When the WALL is closing in on you

Imagine a man who will be living surrounded by the wall, shut out from his village. Only a tunnel connects him to the others, and suddenly he is denied access to his land further down the hill. He is concerned about his two children who now will have more than double the distance to get to the school, although the school remains at a five minutes walking distance. This is the story of Omar, in the village of Al Walaja.

According to the map of the wall presented by UNOCHA in December 2011, there are many Palestinian villages isolated by the wall in the Bethlehem area. It states that: 

“The Barrier’s total length is approximately 708 km. 61.8% of the Barrier is complete; a further 8.2% is under construction and 30% is planned but not yet constructed. When completed, approximately 85% of its route will run inside the West Bank, isolating 9.4% of West Bank territory, including East Jerusalem and No-Man’s Land. On 9 July 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion which stated that the sections of the Barrier route which ran inside the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, violates Israel’s obligations under international law.”

(On a little side note: why are some saying the wall and others the barrier? According to the ruling of the ICJ, as referred to by UNOCHA the entire construction is referred to as the wall. The ICRC and the UN organizations refer to it as the barrier, a more vague term. Israel call it the security fence. As a Swedish EA I follow the term stipulated by the International Court of Justice, whilst the EAPPI is ruled by the World Council of Churches who has so far only agreed on the term the separation barrier.)

Claire Anastas, lives with her family in Bethlehem, surrounded by the wall on three sides. To the right of their house, on the opposite side of the wall is Rachel’s Tomb, and beyond that one of the three refugee camps in Bethlehem. The street outside their house is Hebron road, that before was the main road between Nablus and Hebron. Due to the important strategic position, strict military rules apply as the area is despite being in Bethlehem city, considered Area C.

“Not long ago we had a successful business here, on the main road of Bethlehem. People would come from Jerusalem, just to buy our organic crops, and repair their cars in my husband’s garage. Christians would visit our souvenir shop, and we had a good life. Now nobody comes here, and the coaches cannot pass, so there are no tourists, no business. Now we live in a cage, but we cannot leave.”

“My main problem is that my children have suffered a lot. They are afraid, and they often cry. Did you know that the wall was erected in just one day? My children went to school in the morning, and when they came back there was the wall. From my kitchen window, all you can see is the wall. The children feel suffocated, like the wall is blocking the sun and their freedom.  On TV they watch children playing football outside, they see Walt Disney, and they see that other children are happy.

“My oldest girl refuse to look at or speak about the wall, she turns away and stay silent. The other children are looking at it and the youngest said “Wow, it is here like a tomb!”What they need is hope, and as a mother I want them to have a future. I pray to God that they will one day remove the wall, that my children will see the horizon. I tell my children not to worry, that I am doing my best to ask the politicians, powerful men such as Tony Blair to help remove the wall. I sent a message to Tony Blair, I was on TV. This gives them a little bit of hope. But I don’t know what to do if it does not helps us.’

Leaving Claire’s house you see stories of the women in the area, of how they are affected by the wall, hung up on the wall between the checkpoint and the house. This is an attempt to give a voice to women, and it feels rather symbolic to have their testimonies visible on the nine meter tall wall. Yet what strikes you as you are walking is that you see no children playing, you hear no laughter.

The West Bank is a comparatively small area. The wall is cutting in, behind the green line, placing a large part of Palestinian land on the “other” side. After three months in Bethlehem, I realized I was used of not seeing the horizon. It started to feel like the wall was closing in around me. Imagine what it feels like if you cannot leave!

Claire's house is in front of the last piece of wall, straight ahead!