We took part in the visit to Israel and Palestine with Luisa Morgantini from 19 to 27 April organised by the Association for Peace.A long time had passed since our last visits (Giuliana in 2005 for the international meeting of the Women in Black, Marianita between il 2000 e 2001 at the start of the second Intifada).
It was a very busy week, during which we were able to take part in important events like the fifth international conference for the non-violent popular resistance in , and meet significant people, groups, and places.
In the document below, you can read a detailed account of our journey. Now we just want to tell you able the things that most impressed us.
Above all, one impression disturbed us: Palestine doesn't exist any more, it's been chewed up, swallowed, devoured by the wall, by roads, by checkpoints but most of all by the colonies that dominate the landscape of the West Bank, where towns and villages - isolated from each other - emerge like islands in a sea of occupation. Jerusalem too - the holy, the city of peac - is strangled in a grip of arrogance made up of cement, the wall, demolished and stolen houses and new settlements.
But if Palestine is disappearing, Palestinian men and women exist and resist: in Bil’in and in the popular committees of the other villages that have chosen the path of unarmed resistance, of the struggle for their rights carried forward with tenacity despite arrests, beatings, the violent reaction of the Israeli army that isn't ashamed to fire on unarmed civilans, wounding and sometimes killing them. In the Jordan valley, surrounded by colonies that steal the land, the water, life itself, they continue to try to farm the little land that still has not been taken from them. In Nablus - in the Balata refugee camp or in the city itself - activities are organised to give hope of a future to the children who still dream of a normal lfe. In Hebron - strangled by settlements that penetrate the heart of the city - they are restoring old houses and trying to bring the old market back to life.
And alongside the Palestinian women and men, those Israeli women and men continue to resist and every Friday, together with the palestinian popular committees, the confront the soldiers of the Tsahal in Bil’in and other villages, or they protest in East Jerusalem, to the rhythm of drums in front of houses stolen by settlers and protected by the police.
We dedicate this account to all of them
to the people of Bil’in, Nil’in and the other villages
to the families of i Sheik Jarrah left homeless and to the young Israelis who support them
to Fathy Khdirawt wh accompanied us along the Jordan valley
to the animators of the Yafa Cultural Center in Balata e and of the Human Supporters Association of Nablus
to Rauda Basir who continues to struggle for and with the women
to the girls and boys of Nablus and its surrounding area who danced and played for us.
to Nurit Peled an Rami Elhanan of Parents Circle who out of the knowledge of pain have drawn the strength to listen to the other and to build together the long and tortuous road of peace
to Nayla Ayesh who came with us to Haifa after 15 years absence
to the activists of the Massawa Center for the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel in Hafa and to the women of Isha Isha and Aswat also in Haifa
to the Combatants for Peace who we met in Jaffa and in particular to Liri who dreams of getting married at a check point
ai responsabili dell’Hebron Rehabilitation Committee che con determinazione cercano di ricostruire il tessuto sociale del vecchio centro di Hebron
to the women who work and who have found refuge at the Mehwar Center in Beit Sahour
to Nidé, Tariq, Sahaladdin and all those whose names we don't remember but whose faces, voices, and message we will not forget.
To Luisa for the passion with which she continues to live all of this despite the pain that it brings and to Cecilia for her kind help.
Viaggio in Palestina
to the families of i Sheik Jarrah left homeless and to the young Israelis who support them
to Fathy Khdirawt wh accompanied us along the Jordan valley
to the animators of the Yafa Cultural Center in Balata e and of the Human Supporters Association of Nablus
to Rauda Basir who continues to struggle for and with the women
to the girls and boys of Nablus and its surrounding area who danced and played for us.
to Nurit Peled an Rami Elhanan of Parents Circle who out of the knowledge of pain have drawn the strength to listen to the other and to build together the long and tortuous road of peace
to Nayla Ayesh who came with us to Haifa after 15 years absence
to the activists of the Massawa Center for the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel in Hafa and to the women of Isha Isha and Aswat also in Haifa
to the Combatants for Peace who we met in Jaffa and in particular to Liri who dreams of getting married at a check point
ai responsabili dell’Hebron Rehabilitation Committee che con determinazione cercano di ricostruire il tessuto sociale del vecchio centro di Hebron
to the women who work and who have found refuge at the Mehwar Center in Beit Sahour
to Nidé, Tariq, Sahaladdin and all those whose names we don't remember but whose faces, voices, and message we will not forget.
To Luisa for the passion with which she continues to live all of this despite the pain that it brings and to Cecilia for her kind help.
