Sunday, October 25, 2009
UNWRA Refugee Stories: The desert gardener
Refugee Stories
The desert gardener
October 2009
Bassim Mohamad, a Palestinian agricultural science professor from Baghdad University, lives in al Tanf refugee camp. He talks about his life, the art of survival in the desert and why gardening there is so important
You were a professor at Baghdad University. Why did you flee Iraq?
I am a Palestinian born in Baghdad in 1960. I lived and studied in Baghdad and lived and worked my whole life there. I studied agricultural science at Baghdad University and got married in 1985. We have two sons.
I was forced to leave Baghdad in 2006, three years after the war started. We came to Damascus, stayed for two years and then moved to al Tanf. Militias in Iraq killed my brother, so we decided to come to Syria. In the year 2006 many Palestinians were killed, everyone was afraid and tried to leave the country. My brother, friends and others were killed. My father died shortly after our arrival in Damascus.
How was life for you in Baghdad before the war?
We did not have any problems before the war. My father started his business in 1960, a French bread bakery. We had houses, cars, everything we needed. After the war everything vanished and we still don’t understand what and why it happened. Especially for Palestinians in Iraq the situation was the hardest. There were threats everywhere, many were killed and tortured.
You stayed in Damascus for almost two years…
I still have family members in Damascus. My uncles and cousins have been living there for a long time, so we could stay with them. In 2008 I came to al Tanf because I ran out of money and now no money is left at all. I worked for six months in a bakery in Damascus, but the salary was very low compared to Baghdad's salaries.
Then you came to no-man's land, al Tanf…
My wife, my youngest son and I arrived almost one year ago. What we need now is a new future for our children, our work and our life. We need peace and hope to be resettled.
What is the biggest hardship in the desert camp for you?
Incredibly hot weather, bad conditions, little water. There is little electricity, no work. Also, there are snakes, insects, mice, and diseases, particularly skin disease caused by the sun. Especially for children it is very hard here.
Can you imagine going back to Iraq in the future?
No, I would never go back. They killed my brother, which is still a big problem for me. My father died because of his grief in Damascus. My brother was killed only for being Palestinian.
What’s your daily routine here?
Our life here works like this: I get up around six in the morning, go outside and check outside the tents for snakes, insects or potential fire. I come back home, have my breakfast around seven. I go to my culture and check out my plants.
Then I visit other areas in al Tanf camp and check on insects and other problems. Everyone is still sleeping at that time. I do some work on the water tanks to refill the tanks for each tent. Around 12 I have my lunch and take a little nap. In the afternoon I usually organise a volleyball match. We have our own team and normally we play around six in the evening.
Your desert garden: what is the idea behind it?
I started this project because I’m a specialist in agricultural issues. I am doing a study on how certain plants grow in the tough desert environment regarding diseases, insects etc. I record every single detail: temperature and weather in order to study these conditions.
But July and August are hard for gardening. There is little water, the culture is weak, and only a few vegetables grow. I used seeds brought to me from Damascus. At the moment we have beans, corns and flour, which we use for cooking. Later on we will have spinach, potatoes and much more. We depend on them since vegetables are hardly available in the camp. We have rabbits and birds as well, all of them found in the desert. We depend on our self-grown food.
Baghdad, Damascus, al Tanf: Your life had been hard in the past. What are your dreams for the future?
Everything is better than living here.
What do you miss the most from Baghdad?
All my friends, my neighbourhood, everything. I lived in an area of the city called "new Baghdad", not in a refugee camp. I did not have any financial problems. My whole life from 1960 until after the war was in Baghdad. Of course the war changed everything, militias came, killings and many other things started. But we still hope for a better future one day.
Interview: Eva Pilipp
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tense debate on U.S.-Israel foreign relations begins ahead of J Street Conference
"The administration has made a point of meeting with a wide range of groups on the topic; Jones recently spoke to the American Task Force on Palestine, while Obama is scheduled to address the Jewish Federations of North America next month."
Tense debate on U.S.-Israel foreign relations begins ahead of J Street Conference
By Dan Eggen
Saturday, October 24, 2009; 11:21 AMBBC NEWS: Price of Hamas principles in Gaza
"The local Hamas leaders speak of absolute certainty in total victory. It is talk not shared on the street. "
BBC NEWS: Price of Hamas principles in Gaza
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8320668.stmMy letter to the VOA regarding the headline "Abbas's Call for Elections Deepens Palestinian Divisions"
Dear VOA,
Regarding the headline Abbas's Call for Elections Deepens Palestinian Divisions
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-24-voa19.cfm
The article clearly and succinctly points out that "The Palestinian divisions pose a major obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, which is the stated goal of the peace process sponsored by the United States. Hamas refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel, and Israel says as long as the group rules Gaza, there cannot be a Palestinian state."
So it is not so much Abbas's call as it is Hamas's refusal to renounce violence, refusal to recognize Israel, and now Hamas's refusal to respect the election process that is deepening divisions... I think your headline should reflect that rather helping Hamas achieve its goal of sabotaging peace talks by shifting the blame for Palestinian divisions onto Abbas.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg PA USA
Regarding the headline Abbas's Call for Elections Deepens Palestinian Divisions
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-24-voa19.cfm
The article clearly and succinctly points out that "The Palestinian divisions pose a major obstacle to the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, which is the stated goal of the peace process sponsored by the United States. Hamas refuses to renounce violence or recognize Israel, and Israel says as long as the group rules Gaza, there cannot be a Palestinian state."
So it is not so much Abbas's call as it is Hamas's refusal to renounce violence, refusal to recognize Israel, and now Hamas's refusal to respect the election process that is deepening divisions... I think your headline should reflect that rather helping Hamas achieve its goal of sabotaging peace talks by shifting the blame for Palestinian divisions onto Abbas.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
Mechanicsburg PA USA
Refusing to submit to the cynicism or pessimism this conflict so often demands
"I have traveled to the region and remain humbled and inspired by the courage and tenacity of those Israelis and Palestinians who refuse to submit to the cynicism or pessimism this conflict so often demands." Rebecca Abou-Chedid
A Palestinian farmer, stumped again
A Palestinian farmer, stumped againPalestinian farmers
Not much of an olive branch
Oct 15th 2009 | AL-MUGHAYIR
From The Economist print edition
The plight of rural Palestinians on the West Bank is as grim as ever
My online comment RE The state will happen 'Institution building' in Palestine (Washington Post)
'Institution building' in Palestine
Lally Weymouth's exclusive interview with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.annieannab wrote:
Palestinians are wise to simply begin the process of making Palestine a reality rather than waiting for justice, peace and Palestine to magically appear... and thank you for publishing this interview focused in on non-violent Palestinian response to the past 61 years of Israel/Palestine conflict.
10/24/2009 7:34:44 AM
J Street and the ATFP are norm breakers By Ghassan Rubeiz
J Street and the ATFP are norm breakers
By Ghassan Rubeiz
Commentary by
Thursday, October 22, 2009
By Ghassan Rubeiz
Commentary by
Thursday, October 22, 2009
In “Transforming America’s Israeli Lobby,” Dan Fleshler argues that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) is not helping Israel’s long-term interests and it is not properly reflecting the progressive sentiments of the American Jewish community. Fleshler explains the complexity of the Jewish lobby in America and urges congress to listen to all shades of Jewish opinion, not only to AIPAC.
There are signs that challengers to AIPAC in the Jewish American community are gaining political muscle. J Street is a new Washington lobby that seeks to promote the interests of Israel through peace advocacy, opposition to colonial policies and dialogue with adversaries. This young organization is holding its first national meeting in Washington DC from October 25 through 28. Eighteen dovish Jewish agencies and movements, including American Peace Now, are participating in this event. The conference has an impressive list of speakers and a thousand participants. A sizable group from the House and Senate will attend. A number of Arab Americans are invited as speakers, including Dr. Ziad Asali, the CEO of the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP).
J Street must have observed with satisfaction that ATFP, a dovish Palestinian American organization, recently convened an outstanding event in DC. On October 16, at the Fourth Annual Gala of ATFP, the national security adviser, General James L. Jones, affirmed President Barack Obama’s commitment to the formation of a Palestinian state and his eagerness to revive the peace process. The General said: “The time has come to relaunch negotiations without preconditions to reach a final-status agreement on two states.” Having the national security adviser a keynote speaker at ATFP reflects a new climate of understanding in Arab-American relations.
It is important for Arabs to pay serious attention to political differences within the American Jewish community. It has been said there are certain Jewish lobbies on Capitol Hill that are more effective in the defense of the Palestinian cause than the best of Arab advocacy groups. I am not sure of how valid this observation is, but there is a point to be made of the near-magical ability of the pro-Israeli lobby on the Hill, which often manages to integrate American and Israeli interests.
Departing from AIPAC’s hawkish approach, J Street has established a solid network of Jewish soft power in Washington, power that promotes win-win “pro Israel, pro Palestinian and pro-American” interests. When Israel launched its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza last December, J Street sent a sobering message:
“Neither Israelis nor Palestinians have a monopoly on right or wrong. While there is nothing ‘right’ in raining rockets on Israeli families or dispatching suicide bombers, there is nothing ‘right’ in punishing a million-and-a-half already-suffering Gazans for the actions of the extremists among them,” said Daniel Trieman.
Similarly, AFTP is developing its own reconciliatory advocacy on Capitol Hill and gaining access to the White House. Listen to Asali:
“It is up to both peoples to decide whether they will allow themselves to be driven by extremist agendas, or to pursue what is plainly in their national interests. Their past trespasses against each other, both real and imagined, have to give way to the recognition that Israelis and Palestinians clearly now need exactly the same thing: an end of conflict based on two states.”
Innovative thinking links progressive Palestinians and Jews. Both ATFP and J Street are self-critical and respectful of the adversary. Both are encouraged and influenced by Obama. Both believe in the US ability to be the honest broker of peace.
Moderation is a response to unsustainable realities on both sides of the Arab-Israeli divide. Many Palestinians are desperate of an enduring occupation, growing Israeli settlements and a painful separation wall. Progressive Palestinians are keen to assure Jews that they are behind security for Israel. When articulated clearly, this Palestinian message resonates well with a large segment of the Jewish community, both in Israel and in America.
J Street is affected by an awakening of the American Jewish community to the consequences of the occupation, a provocative Israeli regime, Palestinian demography, a new American policy and a tarnished image of Tel Aviv. In J Street’s paradigm, Israel’s security requires ending the occupation; there is awareness of the natural capacity of an occupier to do harm to the occupied. A growing segment of the Jewish community recognizes that moderate Jews do have partners among like-minded Palestinians.
The cooperation of J Street with ATFP should be a model for wider Arab and Jewish reconciliation, if peace is ever to materialize. Arab and Jewish Americans are in a unique position to be norm-breakers; they live in a social climate that allows them to recognize the value of partnership across the dividing line. When Arabs and Jews become accustomed to self-criticism they would be on their way to conflict resolution. Both J Street and ATFP have already demonstrated authenticity and audacity, two rare qualities in Middle East politics. Both have a long way to become the mainstream.
Ghassan M. Rubeiz is an Arab-American commentator. He wrote this commentary for THE DAILY STAR.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
No peace without justice
No peace without justice
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