Yesterday morning, Maria* and I went to Susya, a Palestinian village that is close to the city of Yatta, south of Hebron.
Susya has been around for almost two centuries, if not more. There are written records that attest to its existence since 1830. The people used to build their homes in caves, and originally used to encompass a huge area of land.
In 1982, Israeli settlers came to the area, and built a settlement, also called Susya. In 1986, the Israeli Army expelled the Palestinian villagers from their homes, to make way for an archaeological dig. The Palestinian residents moved to an area some 500 metres away on their land, closer to the settlement. Soon afterwards, the attacks on Palestinians began. Stones being thrown at children on their way to school, attacks on shepherds, killing of livestock. There was another expulsion in 1990 and then 2001- during the second one, both Israeli soldiers and settlers worked together to destroy people's homes. There were also other expulsions and destructions.
Many of the villagers had been forced to move and build new homes on the other side of the road, which happens to be on farmland that legally belongs to them. They live in tents, as well as structures made out of bricks. The villagers support themselves by selling cheese from the milk their goats make, olives, honey, and embroidery. All of these things are produced in the village.
The village recently received another demolition order in May 2015. Military surveyors have been to the village. According to EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel), they drive into the village in white trucks, escorted by dozens of soldiers. They walk around, taking photographs of people's buildings, and do not talk to either the Palestinians or the international or Israeli activists. As far as they are concerned, the people who live here are not even worth speaking to, they are not owed an explanation as to why, or even when, they will be made homeless again. They are garbage to be removed.
Demolitions are very traumatic events, where the soldiers who are carrying out their orders show very little, if any, humanity. Lorenna, an EAPPI volunteer from the States, told us how last year, when some homes were destroyed to make more room for the archaeological dig, she witnessed one of the women on her hands and knees in front of the soldier, weeping and begging him to not allow his friends to destroy her home. Of course, it made no difference.
Maria* and I spent Tuesday in the village and stayed overnight, along with some volunteers from EAPPI and some villagers. Most of the village went to Yatta for a celebration, to break the fast.
We observed some military jeeps driving beside the village, but none of them stopped. They were most likely on their way to the nearby military base.
One of the villagers who we met and who made us feel very much at home was Muhammad Ahmed Elnouaja. An elderly man who walks using a cane, he was born here and this has been his home since he was a child. He walked us around the village, showing us the solar panels that are used for electricity... unlike the settlers who live nearby, the Palestinians do not get water or electricity from the Israeli government. About 450 people live in Susya, and they steadfastly are resisting efforts by the Israeli Army to drive them out.
Muhammad introduced us to his family, including one of his daughters in law, Samiha, and two of her daughters, Diana and Dunya. Although they were fasting, Dunya picked us some plums and the family insisted we eat.
We were not hungry for a moment when we were in Susya. Upon arriving, there was a breakfast waiting for us, consisting of stew, bread and what I think were pickles but am not sure (they could also have been pickled peppers). We had plums for lunch. In the evening, after the sun went down, some of the villagers who remained broke the fast with us by making an array of delicious foods, including rice, soup, stews, scrambled eggs, cheese, and pickled vegetables. Late in the evening, when the villagers came from Yatta, Muhammad brought us a large plate of rice and lamb. The next morning, for breakfast, we had bread and homemade apple jam, as well as oil and zaatar. We drank it down with some sweet tea. Before we left, the villagers made us lunch, which consisted of cucumber and tomato salad, yogurt, oil, and bread.
The kids often came to visit us, to hang out and practice their English and teach us Arabic. ISM bought some toys for the kids which we brought, and were very happily received. Some of the boys and I engaged in some very interesting rounds of Tic Tac Toe, which I taught them how to play and they picked up very quickly. Using lines drawn in the dirt and some rocks and bones from mutton past, we engaged in a round or few.
I was very touched by the hospitality the people showed us. In spite of the poverty they live, they shared much of what they had with people they don't even know. It is horrible to know that any day now, the bulldozers are likely to arrive, and the little material possessions they have are again about to be destroyed.
To learn more about the situation in Susya, I would recommend reading the report below, compiled by Rabbis for Human Rights.
http://rhr.org.il/eng/save-susya/
* Many ISM members use pseudonyms. This is the one my wife chose.
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