp gets to see daily. They do not have view of a horizon anymore. The color is drab and ugly. They miss the olive trees on the other side, which used to belong to a local family. The took the olive trees when they built the wall. Families used to go and help with the harvest and eat and walk through the olive trees because there is not any open space in the camp. The children used to play there, because there is not any open space in the camp, nor any green.

Now the children do not have a place to play and the people cannot harvest their olives, so they do not have a way of making any money. The children play in the narrow streets on concrete.

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).