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The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil,    but because of the people who don't do anything about it

Occupation magazine - Life under occupation Home page  back Print  Send To friend The Calendar of the People of South Mount Hebron Erella Dunayevsky The Villages Group Dear friends, The solar year of 2012 will be ending soon. The villagers of the South Hebron Hills have a different calendar. It is a calendar that counts the days since a house, a mosque or a rabbit pen has been demolished over its dwellers, obviously constituting a security threat to the Jewish State... That calendar counts the days on which agents of the Civil Administration show up before sunrise, escorted by army and police, in order to implement demolition orders issued by the ruling power’s ignorance. But the hardships piled on by Israeli settlers, the difficulties of mobility and livelihood, the days that lie in wait until someone jailed in an Israeli prison for wanting to put bread on the table – all those and more of the whims of a malicious, blind occupation are no longer counted on any calendar. These have long entered the Palestinians’ daily routine. The abnormal behaves so normally. This darkness is lit up by the people themselves as they rise every morning to a new day, and some of them manage to smile. This darkness is lit, as well, by people who live elsewhere and their hearts have not turned blind. Thursday is the day we usually visit our friends in the South Hebron Hills. November 29th, 2012 was such a day, one week after another pointless war ended. Motti Geva (of Tel Aviv) joined us and brought to the school at Susya (threatened by demolition) a computer, a photo-copier and a printer. (see pictures below). In the past two months (October and November), our friends from England, the United States and Switzerland have visited the South Hebron Hills. *Ed and his mother and Ed and Tanya who decorated the walls of Huda’s kindergarten at Hasham al Daraj with talent and love, and stayed there for five days; *Felicity from Manchester who, with her magic wand of music, touches the children and nursery school teachers, leaving the class with a wake of creative inspiration and love of humanity; *Liz from the United States, who never spares effort, visiting those village youngsters she helps reach higher studies through fund raising with unequalled determination and steadfastness; *Meret from Switzerland, who comes back and joins our visits, using the Arabic language she has been studying at home, which helps her greatly; *Shlomit and Harvey from Durham, England, who are also tireless in their support; In the past other friends have visited, and those who do not actually come have faithfully helped each in their own way. We feel loved and embraced. The latest visit was by David Clinch of North Devon. David created a special visit for himself: he came for a whole month, wishing to integrate into local everyday life as fully as possible. We planned a program to suit the variety of his skills. For two hours a day he opened a window to music for the school children of Susya, widening the one Felicity had opened for the nursery school children at Umm al Kheir. The rest of the day David spent in these villages, living with a local family in Susya and adopted warmly by all of Umm al Kheir’s residents. He has written of his experiences in a diary, attached here. To the present mail I have attached a short summary which David wrote at my request. People who come to visit the villagers and cave dwellers of the South Hebron Hills are here to give, and find themselves receiving as well. We all end up receiving a lesson in something we exert much effort in our lives to learn and apply: living here and now. Being in the moment. Fully experiencing the present. The people of the South Hebron Hills teach us this lesson not from any special spiritual position, just because they must not because they choose. They teach us to get up in the morning and be thankful for a new day in which one eats breakfast, goes to school or kindergarten, pray, cry over ruins, and begin seeking resources for new construction. Being angry, loving, living, because The living want to live. To all those who come to visit, and to all those who find other ways to support here and abroad – our thanks. Thanks to the universe for letting us meet people like you, who choose to leave the door of their heart wide open. This is how Thich Nhat Hahn concludes his poem `…Please call me by my true names, so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once, so I can see that my joy and pain are one. Please call me by my true names, so I can wake up, and so the door of my heart can be left open, the door of compassion.` Much love, Erella (On behalf of The Villages Group) rh Links to the latest articles in this section Occupation forces injure mourners following funeral of slain infant Mohammad Tamimi Nabi Saleh village assaulted - toddler shot in the head died in hospital Palestinians in the snow: thrown from home into the snow, throw snowballs and get arrested