Reinvaded Bethlehem, by Kristen Ess
BETHLEHEM (PC)
Tuesday, November 26 2002 @ 08:45 PM GMT
The occupying Israeli army forces Palestinians to sit in their homes, trapped for days on end. Here in Bethlehem it has only been five days. In Nablus it has been months. Schools, shops, everything, is closed.
A woman went to Ramallah for school one day. She is still there, but her school is closed. She cannot return home. She lives in Bethlehem's Aida Refugee Camp. Another woman is having a baby alone. Her husband went to Ramallah for work and has not been able to return. It is impossible to leave. It is impossible to get out.
Israeli soldiers pound on the doors of homes and families jump up. If they do not open the door quickly enough, the soldiers will break them down or start shooting. The Israeli soldiers tramp through the homes in boots and helmets, wearing army gear and carrying M-16s. They shove the guns into old men's stomachs and demand identification. The families scramble to prove that the Israeli government has legitimized their existence. The children cry and the entire family is ordered out of their homes. Israeli soldiers hold guns to their heads and make them stand against walls in their own streets. Some are made to lie on the ground.
BETHLEHEM (PC)
Tuesday, November 26 2002 @ 08:45 PM GMT
The occupying Israeli army forces Palestinians to sit in their homes, trapped for days on end. Here in Bethlehem it has only been five days. In Nablus it has been months. Schools, shops, everything, is closed.
A woman went to Ramallah for school one day. She is still there, but her school is closed. She cannot return home. She lives in Bethlehem's Aida Refugee Camp. Another woman is having a baby alone. Her husband went to Ramallah for work and has not been able to return. It is impossible to leave. It is impossible to get out.
Israeli soldiers pound on the doors of homes and families jump up. If they do not open the door quickly enough, the soldiers will break them down or start shooting. The Israeli soldiers tramp through the homes in boots and helmets, wearing army gear and carrying M-16s. They shove the guns into old men's stomachs and demand identification. The families scramble to prove that the Israeli government has legitimized their existence. The children cry and the entire family is ordered out of their homes. Israeli soldiers hold guns to their heads and make them stand against walls in their own streets. Some are made to lie on the ground.