Wall of Intolerance
There is a place where hills of thyme grow. A place where olive groves are lined up straight and grapes are twisted on the vine. Streets of stone lead to ancient places that are written about. Here is a place where the history of religion and the intolerance of people live side by side. A woman cries alone her tears are felt in this land where fear is not forgotten. An old man walks along the same dirt road that generations of his family have tread upon. He looks ahead to his home where families have gathered for wedding feasts and children have laughed playing among the olive groves. It is gone. All that remains there amid the destruction of life is a reminder. A wall that blocks the views of the villages and orchards that once where scattered on the hillside. All encompassing sealing the fate of those whom live under its shadow.
The occupation forces of Israel have begun to build the Wall in Palestine. It will enclose the villages , cities and the towns of the West Bank and Gaza strip. Already one entire village has been destroyed. The basic need for employment, medical care and education are being affected. The wall has tall concrete towers with armed guards watching. Some may associate this with apartheid, the segregation of a race of people and the denial of freedom.
Once could say that it is justifiable. After all the suicide bombings that take the lives of innocent children on a bus or a mother from her family can not be tolerated. How do protect the citizens that live in a country where sitting at a cafe could result in losing your arm, leg or life? There are no easy solutions when you live on the edge of war. A mother could send her children to school and kiss them goodbye for the last time.
Some people say one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. There is a fine line between fighting for your freedom and inhumane acts of violence. How can people live their daily life with the reality of suicide bombers? The young recruit has been convinced that their life has to be a sacrifice for the freedom of their people. Strapping on a bomb and making the heart wrenching last speech for their friends and family, before their journey to death. The bus was full and every day the same people where going to the same places, school and shopping. Suddenly their bodies are ripped apart and in an instant the safety of daily life is threatened.
If Israel is to continue its occupation of Palestine and if Palestinians are to continue their destruction of Israel than hope is lost and humanity is being buried alive. What is left? But for Israel to build a barrier between the citizens of the occupier and the citizens of the occupied. Piece by Piece each part of the wall that surrounds the enemy will protect the other side. But his question remains will this end the determination of an occupied people to take back their land?
The occupation of an entire race can cause uprising and hate. Soldiers stroll down the streets that children walk down, and tanks roll by stirring dust that can blind the eyes of the wisest of men. Bulldozers uproot trees belonging to someone whose great grandfather panted in the spring. Houses crumble under their long stretched metal demolishing homes that once heard the cry of a newborn baby or music that wafted from the wedding celebrating a new beginning. Where is the justice for the ones who loose their entire livelihood so settlements can be built to house those coming from other lands they call home? Anger and resentment build to the point of revenge.
Palestinians have seen their children blown apart in front of their eyes by an Israeli bomb. Bullets speeding past from the soldiers walking the streets where they live. Babies women and men with flesh blackened and torn apart. Their land has been taken and villages have been destroyed.
Palestinians will live behind a wall that surrounds them. They will look from their windows to view the majestic sunrise of the Mediterranean but instead they will see a cold gray mass of concrete that symbolizes the Occupation. As the wall begins its winding fortress surrounding villages and towns it will prevent the workers from crossing the borders of the green line. They can no longer provide for their families. Access to medical needs and medical care will be limited. A Wall of Apartheid will confine Bethlehem and Jerusalem all known around the world to Christians, Jews and Muslims.
Some villages and small cities are isolated because of the wall. The green line, which is the line between the West Bank of Palestine and Israel, where the wall is being built will literally cut them off from the West Bank. Families who live on either side will not be able to see each other. Shops and markets are empty and farms that provided income are being confiscated to build the wall. In one place the wall is being built near a girl’s school and on several occasions the Israeli military has fired tear gas at the people who "come too close" One man, a farmer trying to harvest his crops has to endure the Israeli soldiers who constantly harass him and threaten to kill him. Because his land is next to the wall. Olive groves that sustain many Palestinian’s livelihoods are being supported by Israeli soldiers and taken away in trucks to be sold. The writing on the wall near one small village reads "Do not turn our villages into Prisons."
Like the walls of a prison where criminals are confined and the outside world moves on without them, so is the wall in Palestine. In a prison there is no freedom to come and go. Guards are watching from high above peering out form their tower. The taste of freedom lingers in your mouth long after you sleep. This is the only dream a prisoner has to escape the confinement and walk to freedom. Frustration can lead to hopelessness and hopelessness leads to more destruction. Still the Wall of Apartheid stands tall in this place where the history of religion and intolerance live side by side.
By,
Raelynn A.
Last update : 09-03-2007 10:19
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