----- Original Message ----- From: Jewish Peace News To: JPN Sent: August 11, 2001 5:31 AM Subject: [JPN] Interviews with the Children [This is an email sent from Bethlehem on August 9 by Beverly Boos, a member of the Compassionate Listening Project. Beverly talks about the Palestinian children she has met, who have been subjected to unimaginable acts of brutality by settler extremists. She also reports on one girl who has a bullet lodged in her brain (it penetrated through the wall while she was asleep) but whom the Israeli forces refuse to permit to seek medical treatment.--AG] Hello, here I am in the Internet Cafe in Bethlehem-who ever thought it would be? When I used to think of Bethlehem, it was about Christmas song of my childhood, the song "Oh little town of Bethlehem how still we see thee lie!" Anyhow, today I know a different Bethlehem. Since you are one of my sponsors and my friend, I will give you my update. I arrived and photographed the Yatta cave dwellers who the army has collapsed their caves and filled their water wells so that they have no water, when the Red Cross came and gave them tents, they bulldozed down the tents...when we went with blankets, the soldiers said they would arrest us if we gave them...so we snuck them in through a different car. Next I photographed individual tortured children in Hebron-mostly I met with boys under the age of 14 who have terrible stories about being picked up when they are just eating their ice cream cones at the side of the road, the children in these areas are all regularly beaten...the boys are taken to settlers caravans and have the M16 rifles shoved up their butts and boxes of bullets placed on them and they are told to admit to a crime, like to say they were throwing stones...they even beat a 7 year old and a ten year old girl- even in detention they are made to stand on one leg for hours, or they make them repeat obscenities in Hebrew etc...when I was driving down I saw two soldiers removing a teen/man from a refugee camp at Beit Ummar, they had him bound at the hands and blindfolded, just like your worst nightmare. Then I photographed a little 10 year old girl who was sleeping one night in her home and the army shelled the neighborhood (illegal collective punishment) and one of the bullets went through the window and, while she was sleeping, straight into her head, and logged in her brain, she is awake, seemingly unimpaired, but has a huge bullet in her head and a bandage around her head, just sits on the couch all day in this condition, her family have no resources, nor are they allowed to leave the Hebron district, unless we can find someone who would be willing to sponsor her to come to a hospital with the sophistcation needed to remove the bullet from inside her head, Maurice she is ten years old, and soooooooooooosweet, just like my Sofia...she is so brave, she takes it like a toothache, but, I fear if we do not bring this to international humanitarian attention what will happen to her? I have seen the bullet in her xrays...it is huge and in the middle of her small head. Then I went to the little town of Etna where I photographed a mother in mourning-her 3 month old baby (a test tube baby that she waited 11 years to have) was killed by a group called the Kach(Jewish extremists). The baby was in the car with his uncle and aunt on their wedding day, and some other people, they were ambushed by the Kach who killed 5 people in the car with machine guns...she is so sad...she showed me all of the babies clothes and his swing and she cried. Then we had a Press Conference asking for International Peacekeepers...and outlining a list of non-violent resistance that will be done, these actions begin tomorrow...the group has had training for two days but I have been off shooting so could not be at the training. Today I was at the scene of the explosion suicide bomber in Jerusalem, it was quite surrealistic as another bomb scare was always present, all of us were afraid that while we were shooting the scene (news teams like CNN and everyone) that another bomb would go off...it was such a scene...then everyone started freaking out and running...I didn't know if a bomb was about to go off or what...so as we were running people were saying that another one went off at the Bus Station, later this turned out not to be true, it was a tire exploding and we returned to the original bombing site, this was a suicide bomber at a Sbarro Pizza place on Jaffe Street. I immediately returned this evening to Bethlehem where I photographed a beautiful Palestinian 'Henna' in Beit Sahour which is a pre-wedding party...it is so beautiful, about 500 women, so much gold, fabrics and beauty, tradition, children dressed, dancing, a beautiful bride and groom...smiles and laughter. Now I am at the Internet Cafe, tonight I will write to you hoping that Sharon will not bomb all of Palestinian areas due to the suicide bombings...the suicide bombings they say they believe were in retaliation to recent assasinations of the Palestinians...Sharon is out of town in Turkey, so maybe they won't, the first night I was here there was much firing in Beit Sahour, and since it has been quiet, they say they do not wish to harm the Internationals (that's us!) so we think we are effective in helping to prevent this but maybe we're not. Anyhow, pray for no bombs in Bethlehem, it is scary, where the suicide bomb went off today was the area of Jerusalem where I had dinner last night and spent the night with a friend just three blocks away. The nights of Beit Sahour, conflict aside, are like a romantic dream, a moon the size of a saucer hanging in the sky, and a breeze that sends you to your best feelings of freedom and happiness. I am ccing to a couple of people who I know would like an update hope you don't mind I don't wish to write this out again. I'm warned not to wear my flak jacket as they say it will raise the tension. If you know of anyone who can help the little 10 year old get her bullet removed in the best of care, please, please get the word out...some of us here are trying to bring this case to the attention of the press, if not for the suicide bombing today, I was about to meet with ABC news team on it. Coincidentally, Maurice, I am in the land of grapes and fire, this is grape season, they hang beautifully everywhere and well, you know the rest, the fire is in the sky at night. love beverly
