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----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: AMANA e-mail Members <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 08, 2002 7:58 AM Subject: Urgent: Eyewitness report from West Bank #2 (The way it came!) > Dear All: > I am the director of the Khalil Sakakini Cultural > Centre in Ramallah . As I am under siege at home, > i am sending out this email to > journalist friends, & others, to ask to please get our > message out & disseminated further. > > I hope this message will not become morbid fodder for > chain emails to draw pity, or prayers, or donations, > but rather actions. We are doing our bit by resisting > & or standing steadfast, & ask the world to please do > its bit in the name of our common humanity, each > according to his her/own capacity. We do not want to > become the red indians of the Arab world, but simply > want to live free, in peace & dignity on this land. > > I will start by a few paragraphs' overview of the > situation "live" as i see it, & follow it with 9 > suggestions of what we would please like to see happen > in the media & elsewhere in the outside world. > > Firstly tonight -Sunday- we have heard numerous > reports of 30 Palestinian policemen executed in cold > blood by Israeli soldiers in a building where they > sought refuge on Irssal street in Ramallah. This was > after 5 Palestinian officers were executed by being > shot to the head & then had their corpses thrown on > the pavement for hours on Friday. Ambulances are > prevented from reaching their destinations & 2 > hospitals have either been broken into (Arabcare) or > shot at (Nazer Maternity Hospital). If this continues, > it will be another Chechnya or Sarajevo in the making. > > Personally, I have been shut at home since Friday > morning, like all the tens of thousands of inhabitants > of Ramallah & El-Bireh, & no prospect of an end soon. > We did not have electricity for one day, but thank God > it got reestablished today Sunday. > > One of the employees of the Sakakini Center had the > Israeli army burst into his village (Kobar) yesterday, > destroy belongings & arrest his younger brother, > alongside 30 other young men from the village. > > The cleaning lady of the Center lives in a house with > an outhouse for toilets. For 3 days the Israelis have > been posted by the door to her house & preventing all > exit. When the eldest today sneaked out to the > outhouse, the Israelis caught him & beat him. His > school teacher father tried to intervene, the Israelis > beat him & arrested him. > > One of the board members of our center was arrested > with all the employees of the office building where he > was working late Thursday night. They were all > blindfolded & had their hands tied & placed in one > room for 16 hours. The Israelis destroyed some office > furniture & stole hard drives from computers. They all > untied themselves once they realized the Israelis had > gone on to bigger prey. > > My brother in law & his wife & their 3 under-10 year > old kids are without phone & electricity since Friday > & cannot go live w/ someone else as they would be shot > at. > > My next door neighbor's 70+ year old father lives > near Yasser Arafat's office. The Israelis broke into > his home Friday, broke everything w/ the butt of their > rifles (TV, sinks, furniture, etc.. ) & then stole > some money. > There are reports also of Israeli soldiers breaking > into banks & change offices & jewelery stores & > stealing money & jewelry. > > In El Bireh, they arrested Saturday 150 young men > between 16-45 years of age after calling out for men > of this age bracket to get out, they are grouping them > in Ramallah's Old City. > > The only local private TV station in town that used to > air hourly news & advice (Watan TV) has been seized by > the Israelis on Friday, & they are now airing > pornographic films. Journalists have been ordered out > of Ramallah today Sunday. > > All neighborhoods are abuzz with talk of who is next > in Israeli home incursions. As for me & many others, > there is the human instinct of crying out for help > when in danger. > > What we have done: With our means we have made phone > calls to appeal for help & pressure on the > international community to a number of high level > officials in a number of neigboring countries, as well > as sent appeals to the media like this one. > > Below are 9 modest &/or utopic suggestions & requests: > 1- This is a long siege please keep the pressure to > have our story told & appeals for action continuous. > 2- The Centre's admin.& finance director, Ms. Manal > Issa has collected about 10 testimonies by children > around her describing conditions under siege as well > as drawings she has scanned. These testimonies in > Arabic can be obtained directly from her at: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] I will translate them tomorrow to > englsih & have them available. I am also asking that > anybody who gets this email directly or forwarded, ask > us for copies of these testimonies to have them > published as widely as possible. > 3- Please ask for pressure on the international > community & decision makers to lift the siege on us. > We need tens & hundreds of letters daily to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] & vice.president@white > house.gov > 4- If you do not want that, please write mainstream > news organizations in the US about the siege. > 5- We need daily demonstrations in front of Israeli > embassies. > 6- We need appeals from Arab artists to western > European artists for concerts/demonstrations/appeals > to decision makers to lift the siege. > 7- We need action by Western/European artists for > events to ask for the siege to be lifted on us. > 8- If you work for a publication, please keep a > section for daily news or weekly news from the siege, > interviews with witnesses to repression/the siege, > children's testimonies, & information from hospitals. > 9-The disastrous health picture can be obtained by > calling the Ramallah Hospital & talking to its > director Dr. Atari or to the Deputy minister of health > who is stationed there Dr. Munther Sharif > (972 2 2 298 2220). > 10- Please give us your suggestions for action & for > what you need from us to better help us. > > > > Thank you all & we all look forward to hearing from > you soon, > Adila Laidi. > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > "Say NO to attacks on Muslims Civil & Human Rights" > The AMANA Voice > > http://www.myplace.com/ - find what you want @MyPlace.com! > > --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
