Wailing at the Wall

A depiction of oppression. Visible and apparent. Stretching as far as the eye can see. Cutting right through Abu Dis, the Separation Wall clearly shows the restriction of movement for Palestinians; one of the many violations of their basic human rights.

The separation wall from Abu Dis. The small hole you can see in the wall has taken 2 years to make which has become a kind of ritual for Palestinian activists in Abu Dis.

Many internationals and Palestinian activists have painted the wall with graffiti to symbolise that the struggle will not end and the fight for freedom continues. Even though many of us found the sight of the wall highly overwhelming, we found optimism in the ongoing creative resistance. Of course for most people in Abu Dis, this sight is completely normal and something that they’re used to.

Detail of the hole in the wall in Abu Dis

Our day started off with meeting the group of Palestinian students at CADFA Friendship Centre who we travelled to Al-Fara’a with, where we would be staying for the residential. We would spend the next 5 days befriending, working alongside and sharing experiences together in order to establish solid links and bridges.

During our long journey to the residential, our Palestinian friends highlighted various problems that they encounter regularly and are an obstacle to their lives. Along the way, we drove past Ma’ale Adumim, the second largest settlement in the West Bank. These settlements are a blatant breach of international law and considered to be an obstacle for a realistic two-state solution. Many settlers are intentionally hostile and violent towards Palestinians and roads are even segregated which show  where they can and cannot travel.

Photo of Jamal, a CADFA volunteer being reminded
of his experiences of being tortured in Israeli Prisons 

Another poignant moment was when we passed Al-Bidhan Valley en route to Al-Fara'a. We were told that this was the place where British soldiers killed Palestinian freedom fighters during the British mandate by tying them to their horses and throwing them off a cliff. The feeling of being a British citizen and learning about this left us feeling both ashamed and disgusted. Our journey was both educational and informative, learning more and more about the land of Palestine and the troubles that exist.

If you look carefully you can see the chains that were
used to restrain Palestinians whilst water would be dripped
on their foreheads for days on end

We eventually arrived at Al-Fara'a, welcomed by warm, friendly Palestinian faces. It turned out that the residential that we were staying at used to be an Israeli prison - built by the British and used by the Israelis to torture and interrogate Palestinian freedom fighters. We were given an insight into a few of the many methods of torture that were carried out including: sleep deprivation, water torture and administrative detention. We also came to realise that some of the Palestinian people who were accompanying us had endured some of this torture themselves! This made our admiration for them strengthen and we appreciated that they were able to share this with us and still continue their ongoing resistance. By this point, many of us were quite traumatised and distressed by listening to accounts of what took place here.

It turned out to be a bitter-sweet day fuelled with conflicting emotions and we knew that from this day forward, we would never see Palestine in the same way again...