Life under occupation - The local case of Hebron

I understand that it must be hard to understand some of my blogs. Especially because I have started writing in the middle of the current situation and it must look like I am this hippy that promotes world peace, wear a bandana and walk around with a peace sign all day. But no. I am just a human being like you and many others that is interested. Likes to travel and chose Israel and Palestine as a destination. A beach holiday can be boring after a week so I decided to participate in this work camp and teach local Palestinian students the English language. Why not travel to the most contested destination on earth and try to understand better, learn more and share with others?

So after being here for two weeks I would like to take you back to the beginning in order to understand the situation better and take you away from the mainstream of media information that we have received for many, many years. I will try to make clear what life under occupation looks like.

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Let’s take start by explaining what the meaning of occupation is:
- An activity that serves as one's regular source of livelihood; a vocation.
- The act or process of holding or possessing a place.
- The state of being held or possessed.
-  Invasion, conquest, and control of a nation or territory by foreign armed forces.
- The military government exercising control over an occupied nation or territory.

All the above mentioned definitions of occupation apply on the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’, the official naming of a country that is merely known as Palestine in order to hide its actual status as an occupied country.
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Palestine isn’t officially nor internationally acknowledged as a state. So what must that mean? Palestine is under official Israeli administration which means they decide which laws they are allowed to implement, who’s allowed to enter or exit the country, who may live in his/her house,  militaries allowing to which side of the street you may walk or if you’re even allowed to go outside at all. Curfews: sometimes they decide at which time of the day you are allowed to go outside and be back home. Can you imagine? Difficult to digest, right?

But it becomes worse. Imagine various separation walls through the small pieces of land the Palestinians have left over: Gaza and the West Bank. These separation walls have resulted in Israeli’s and Palestinians living in ‘apartheid’ which are physically and mentally separated from each other. In order to get behind these separation walls you have to enter a gate, door, portal which are blocked by armed militaries.

After you’ve entered the gate there are more militaries who tell you on which side of the streets you’re allowed to walk, which blocks you may enter and if you’re allowed to use the front or back door of your own home.

The left side of the street may be used by Israeli’s only, the other side by Palestinians. The homes on your left hand are Palestinian. Because they are not allowed to use that side of the street they have to jump over their neighbours rooftops in order to get home. When a Palestinian walks on the left side of the street he will risk beatings and imprisonment. When a Israeli walks on the right side of the street he risks nothing.

It’s difficult to truly understand how life under occupation must be like, if you haven’t lived it you will never understand. The restrictions on your freedom, not being able to leave the country you live in, to be restricted from attending classes in school because there are hundreds of little military cubicles on many corners which approve your movement or not. The abuses, loss of loved ones, being forced to leave your home and forced settlement in refugee camps. But most horribly of this all is the international support. 

Can you imagine children growing up without knowing what’s actually happening around them. Not knowing that millions of children in other parts of the world don’t live like this and that it truly isn’t normal! No human being with a beating heart should ever have the right to imprison innocent people in any of these manners and internationally close their eyes for it. I truly believe it’s time for people to open their eyes and see the truth of every day Palestinian life!