A Placement Visit
EAPPI gives us the chance to visit two other placements
while we are on assignment. On June 18,
19 and 20 I visited the South Hebron Hills team whose apartment is
in Yatta (a city of 100,000) but their work is in the surrounding, mostly shepherding,
villages.
Living the Psalms
My time in this placement visit was a welcomed change from
peeping horns of Bethlehem Taxis. Being
in this open country, seeing people live like I have imagined people in the
Bible living caused some insightful pondering as I walked the hills.
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| Jesus talked about the door of a sheep pen |
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| Water and Life |
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| Baking Bread in the ground in a cave |
Standing in Solidarity with Shepherds
One of the important tasks of the South Hebron Hills team is
providing protective presence for the shepherds. Settlements, illegal under international law,
continue to be built in many places even when newscasts indicate they are
not. Shepherds experience violence from settlers. There are many reports available on settler violence. It is terrible for Palestinians to live in fear of their lives at every turn.
These ideological settlers state that God gave all the land to them. They act in many ways to intimidate, injure and force the residents off their farms and lands. Settlers are always armed and the army accompanies and supports all their actions. It appears they have no laws. Their actions would be crimes if committed in the United States.
These ideological settlers state that God gave all the land to them. They act in many ways to intimidate, injure and force the residents off their farms and lands. Settlers are always armed and the army accompanies and supports all their actions. It appears they have no laws. Their actions would be crimes if committed in the United States.
Access to Grazing Land
Our first assignment each morning was to meet shepherds and walk with
them. The grass is better in the valley,
but the settlers have claimed part of the land.
Settlers attack the shepherd on their own land if in the settler’s
opinion they are getting too close to the settlement. When internationals walk with the shepherd and
sheep, the settlers are less likely to cause harm. Our presence allowed the sheep to walk safely this close to a settlement.
In this very hot hilly area, sheep walk greater distances for
grazing because of settler violence.
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| Up and Down These Hills is NOT an Easy Walk |
A Toilet and an Arrest
With the help of an international aid organization, a shepherd
had a new toilet placed on his property, there are no sewer options for these
Palestinians. A member of a nearby
settlement decided it was an eyesore to their neighborhood, and called the
authorities. Before it was over, the toilet
was confiscated and the shepherd arrested.
The day we visited, he had just returned after three days in
jail. He had been convicted, but I am not sure what the charges stated. Even though he had not done anything wrong,
he had to pay a fine. The shepherd’s English
speaking son said it is all so sad, but he used the term “hilarious” that a
toilet on one’s personal property caused so much trouble. He said he would be crying all the time if he
could not look at it as hilarious and ridiculous.
What he finds distressing is that the children have seen and
will see again, demolitions of their homes.
Many homes in this village are under demolition orders. As settlements expand, the land nearby is
confiscated via demolition orders.
Access to Education
In South Hebron Hills, one of the areas requires a UN Jeep
to get the children safely through Israeli areas in order for them to get their
education.
