Personal update - the silence and a detour

Yes, patient readers, I'm still fine and well. I came out of Kurdistan over two weeks ago - though to me it seems much longer ago already given that the experiences there were so intense, and that I've traveled far and wide since then.


Apologies for the silence, as I had meant to post much more on my time in Kurdistan immediately but it was hard to focus and find the space. Initially I and the other delegates flew back out to Istanbul, and the 2-3 days after that I slept, hung out with the others still there, and continued my search for the best spots to chill out in Istanbul.


Then my friends PJ and Ingrid came from Switzerland to visit me and Istanbul for the weekend . . . and then convinced me to visit them.


While I had really planned to not venture into Europe (at least any further than Turkey), the cheap flights and the offer of lovely hospitality convinced me, and it's been beautiful. PJ and Ingrid work in Zurich but their main home is in the gorgeous postcard-picturesque village of Engelberg ('Angel mountain'). I've had a couple of nights in Zurich but mostly I've been here in Engelberg, soaking up the alpine views and spending time with PJ and Ingrid and family. Plenty of relaxing, and some hiking as well.

Engelberg: where a monk - and apparently his cow - saw angels on a mountain

Awesome glacier hiking at 3200 metres

It's been quite surreal to go from the harsh realities of Palestine, to the beautiful but land-mined mountains of Kurdistan, to the comfort and peace of this incredibly beautiful part of the world, but I'm really grateful to be here and to see it. 


In a week or so though I'll be back to Palestine, travelling independently this time. Having gotten a great introduction to the issues and people through CPT, I'll be able to explore a little more and with more time to spend with particular issues or people.


Before then - over the next couple of days - I will plan on writing at least one more reflection on Kurdistan, and then will blog more from Palestine about what I see and do there.


(I've also updated my previous post about the tragic killing of Vittorio Arrigoni in Palestine. Do check out some of the links I've included if you can - painful but insightful stories of Palestine).


More posts soon... meantime feel free to post a comment or email me at
khristo . newall (at) gmail . com

Peace Activist killed in Gaza - Vale Vittorio Arrigoni

Note: I've revised this post given that my initial 'post' was actually just a copy from an online article. At the time, I was just out of Iraq but wanted to at least pass on this sad news from Palestine.

Vittorio Arrigoni, a committed peace activist, was working in Gaza with ISM, but was kidnapped on the 12th or 13th of April, and then sadly killed by his extremist captors on the 14th of April.

I didn't know Vittorio but have followed the work of ISM over the last decade, and got to know Tom Hurndall just days before he was tragically killed by an Israeli soldier while working with ISM in 2003.


ISM has continued to do important and courageous work in Palestine despite ongoing threats, injuries and deaths. This latest death is terrible, but has not deterred ISM from committing to ongoing work. Vittorio was obviously passionate, dedicated, and loved - read more here.


For two stories from the UK Guardian click here for the news of his death, and here for a powerful response.


And here are some of Vittorio's own writings about his experience - really worth a read.


(for the original news report I posted click here). 

Mourners rally in the Gaza Strip for Vittorio Arrigoni, found dead after being kidnapped by an al-Qaeda-linked group.

I can only hope that more and more people from around the world can be inspired by Vittorio and so many others that have gone before him in working for peace and justice.

The Mountains, the shelling and the landmines

I've spent the last few days in the mountainous areas of Kurdistan near the Iranian border. The landscape was often spectacular, and the pictures below are of a village called Kani Spi. The village though was destroyed some years ago during conflict, and the area is still shelled regularly by Iran to prevent the villagers from being able to return. This happens every sowing and harvesting time, specifically so that crops cannot be planted or produced. 

Perhaps even more devastating is the fact that almost all of the village land is heavily land-mined and this has resulted in many injuries and deaths. Three of the family have been killed and Mahmood has lost a leg to land mines and yet the family insists on persevering with returning and have rebuilt two village houses. We spent the night there with Mahmood and some of his family, and it was a beautiful, moving and sad experience.

The mountains, streams and fields around Kani Spi

One of the few fields that has been de-mined in Kani Spi

The markers indicating mined fields

Mahmood telling us his story

An amazing evening inside the simple home, where we were given warmth and gracious hospitality from the chill and howling wind.

Kurdistan - a sad past

Red Jail

Reminiscent of Abu Graib – now a memorial museum – this prison was where thousands of Kurds were imprisoned, tortured and killed over many years by Saddam’s regime.

Men's Cell

Women's wing

Torture Room

Memorial hall

now to Iraq

To my four regular readers, apologies for the mostly silent week - I've had huge problems trying to blog of late. 


And in a few hours I fly into northern Iraq, so this is a brief post just to catch people up on where I'm at.


Palestine was a profound experience and a very busy scheduled program for the small group of us travelling and experiencing the realities together. I'll go back independently in a few weeks with more time to soak things up but I left a few days ago to get to Turkey, and have a little breathing space before Iraq. The breathing space hasn't gone to plan, and I'm feeling a little rushed, but I'm still looking forward to being back in Iraq.


Some of you know that I worked there in 2003 with a French NGO. That was an intense and amazing time setting up projects mainly in Baghdad, and I'd love to visit the friends I made and see that city again, but it remains too dangerous (for me at least). 





Instead I'm going to Kurdistan (autonomous region of northern Iraq), where the conflict happening in the rest of Iraq is almost non-existent (and so is far safer for almost everyone, especially Westerners like me). But there is real violence happening in what is considered an almost forgotten conflict against the Kurds there by their surrounding neighbours.


More of that as I experience it, but suffice to say that there are thousands of displaced Kurds in the region we'll be in, and many villages and people who continue to experience bombing and military violence from across their borders with Turkey and Iran. 


I'm again going with a small group to try and understand this better and to look at some low-key but radical peace work that's happening in this region. So, in 9 or 10 hours 5 of us fly from Turkey into Suleimaniyah, (arriving there about 8pm Australian EDT, 2/4). We'll spend several days there and then some days in village areas closer to the border with Turkey, where people are affected by the bombing and military attacks which we almost never hear anything about.


I hope I can help in some small way to change that and let some of you know about the suffering of the Kurds which has gone on for decades, no matter which regimes, powers and dictators have surrounded them.

Occupation 101

It’s really hard to convey all that I’ve learnt in Palestine but a few thoughts in the context of more violence and the talk of another initfada (Arabic for ‘shaking off’). And a video that I really ask you to watch – see below.

Firstly to say I’m a little overwhelmed by the reality of what is going on and that the world can stand by as the devastation continues in Palestine. There is so much about this that is so clearly wrong; against Israeli law, against international law, and against any sense of morality and yet Israel continues and we in the rest of the world allow it – led primarily by the USA.

Secondly, to convey strongly how much I have learnt about how Jews and Arabs in this region lived harmoniously up until the early 1900’s, and largely until 1947. This goes against this strongly promoted notion that the Jews and Arabs have been fighting for centuries and there are no answers; 

‘the Palestinian conflict remains as intractable as ever’ (BBC news – 30/3/2011) . . . this is really not the case.

There’s so much I’d like to describe and explain but I’m so full with emotions and thoughts that it’s hard to do it all justice. Instead for now, I’d ask you to watch at least the first part of this video called ‘Occupation 101’.

It’s an excellent production and gives a really solid and moving overview of what is going on and how it came to this. On youtube it’s been broken down into 8-minute segments – I’d really encourage you to watch the first 2 at least. By then you’ll know if you want to watch the rest – I hope you do.

             
                   OR:

If the video doesn't work click here

You may need to sign in using a gmail account or other, but it really will be a worthwhile 8 minutes – please do.

And feel free to post comments or ask questions – I’ll try and answer or give some pointers at least.

Sad update on At-Tuwani - villager stabbed by settler

My earlier two posts were about our time in At-Tuwani village. The following is a CPT release which I received by email yesterday... the stabbing occurred two days after we were there.

CPT article:

Palestinian man stabbed by settler in Tuwani days after settler riot
 disrupts replanting of damaged olive trees



March 22, 2011


At-Tuwani, West Bank


On the morning of March 21st shortly after 7 am a Palestinian father 
of two from Tuba village was attacked and stabbed near the the illegal 
outpost of Havat Ma'on in the South Hebron Hills. 

Mahmoud Ibrahim Ali 
Awad, 32, was traveling by donkey from his home in Tuba to a medical
 appointment in the city of Yatta when a masked settler ran out of the 
illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on and attacked him with a knife. The
 assault was witnessed by a resident of Tuwani, who quickly called
 villagers and internationals and interrupted the attack. The
 assailant ran back into the illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on. Villagers 
recognized him as a settler who was involved in a riot in the village
 earlier that week. 

Awad was transported by ambulance to Alia Hospital 
in Hebron and remains there with stab wounds to his chest and right
 arm.



Two days earlier on March 19 settlers from the illegal outpost of
 Havat Ma'on rioted near Tuwani in response to the planting of 25 olive
trees in Palestinian olive groves there. Israeli peace activists and
internationals had joined with villagers to replace mature olive trees 
which were hacked and destroyed in the grove earlier this month.

 Shortly after 9 am on the 19th approximately 25 settlers emerged
 from the illegal outpost of Havat Ma'on and moved among Palestinians
 who were grazing sheep and collecting herbs near the olive groves in
Humra valley and in nearby Khoruba valley and on Khoruba hill. 

The
 settlers, several of whom were masked, shoved and kicked the villagers
 and their sheep and also internationals and Israeli peace activists
 who had come to assist in replanting the damaged olive trees.

 Israeli soldiers and border police declared the area a closed military
 zone and discharged two percussion grenades in an attempt to force
 villagers to leave the area. 

Two Palestinian men were arrested and one
 elderly man, Fadil Ahmed Raba'i collapsed from respiratory distress 
and lost consciousness after soldiers pushed him to the ground and 
forcibly restrained him. Soldiers refused to allow the ambulance
direct access and instead required the driver to take a detour
 resulting in a 45 minute wait. Raba'i was transported to a hospital 
in the city of Yatta and released later that day. Two Palestinian men
 were arrested by border police and remain in custody. Israeli
 soldiers and border police did not arrest or detain settlers.

 

Pictures of the incident are available at:


http://cpt.org/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=22477 and at 
http://snipurl.com/27nyqe

 

Sadly, villagers think these events may have been triggered in part by 
the recent killing of a settler couple and their children in Itamar
 settlement near Nablus. No Palestinians have been charged 
and it now appears possible that the murders may have been committed
 by Thai workers who were angry because they had not been paid for 
their labor. Speaking about the six olive trees found damaged on 
March 16, Fadil Ahmed Raba'i stated, "They did this because of the 
settlers who were murdered near Nablus."

 

Palestinians and internationals working in the West Bank have
 expressed concern over a recent rise in settler violence. The 
situation is further exacerbated by an absence of law enforcement in
the region. According to the Israeli legal rights group Yesh-Din
 Israeli settlers are rarely charged with crimes committed against
 Palestinians, and if they are their cases are heard in civilian court,
 where they are provided with legal safeguards and protections. When 
Palestinians are charged their cases are heard in Israeli military 
courts, and they do not enjoy the same legal protections.
 Additionally it is extremely difficult for Palestinians to gain
redress for crimes committed against them by settlers. According to a
 recent report by Yesh-Din, out of 642 monitored investigations of 
Palestinian complaints against settlers, 91 percent were closed
 without an indictment.



[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of 
Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all 
Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are 
illegal.  Most settlement outposts are even considered illegal under 
Israeli law.]


And an update on the update - here's a Los Angeles Times story that mentions the stabbing and looks more broadly at the issue of settler attacks:

Los Angeles Times story - West Bank 21/3/2011

The request by Palestinians for international protection is exactly the type of work that CPT (and other groups such as ISM and EAPPI) do.