| Back in Haris preparing for the harvest |
[Nov. 5th, 2006|10:45 pm] |
Now back at the IWPS house waiting for the harvest to start. Even though most of the people are different it still feels like coming home and have really enjoyed my days here. Today we have the team meeting for the olive harvest which I think got everyone excited, although maybe a bit scared! Settler attacks and soldiers preventing picking seem to be happening alot more and there just aren't enough people here to fill the demand at the moment. Still we are 15 people so can cover three villages this week, which is good. I am going with my group out of Salfit to pick in the Nablus region where the problems have been the greatest so far.
Yesterday one of the IWPS women was picking in a Nablus village when a whole bunch of settlers came flying down the hill throuwing rocks at them. Apparently there was a settler gathering happening there, the whole aim of which seemed to be to harass the harvesters. Sadley there is little people can do when people are throwing rocks at you - especially when only two accompaniers are there. The police and army were called (there was a high court order earlier this year which confirmed the right of Palestinians to access their land and held the army responsible for failing to ensure this) but suprise suprise they refused to come.
I think the first village we are going to, Iraq Burin, we have to cross a military road, which soetimes they pass without problems, other times they are told they have to go via the checkpoint - a 20km trip, making it difficult to do even without ladders, sheets, donkeys and ulimatley olives. For the sake of crossing a one lane road that shouldn't even be there. So seems to be a negotiation issue more than anythng else.
Another group are going to Az Zawyia, where farmers are picking on the inside of the settler fence - here the problem is that settlers claim they have bought the land; in some places the olives have already been picked, in others the palstinians have now been asked to prove they own the land (rather than the other way round).
The whole thing is really complicated, even though there is this high court ruling the systems of permits, prermissions, gates and fences make it difficult to plan when land can be picked. Now the Israelis refuse to talk to the PA here is no joint communication, which last year provided information to farmers and advised on permits. Often permits are only being given to the name on the land deeds - often the patriarch of the family, which means they expect one 80 year old man to pick all his olives alone. Sometimes land is owned by people overseas who sharecrop with other families - they struggle to get permits becauser they can't prove entitlement to the land. Given the economic crisis this year and the fact it is a triple harvest, with trees heavy with olives, it is vital these faarmers reach their land and are able to sell their oil. For some it is the last thing between them and starvation.
The final village is Marda, where we have picked for the last two years, and which is a special place for those of us who have been before (although I won't be able to go this year). The wall has now been built and the village is now basically in a cage between the wall on one side and the fenced settler road on the other. Access roads are now gated and controlled by the army. Out of the two gates one is closed and the other is normally open, although the army can and do close it at will. They have permits to pick the other side of the wall, between it and the settlement, but it is unclear if the army is going to allow access and open the gate nearest to their land. For sure no vehicles will have access so it will all be donkey and foot. The army have also occupied a house opposite the village, the rest of the group will be picking on the lands around there.
So maybe things will pass without problem, maybe not. Right now we don't know because it hasn't stopped raining for 2 days so no one has been able to pick. Tomorrow I will pick in Haris (where the IWPS house is) in the morning, we then all go off to our new villages. Fingers crossed the rain stops and we can get out to pick. If everything runs smoothly we will pick for the day, chat, drink tea and enjoy the peace and quiet. Fingers crossed for this as well. |
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