Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 24)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 25 (ص 24)
- المحتوى
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Voices from Shatila and Burj Al Barajneh
In Shatila camp there is a con-
vergence between pain and hope,
tragedy and bravery, and between the
justice of the Palestinian cause and
continuous conspiracies. Almost 500
families are enclosed in 200 square
meters. From a distance you see that
Shatila has been turned into ruins. Not
a single house is left standing. The
closer you come to the camp, the more
you see the destruction. This destruc-
tion has a fetid smell; it is the smell of
death. The residents of this camp,
along with those of Burj Al Barajneh,
survived a brutal siege and continued to
resist through months of Amal’s shell-
ing and food blockade. Seeing them
now makes one feel ashamed for having
thought the camp would fall. We didn’t
realize that these people would make
life out of death, houses out of ruins
and food out of dust, in order to
preserve their camp.
Soon after the blockade was partially
lifted, journalists visited Shatila and
Burj Al Barajneh. Below are interviews
with some of the Palestinians who were
besieged, as printed in the Kuwaiti
newspaper, Al Watan.
SHATILA
Samira Al Khatib
37 years old
«I still can’t believe the shelling and
shooting are over. It is a miracle that we
survived. They were harassing us,
destroying the whole camp in the most
barbaric way ever. During the siege, I
was feeding my children boiled rotten
vegetable peels. Food provisions were
confiscated at checkpoints. All were
targeted for death.»
Izzat Al Taibi
35 years old
«I do not believe there is anyone in
Shatila not suffering from some kind of
physical or mental disease. During the
siege, I remained among the damp,
smashed stones. I was shivering with
each shell that landed, trying to hide my
head in the fortifications. As for food,
I fed my relatives seven cats before they
knew what it was! Later on, they were
fighting for a leg of boiled cat or dog...
24
Now we ask for a plan to build new
houses, as there is no shelter left. We
also need services, especially
sanitation.»
Moh’d Abu Khalid
30 years old
«It was the most savage war the
Palestinians have ever experienced. We
had enough weapons, but we were
running out of food. I was among the
group formed to hunt cats and dogs.
Once when we were running after a cat
on the outskirts of the camp, we clash-
ed with the Amal gangs and heavy
fighting started. Shatila was a red line
for us. It did not collapse because of the
fierce resistance of the people. All knew
that the fall of Shatila would signal the
end of all Palestinian presence... We
want relief. We want a normal peaceful
life like any other human society. We
want to live together with the Lebanese
like we always did, until we go back to
our homeland, Palestine.»
BURJ AL BARAJNEH
Burj al Barajneh did not suffer as
much as Shatila during the siege, as it is
larger in size and population (approx-
imately 20,000). Burj contains more
medical and social institutions. Never-
theless, interviews with those who were
besieged in Burj Al Barajneh did not
differ much from those in Shatila.
Fatima Khalid
60 years old
«My daughter Randa was martyred
at the passageway,» she said, breaking
into tears. «She went to fetch food and
milk for the children after the ceasefire,
assuming that Amal would not fire on
women. She never came back. During
the siege, I was feeding my grand-
children sugar dissolved in boiling
water. Even after the siege, we did not
get any of the provisions that were said
to have been sent to us.»
Dalal Faoni
35 years old
«I keep thanking God that we are still
alive. I can’t forget the happenings dur-
ing the siege.I can never forget the
tragic scene of a brother screaming
when they were amputating his hand
Burj Al Barajneh
i “ey
.. Rl Lig Py
FE z ‘ah a - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 25
- تاريخ
- يوليو ١٩٨٧
- المنشئ
- الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين
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