Democratic Palestine : 27 (ص 21)
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- عنوان
- Democratic Palestine : 27 (ص 21)
- المحتوى
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Highlights of Palestinian Struggle
‘Women Confronting Occupation Jerusalem, 1967
Aida is a Palestinian from Jerusalem. Her political involvement dates back to the sixties when the West
Bank and East Jerusalem were under Jordanian control. Since that time, she has been active first in the
ranks of the Arab Nationalist Movement and then in the PFLP. She has participated in all fields of strug-
gle - political, military and mass work. Today she devotes her main energies to the work of the Palestinian
Women’s Organization.
I was still a student when I became interested in the Palesti-
nian and Arab national cause - the struggle against the various
Zionist,imperialist and reactionary plans against our people. It
was the time of Nasser, the rise of the Arab national move-
ment, demonstrations against the Baghdad Pact, etc. (The
Baghdad Pact was a US project to group Middle East states in
an anti-Soviet military axis, in the 1950s.) I was driven by na-
tionalist feelings to participate in these activities. I remember
one incident in particular. My school organized a field trip on
the occasion of the Jordanian Army Day. On the way in the
bus, we students were singing and shouting things unfavorable
to the regime - and even against it. Afterwards, people from
the Education Ministry and the authorities came to our school
and warned us not to do such things again. The way they spoke
to us really drove me into political involvement.
J read many books and attended meetings, but I didn’t think
about being organized. At first, I was inclined towards the
Communist Party - some of my family were in the party, but I
didn’t have contact with them. Then it happened that a teacher
I knew came to talk to me. Her brother was a leader in the
Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM - precursor of the PFLP). I
visited them and through discussions, I was convinced to join
the ANM in 1960.
After two meetings I became the women’s responsible in
Jerusalem, although I didn’t yet feel completely prepared for
this. However, others from Jerusalem, who had been studying
in Cairo and Beirut (ANM centers at that time), or in
Damascus, returned and gave me training. I gained contact to
the leadership, and we organized ourselves as a cell. We began
working among women, especially teachers and students, in
the Jerusalem area and then in Ramallah. Within one year, we
had about eighteen women and girls working with us. As we
drew more women into the work, those who were organized
became responsible for the others, which is how it should be.
PREPARING FOR LIBERATION
The first PNC, held in Jerusalem in 1964, gave a push to our
work. It encouraged more Palestinians from different classes
and groups, to take part in nationalist activities aimed at
liberating our homeland from Zionist occupation. From 1965,
we worked in the name of the PLO and the General Union of
Palestinian Women (GUPW). We began to prepare people for
the liberation struggle. We conducted first aid and literacy
courses. I remember that of the ninety girls who graduated
from one such six-month course, many went on to finish
secondary school, and one later went to the university.
In that period we learned the value of working through ex-
isting legal societies whenever possible. For example, we were
able to work through the schools and clinics of the Moqassad
(Islamic Charitable Foundation), where much of the staff was
politically conscious. We went to clinics and spoke to women
about medical care while they were waiting to see the doctor.
We introduced political ideas in relation to their own pro-
blems. We also went to villages where there were progressive
doctors working. When going to the villages, we were careful
to respect the traditions of the people there, which were often
more strict than in a city like Jerusalem. We wore long sleeves
and covered our heads. We always went directly to the
mukhtar of the village. If we could convince him of the
seriousness of our work and win his support, things were much
easier. We were able to have activities in about 29 villages in
this way, with the mukhtar’s consent. We talked to the women
there, and held literacy and sewing courses. In this way we
created a circle of supporters much broader than the number of
women who were actually organized. In some villages, we were
given an empty house to use for our activities.
At first, it was hard for women to go out of the house. To
deal with this, we would visit the homes of our members. We
talked with the family until they felt confident that their
daughters were safe with us. Sometimes this took two or three
months. Then they might allow the daughter to leave the house
for an hour. We were always careful that she returned on time.
Then, later, when the family really had confidence in us, she
could leave for a longer time. Often we held activities in peo-
ple’s homes; nobody refused to open their house for us.
Sometimes we would gather as many as sixty women in a
home for a public meeting. We would station one person at the
door so that if the authorities came, she would begin beating a
drum and we would all sing and dance as though it were a par-
ty.
In 1966, the Jordanian authorities began a campaign of
repression against the nationalist movement. Many were ar-
rested - from the Communist Party, the Baath Party, the Arab
Nationalist Movement, etc. I was also arrested, as were others
I worked with. The authorities closed down the GUPW center in
Jerusalem. The work became much harder and we were not
able to gather such large groups together at one place, but the
people didn’t stop. Some families were afraid for their
daughters to associate with those of us who had been in prison,
but usually the women themselves insisted on maintaining our
friendship and work together. We had to learn to work in
secret ways. By the time we were faced’ by the Israeli occupa-
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