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July 29, 2002
Tom Stephens
Fast
Track and the
Hypocrites of the House
Linda Belanger
Why Do They Do It?
Alfredo Castro
Colombia's
Disappeared
Anne Brodsky
Inside Pakistan and
Afghanistan with RAWA
Andrew George
The Fires
of Summer:
Don't Blame the Greens
David Vest
A Blind Mule and
a Box of Medals
July 28, 2002
Bob Geary
Our Dinner
with Fidel Castro
July 27, 2002
Ian Daoust
The New
Mahler, Seattle Style
Gavin Keeney
Zizek
and Lenin
Ralph Nader
Citigroup
Heal Thyself
M. Shahid Alam
American
Presidents (Poem)
Mokhiber / Weissman
Push Back: Women Take
on the Corporate Beasts
July 26, 2002
Jerre Skog
American
Dictatorship:
It Couldn't Happen...Could It?
Philip Farruggio
Lie,
Rob and Steal
Rep. Ron Paul
Monitor
Thy Neighbor
Ron Jacobs
Thinking
About the
Weather (Underground)
Walt Brasch
Ashcroft's War on Bookstores
July 25, 2002
Norman Madarasz
Paul
Krugman's Howl:
Populism, War and
the Melting Economy
Gavin Keeney
Van Morrison: In September
Rep. Cynthia McKinney
War
on Terrorism or
Police State?
July 24, 2002
Gary Leupp
An Islam Primer
July 23, 2002
Jeffrey St. Clair
The Battle
for Zuni Salt Lake
Ansar Ahmed
Am I with You, George?
Bill Christison
The
Disastrous Foreign Policies of the US: Oppression Abroad Means
Repression at Home
July 22, 2002
Rick Giombetti
Glaxo Raises White Flag
in Paxil Case
Wayne Madsen
Forbidden
Truth
The Press, Bush, Oil
and the Taliban
July 21. 2002
Francis A. Boyle
The Rogue Elephant
Jennifer Harbury
Why are
the FBI & CIA Targeting Me?
Joan Claybrook
Time
for a Special Prosceutor
for Thomas White
Gloria Bergen
The Struggle
of Workers
in Palestine
Dave Marsh
Mr. Big Stuff:
Alan Lomax, Great White Fraud
James T. Phillips
"I'll
Tell You No Lies"
The Human Rubble of War
July 20, 2002
Gavin Keeney
The Grave
New Urbanism
World Trade Center Burlesque
Jacob Levich
"I
Was Schooled in Hate"
Confessions of a
Summer Camp Terror Tot
Thomas Croft
Augusta,
GA
Growing Up in the Deep South
Alexander Cockburn
The
Market Hogwallow:
Popgun Populism Isn't Enough
July 19, 2002
Abe Bonowitz / SueZann
Bosler
A Discussion
with Jeb Bush on the Death Penalty
Jonathan Power
No Need
for War Against Iraq
Rick Giombetti
Qwest
Death Watch
Kurt Nimmo
Of Mice,
Bullets & Bombs
M. Shahid Alam
Through
Racist Eyes:
Is Eurocentrism Unique?
July 18, 2002
Mokhiber / Weissman
Business
As Usual
Jerre Skog
I Spy: Now
Let's be Fair,
the USA Ain't East Germany
Ralph Nader
The CEO
Crimewave:
Corporate Socialism
Mahbubul Karim (Sohel)
The Rising Tensions
Between Spain and Morocco
Alexander Cockburn
Drivel
and Squawk:
Can the Times' Jeff Gerth
Save the White House?
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July
31, 2002
Inside
Ramallah
How Can the
World Witness Such Suffering and Yet Do Nothing?
by Amelia Peltz
I admit it.
I'm guilty.
Guilty of what, you may ask? Well it
might seem strange, but guilty of not writing. Of not doing more
to adequately chronicle all that has been taking place in Palestine
during the past few weeks. Not just in Ramallah, but throughout
the West Bank and Gaza. Aside from being chronically exhausted
from heat and stress, I have been struggling with a certain sense
of depression. Whenever I sit down in front of my computer to
write I feel so inadequate as though my words can never--and
will never--make a difference. Who am I to think that I can do
anything to change the horrible, if not criminal, situation that
has encompassed the lives of the Palestinian people?
But there is another issue too. I am
aware that my "reports" often come across as sounding
angry and accusatory and I fear that some people may have taken
my past diatribes personally. Please understand that my anger
is not directed at any of you, despite the fact that my writing
style might lead you to believe otherwise. I do not intend to
alter or "water down" what I have to say, but realize
that my anger (no matter how valid or invalid it may be) is a
lament at the lack of compassion and humanity that I face on
a daily basis.
So, full of reproach at my unwarranted
sense of self-pity, I sat down this evening to try and put emotions
into words.
I am writing this letter on a Saturday
evening--a day of the week when many people are preparing for
a fun evening out with friends and loved ones. As I write, my
desk periodically shakes due to the sounds of gunfire and tank
shelling. Israeli soldiers are driving through the deserted streets
of Ramallah shouting "Mana ata jawaal, Mana ata jawaal"
-- you are under curfew. Periodically they catch someone trying
to break curfew and either detain them or shoot in the air--like
just a moment ago on the street in front of my house. You may
not believe this, but I cannot remember what it must be like
to have the freedom to do something as simple as taking a walk,
let alone enjoy a Saturday night out with friends. I now consider
myself lucky if curfew is lifted for a few hours so I can go
to my office and meet with my colleagues, then dash to the market
to get a few days worth of fruits and vegetables before curfew
is slammed down on us once again.
And I am lucky. I have a job that pays
me even on the days I am home under curfew (fortunately I am
able to do a lot of my work from home). I have money to buy food
and medicine. My house has not be invaded and destroyed. My partner
has not been arrested, though the threat remains every day that
the situation could change and he will end up in the notorious
Naqab prison along with our dear friend, Majed. Once again, Majed
was arrested and incarcerated along with over 1,700 other Palestinian
men. He is suffering from a disease in his eyes that will undoubtedly
leave him blind by the time he is released.
Recently there has been an international
chorus of voices, including the United Nations, the World Bank,
and USAID, proclaiming the grim reality that there is a humanitarian
crisis facing the West Bank and Gaza. I will add my little voice
to this international chorus -- there is a humanitarian crisis
facing the entire Palestinian population of the West Bank and
Gaza! I don't know how much more strongly this can be emphasized,
I really don't. And my words certainly cannot do justice to these
facts taken from a recent USAID report (I can send this report
to anyone who is interested) and a report by the Middle East
Research and Information Project (which I have attached at the
end of this letter):
. 75% of the population is living below
the poverty line, which means they are living on less than $2
per day . Unemployment rates have skyrocketed to an unprecedented
62% . Over 2 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and
Gaza are living under curfew . Approximately 50% of all Palestinians
are dependent on food assistance from the FAO or UNRWA in order
to feed their families . Communicable diseases are spreading,
due to lack of medical care and improper sewage disposal (garbage
cannot be removed while under curfew) . During a recent survey
of 300 households in Nablus, none were found to have an adequate
supply of safe drinking water . 21% of children are suffering
from acute malnutrition.
The numbers only tell half the story.
The other half is told through the looks of desperation and despair
that are evident in the eyes of people who are struggling to
survive.
Two weeks ago I went to Jenin. Last week
I was in Gaza. I left both cities ill, physically and emotionally.
And I am ashamed that I cannot find the words to tell you about
the widespread poverty and destruction. But what can be said
that will do any justice to the lives of people who are struggling
to survive under a brutal occupation and ceaseless war?
But survive they do. For so many, it
is an awful existence -- being dependant on food aid, relying
on life savings to buy medicine, dodging bullets and ducking
tank shells just to stay alive for--how long? a day? a week?
Many have said that the Palestinian resistance
is being crushed. While it is not nearly as strong as it was
a year ago, I can assure you that the resistance is alive and
well. But it is taking on new and creative forms, too.
For example, I heard a story the other
night that in a part of the city of Bitounyia (southwest of Ramallah)
every night a certain time, the residents bang as loudly as they
can on pots and pans so as to annoy the Israeli soldiers. Often
in the evenings around my neighbourhood, children come out to
fly their homemade kites. One night, I counted over 50 in the
sky! And of course non-violent demonstrations and marches in
the streets still continue, even if they are on a small scale.
Despite their non-violent nature, these protestors (of which
I am one) are always met with tear gas, concussion grenades and
live ammunition.
These acts of resistance are our survival
strategies.
I was recently interviewed by a British
news agency that is working on a report describing life, such
as it is, in the West Bank. The last question that the reporter
asked me was how long this situation can last.
"Before what?", I replied.
"What else do you want! How much more suffering and death
do we half to endure before we can compete for a spot on the
evening news?"
But these, in my opinion, are not the
right questions to ask. What we should be asking is how, despite
the enormous might of inhumanity inflicted upon Palestine, do
people continue to survive? And, more importantly, how can the
world be a witness such suffering--not just in Palestine, but
on a global scale--and not act upon it?
Sometimes, my only survival strategy
is to cry. At the end of the day, after the demonstrations have
ended, the curfew is imposed, bullets pierce the night sky, and
dreams of peace with justice seeming like a childhood fantasy,
tears are the only comfort. They are small drops of humanity,
struggling to claim their place in the world.
Amelia Peltz
is an activist currently living in Ramallah. If you would like
to send her a short email of solidarity/support we know she would
be grateful. Her email is atpeltz@attglobal.net
Today's Features
Tom Stephens
Fast
Track and the
Hypocrites of the House
Linda Belanger
Why Do They Do It?
Alfredo Castro
Colombia's
Disappeared
Anne Brodsky
Inside Pakistan and
Afghanistan with RAWA
Andrew George
The Fires
of Summer:
Don't Blame the Greens
David Vest
A Blind Mule and
a Box of Medals
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