Stay Human - The Reading Movie (2013)
-
0:13 - 0:21Dear hermanos,
our motto "Stay Human" is now also a book. -
0:21 - 0:25Please find within
the three-week story of a massacre -
0:25 - 0:28written to the best of my ability
-
0:28 - 0:31more often than not very precarious conditions
-
0:31 - 0:36often scribbling about the inferno
all around me in a tattered notebook... -
0:36 - 0:39...while crouched
in an ambulance screaming down the street. -
0:39 - 0:44Or frantically tapping away at the keyboard
of any available computer I could find... -
0:44 - 0:50often inside a building shaking like
a crazed pendulum as explosions went off all around. -
0:50 - 0:55I must warn you that leafing through this book
could prove dangerous. -
0:55 - 0:59These are harmful pages, blood-stained
-
0:59 - 1:04imbued with white phosphorous,
and as sharp as bomb shrapnel. -
1:04 - 1:11If read within the quiet of a bedroom,
your walls will shake from our cries of terror. -
1:11 - 1:18I feel concerned for the walls of your hearts,
which I recognize have not yet become soundproofed to pain. -
1:18 - 1:23Please store this volume somewhere safe,
within the reach of the young -
1:23 - 1:28so that they may immediately learn
of a world not so far away from them -
1:28 - 1:35where indifference and racism
tears their peers to little bits as if they were mere rag dolls. -
1:35 - 1:43This way they may be inoculated against racism from an early age,
against any epidemic of violence towards whoever is different -
1:43 - 1:50or against neutrality when faced with injustice.
For tomorrow, so as to stay human. -
1:50 - 1:53I trust you who trust me
-
1:53 - 1:57not for the ones who died but for the ones
wounded to death in this horrendous massacre. -
1:57 - 2:04One hug as big as the mediterranean sea
which joins us by dividing us. -
2:04 - 2:06Stay Human
-
2:06 - 2:19Never giving up, yours Vik.
-
2:19 - 2:2127th december 2008
-
2:21 - 2:24Guernica in Gaza
-
2:24 - 2:26My apartment in Gaza faces the sea,
-
2:26 - 2:36a panoramic view that's always done wonders for my mood,
often challenged by all the misery that a life under siege can bring. -
2:36 - 2:41That is, before this morning,
when all hell broke loose outside my windows. -
2:41 - 2:49We woke up to the sound of bombs dropping,
many of them falling a few hundred meters from my home. -
2:49 - 2:53Some of my friends have fallen under them.
-
2:53 - 3:01So far the death toll has reached 210, but it's bound
to rise dramatically. It's an unprecedented bloodshed. -
3:01 - 3:05They've razed the port to the ground,
and pulverized police station. -
3:05 - 3:10I've been told that the Western media
are on-message and are repeating... -
3:10 - 3:15...the press releases issued
by the Israeli military parrot-style -
3:15 - 3:22according to wich the attack only targeted
Hamas' terrorist dens with surgical precision. -
3:22 - 3:28In actual fact, when visiting Al-Shifa, the city's main hospital,
and gazing over chaotic lines of bodies laid out in its courtyard -
3:28 - 3:38we mostly saw civilians among those awaiting treatment,
lying randomly alongside other bodies, awaiting rightful burial. -
3:38 - 3:45Can you picture Gaza? Every house leans against another,
every building rises over the next one. -
3:45 - 3:49Gaza is the place
with the highest population density in the world... -
3:49 - 3:56...which means that when you bomb from a height
of 10,000 metres, you'll inevitably butcher many civilians. -
3:56 - 4:02You're aware of it, you're guilty as charged, it's no error,
and certainly no case of collateral damage either. -
4:02 - 4:08When shelling the central police station in Al-Abbas,
-
4:08 - 4:13the neighbouring elementary school
was also damaged by the explosion. -
4:13 - 4:17It was the end of the school day
and the children were already in the street. -
4:17 - 4:22Most of their flapping sky-blue aprons
were splashed with blood.. -
4:22 - 4:26When bombing
the Dair Al-Balah police academy, -
4:26 - 4:32some dead and wounded were also recorded
from the souk nearby, this being Gaza's central market. -
4:32 - 4:41We've seen the bodies of animals and humans mixing
their blood in rivulets trickling down the asphalt roads. -
4:41 - 4:46A Guernica transfigured into reality.
-
4:46 - 4:53I saw many corpses in uniforms
in the various hospitals I visited, I knew many of those boys. -
4:53 - 5:01I greeted them every day when I met them in the street on my way
to the port, or walked to the central cafÈ of an evening. -
5:01 - 5:07I knew several of them by name.
A name, a history, a mutilated family. -
5:07 - 5:11The majority were young,
around 18 or 20... -
5:11 - 5:14...mostly without political leanings,
neither siding with Fatah nor Hamas -
5:14 - 5:19simply enrolled into the police force
once they had finished university... -
5:19 - 5:23...in order to have a secure job in Gaza
-
5:23 - 5:30which under Israel's criminal siege
has more than 60% unemployment among its population. -
5:30 - 5:33I have no interest in propaganda...
-
5:33 - 5:40...and let my eyes bear witness, my ears stay in tune
with the screaming sirens and the rumbling of TNT. -
5:40 - 5:45I haven't seen any terrorist among the casualities today,
only civilians and policemen. -
5:45 - 5:51Just last night I poked fun at a couple of them for the way
they were cloaked up agaist the cold. -
5:51 - 5:56I want the truth to redeem these dead.
-
5:56 - 6:00They'd never fired a single shot against Israel,
nor would they have ever done so -
6:00 - 6:07it wasn't in their job description to do so.
They acted as traffic wardens, took care of internal security. -
6:07 - 6:13The port is quite a distance from the Israeli border anyway.
-
6:13 - 6:18I own a video camera,
but today i discovered what a terrible cameraman I am. -
6:18 - 6:23I can't bring myself to film mangled bodies
or faces drenched in tears. I just can't. -
6:23 - 6:27I start crying myself.
-
6:27 - 6:35The other International Solidarity Movement volunteers
and I went to Al-Shifa Hospital to give blood. -
6:35 - 6:39That's where we received a call informing
us that Sara, a dear friend... -
6:39 - 6:47...had been killed by a piece of shrapnel
near her home in refugee camp of Jabalia. -
6:47 - 6:53She was a sweet person, a sunny soul,
and gone out to buy some bread for her family. -
6:53 - 6:56She leaves 13 children behind.
-
6:56 - 6:59A moment ago I got a call from Tawfiq,
from Cyprus. -
6:59 - 7:06Tawfiq is one of the Palestinian students lucky enough
to have left the enormous prison camp of Gaza... -
7:06 - 7:13...on one of our Free Gaza Movement boats,
to start anew somewhere else. -
7:13 - 7:20He asked me if I'd visited his uncle and whether
I had gone to say hello on his behalf, as I had promised. -
7:20 - 7:25Hesitatingly, I apologized
because I hadn't found the time. -
7:25 - 7:30And it was too late anyway, he was buried
by the rubble in the port area along with many others. -
7:30 - 7:33Israel launches the terrible threat that this is just the first day
of a bombing campaign that could last for up to two weeks. -
7:33 - 7:40Israel launches the terrible threat that this is just the first day
of a bombing campaign that could last for up to two weeks. -
7:40 - 7:44They want to make a desert
and then call it peace. -
7:44 - 7:50The 'civilized' world's silence is more deafening
than the explosions covering the city... -
7:50 - 7:53...like a shroud of death and terror.
-
7:53 - 8:10Stay human.
-
8:10 - 8:1329th december 2008
-
8:13 - 8:15Dying slowly while listening out in vain
-
8:15 - 8:18An acrid smell of sulphur
-
8:18 - 8:22fills the air while the sky
is shaken by earth-shattering rumbles. -
8:22 - 8:29My ears are now deaf to the explosions
and my eyes are all out of tears from all the corpses. -
8:29 - 8:33I stand infront of Al-Shifa, Gazaís main hospital
-
8:33 - 8:39when we receive Israel's latest, terrible threat:
they intend to bomb the wing that is under construction. -
8:39 - 8:44This wouldnít be a first,
as Weaím Hospital was bombed just yesterday -
8:44 - 8:49along with a medicine warehouse in Rafah,
the Islamic university -
8:49 - 8:55and various mosques scattered along the Strip.
Not to mention many other civilian infrastructures. -
8:55 - 9:01Apparently, no longer able to find 'sensible' targets,
the air force and navy now are killing time targeting -
9:01 - 9:03places of worship, schools and hospitals.
-
9:03 - 9:07Itís another 9/11 every single hour,
every minute around here... -
9:07 - 9:12and tomorrow is always a new day for mourning,
bringing equal desperation. -
9:12 - 9:15You notice the helicopters and airplanes
constantly overhead -
9:15 - 9:20you see a flash, but youíre already a goner
and itís too late to take flight. -
9:20 - 9:25There are no bunkers against the bombs in the Strip
and no place is really safe. -
9:25 - 9:30I canít contact my friends in Rafah,
not even those who live north of Gaza City -
9:30 - 9:34hopefully because the phone lines are overloaded.
Hopefully. -
9:34 - 9:38I haven't slept in 60 hours,
and the same can be said of any Gazan. -
9:38 - 9:46Yesterday three other ISM members and I spent the night
at the Al-Awda Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp. -
9:46 - 9:52We were there in fearful expectation
of the much-dreaded ground raid that never happened. -
9:52 - 9:57But the Israeli tanks are strung all
along the Stripís borders -
9:57 - 10:01as we speak, creaking their way
into a funeral procession. -
10:01 - 10:06Around 11.30pm, a bomb fell
about 800 metres from the hospital... -
10:06 - 10:13the shock wave blowing several windows apart
and injuring the injured. -
10:13 - 10:19An ambulance rushed to the spot where a mosque
had been shelled, but it was thankfully empty at the time. -
10:19 - 10:23Unfortunately
(though it actually has nothing to do with fortune... -
10:23 - 10:28rather with the deliberate criminal and terrorising
will to massacre civilians) -
10:28 - 10:32the Israeli bomb had also struck the building
adjacent to the mosque, which was likewise destroyed. -
10:32 - 10:36We watched as the tiny bodies of six little sisters
were pulled out of the rubble... -
10:36 - 10:42five are dead, one is in a life-threatening condition.
They laid the little girls out onto the blackened asphalt... -
10:42 - 10:46and they looked like broken dolls,
disposed of as they were no longer usable. -
10:46 - 10:49This wasnít a mistake, but a wilful and cynical horror.
-
10:49 - 10:55We're now at a toll of 320 dead, more than a thousand
wounded and, according to a doctor at Al-Shifa... -
10:55 - 11:0260% of those are destined to die in the next few
hours or days, after enduring a prolonged agony. -
11:02 - 11:04There are many missing.
-
11:04 - 11:07For the last two days despairing wives
have been searching for their husbands... -
11:07 - 11:09or children in the hospitals, often to no avail.
-
11:09 - 11:12The morgue is a macabre spectacle.
-
11:12 - 11:19A nurse told me that, after hours of searching through
body parts in the refrigerator cell, a Palestinian woman... -
11:19 - 11:25recognize her husband's amputated hand.
That was all that was left of her husband... -
11:25 - 11:30along with the wedding band on her finger,
a remnant of the eternal love they had sworn to one another. -
11:30 - 11:36Out of a house once inhabited by two families,
very little remained of their bodies. -
11:36 - 11:39They showed their relatives
half of one torso and three legs. -
11:39 - 11:46Right now, one of our Free Gaza Movement boat
is leaving the port in Larnaca, Cyprus. -
11:46 - 11:52I spoke to my friends on board. They've heroically
amassed medicine and packed it tightly onto the boat. -
11:52 - 11:56It should reach the port of Gaza tomorrow
around 8.00pm. -
11:56 - 12:00Here's to hoping that the port will still exist
after another night of non-stop shelling. -
12:00 - 12:03I'll be in touch with them during the entire night.
-
12:03 - 12:05Please, someone stop this nightmare.
-
12:05 - 12:10Choosing to remain silent means somehow
lends support to the genocide unfolding right now. -
12:10 - 12:14Shout out your indignation,
in every capital of the 'civilised' world... -
12:14 - 12:19in every city, in every square,
covering our own screams of pain and terror. -
12:19 - 12:23A slice of humanity is dying
while pitifully listening out for a response. -
12:23 - 12:54Stay human.
-
12:54 - 12:5830th December 2008
-
12:58 - 13:02The Angel Factories
-
13:02 - 13:14Jabilia, Bet Hanun, Rafah, and Gaza City
are the legs of the journey in my personal map of hell. -
13:14 - 13:22Whatever the press releases
from the summit of the Israeli military may say, -
13:22 - 13:31recited parrot-style all over Europe and the US
via the disinformation experts, -
13:31 - 13:42in the last few days Iíve been an eyewitness
to the bombing of mosques, schools... -
13:42 - 13:51universities, hospitals, markets
and many, many civilian buildings. -
13:51 - 13:57The medical director at Al-Shifa Hospital has confirmed...
-
13:57 - 14:04...he received calls from members of the IDF,
the Israeli Army, -
14:04 - 14:23ordering him to evacuate the hospital, or else face being
showered by missiles. But they never let the Army intimidate them. -
14:23 - 14:28I should be sleeping at the port (though we havenít shut
our eyes once in Gaza for at least four days), -
14:28 - 14:35but its being constantly bombed at night.
-
14:35 - 14:45You no longer hear the sirens of ambulances in a mad chase,
-
14:45 - 15:02simply because there isnít a living soul left
at the port or its environs. Everyone is dead, -
15:02 - 15:11and it feels like treading a cemetery
in the aftermath of an earthquake. -
15:11 - 15:23The situation is really that of an unnatural catastrophe,
a hate-fuelled and cynical upheaval... -
15:23 - 15:35...catapulted onto the people of Gaza like molten lead,
tearing human bodies apart. -
15:35 - 15:45Contrarily to all predictions, it unites all Palestinians,
brought together by their collective endurance of a horrific massacre. -
15:45 - 15:59These are people who may not even
have greeted one another until recently, -
15:59 - 16:09on account of belonging to opposing factions.
-
16:09 - 16:20But when the bombs shower down
from the sky from a height of 10,000 metres, -
16:20 - 16:34you can be sure they wonít make a distinction
between a Hamas or Fatah banner hanging from your window. -
16:34 - 16:43Thereís no such thing as a surgically precise military operation.
-
16:43 - 16:56When the Air Force and the Navy start bombing,
the only surgical operations... -
16:56 - 17:06...are those tackled by the doctors,
unhesitatingly amputating limbs reduced to a pulp, -
17:06 - 17:14even when those arms and legs might have been spared.
-
17:14 - 17:28Thereís no time, you have to run,
and the time you use to treat a seriously injured limb... -
17:28 - 17:38...may spell death for the next wounded patient
in line awaiting a transfusion, or worse. -
17:38 - 17:55At Al-Shifa Hospital, 600 inpatients are in very serious condition,
with only 29 breathing machines available. -
17:55 - 18:03Theyíre short of everything, especially experienced staff.
-
18:03 - 18:11For this precise reason, exhausted as we were
(not so much by the sleepless nights... -
18:11 - 18:24...as by the apathy and compliance
of Western governments with Israelís crimes), -
18:24 - 18:37we decided that last night was time for one of our
Free Gaza Movement boats to leave the port of Larnaca, Cyprus, -
18:37 - 18:44ferrying over medical staff and three tonnes of medicine.
-
18:44 - 18:56I waited for them in vain
ñ they ought to have docked the boat at 8am this morning. -
18:56 - 19:07Instead, they were intercepted
by 11 Israeli war ships at 90 nautical miles from Gaza, -
19:07 - 19:13trying to sink them in full international waters.
-
19:13 - 19:19They rammed into them three times,
-
19:19 - 19:25provoking an engine failure and a leak in the hull.
-
19:25 - 19:32By pure chance the crew and passengers are all still alive,
-
19:32 - 19:41and have managed to dock the boat
at the port of Tiro, in southern Lebanon. -
19:41 - 19:51Feeling increasingly frustrated
by the ëcivilizedí worldís deafening silence, -
19:51 - 19:58my companions will make a second attempt soon.
-
19:58 - 20:06Theyíve in fact unloaded the medicine
from our damaged boat, the Dignity, -
20:06 - 20:17and filled another boat ready for departure,
heading straight for Gaza. -
20:17 - 20:31Many journalists who interview me ask me
about the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in Gaza, -
20:31 - 20:40as if the problem amounted just to food,
water, electricity and fuel shortages, -
20:40 - 21:04rather than the matter being
about who is actually causing all of this... -
21:04 - 21:10At the Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia
Iíve seen corpses and wounded bodies flooding... -
21:10 - 21:25...in not only in ambulances,
but on animal-drawn wooden carts. -
21:25 - 21:37Tanks, fighter planes, drones, Apache helicopters
ñ the worldís fiercest army... -
21:37 - 21:54...attacking a people who use donkeys
as their main means of transportation, like in Jesus Christís time. -
21:54 - 22:02According to Al-Mizan,
a human rights monitoring centre, -
22:02 - 22:10while we speak 55 children have been caught in bombings,
-
22:10 - 22:1620 are dying and 40 are seriously injured.
-
22:16 - 22:26Israel has turned the Palestinian hospitals
and morgues into angel factories, -
22:26 - 22:37not realizing just how much hatred
they are generating in Palestine and the rest of the world. -
22:37 - 22:47The angel factories are churning out angels at the rate
of a non-stop production line tonight as well: -
22:47 - 22:59I can tell from the rumbles of explosions outside my window.
-
22:59 - 23:13Those tiny dismembered and amputated bodies,
those lives snuffed out before they had a chance to blossom, -
23:13 - 23:23will be a recurrent nightmare for the rest of my life.
-
23:23 - 23:29If I can still find the strength to talk about this,
-
23:29 - 23:49itís only because I want to bring justice to those who
no longer have a voice, those whoíve never had a hint of a voice, -
23:49 - 23:56perhaps for the benefit of those whoíve never had ears.
-
23:56 - 24:41Stay human.
-
24:41 - 24:441st January 2009
-
24:44 - 24:46The Unnatural Catastrophe
-
24:46 - 24:52The New Year just came in with the same omens of bleakness
and death as the old one, increasing its destructive power tenfold. -
24:52 - 24:55Iíve never seen so many bombs
drop all around my apartment in front of the port. -
24:55 - 25:00An explosion just 100 metres away
violently shook our seven-storey building, -
25:00 - 25:03making it rock like a crazed pendulum.
-
25:03 - 25:08For an instant, while the window panes exploded,
we dreaded it would topple over. -
25:08 - 25:15It was a major moment of panic in which I prayed
and clung to the unlikely illusion that our building had been built... -
25:15 - 25:17...using earthquake-proof criteria,
-
25:17 - 25:21even though Gaza is perched upon a strip
of land that never quakes. -
25:21 - 25:25Around here earthquakes are of the unnatural kind,
and theyíre called Israel. -
25:25 - 25:30I continue with my desperate search
for those friends who no longer pick up their phone. -
25:30 - 25:33I heard from Ahmed at his place,
-
25:33 - 25:38one of the few houses still standing
in the centre of the Tal El-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza city, -
25:38 - 25:39now surrounded...
-
25:39 - 25:44...by a post-apocalyptic scenario
so reminiscent of the Shiite neighbourhood in Beirut... -
25:44 - 25:48...after the bombs razed it to the ground in 2006,
-
25:48 - 25:52those bombs having been produced in the same part
of the world as those falling on our heads right now. -
25:52 - 25:54Ahmed is OK...
-
25:54 - 25:56...and so are his relatives,
-
25:56 - 25:59though his mother had a brush with death last Saturday.
-
25:59 - 26:03She teaches at the United Nationsí Balqees School.
-
26:03 - 26:06On that day sheíd stayed on in the classroom
for a little longer than usual, -
26:06 - 26:08which ended up saving her life.
-
26:08 - 26:10Many of her students,
standing at the bus stop, -
26:10 - 26:17were buried by the rubble produced after an explosion.
-
26:17 - 26:20A bomb fell onto Ahmedís car,
-
26:20 - 26:22a pistachio-green economy car,
-
26:22 - 26:27the very same with which he roamed the city
the previous evening, in search of some bread... -
26:27 - 26:31...in a city where flour is being sold at the price of gold.
-
26:31 - 26:34As for Rafiq, in the end I reached him on the phone.
-
26:34 - 26:37His cavernous voice
seemed to rise up from a deep well, -
26:37 - 26:40a pit of desperation and sadness...
-
26:40 - 26:47...from having just heard of the death
of three best friends during the attack at the port. -
26:47 - 26:50In one of the last cafÈs still operating in Gaza,
-
26:50 - 26:54providing caffeine and an internet connection,
-
26:54 - 26:58smiling wryly I showed a couple of friends
an article of news from my laptop... -
26:58 - 27:02...speaking of "one victim and 382 wounded".
-
27:02 - 27:07This wasnít an estimate of the victims provoked
by the Qassam "rockets" shot against Israel yesterday, -
27:07 - 27:10thankfully harming no one,
-
27:10 - 27:15but the aftermath of the "massacre" our New Yearís
Eve firework displays had provoked in Italy. -
27:15 - 27:18I told my friends that Hamas are wet behind the ears...
-
27:18 - 27:22...if they think they can compete with Israel
using those homemade toys of theirs. -
27:22 - 27:30They ought to take lessons in Naples
to produce truly lethal rockets. -
27:30 - 27:36As a pacifist and non-violent person,
I abhor any form of Palestinian attack against Israel, -
27:36 - 27:39but out here weíre sick
to the back teeth of hearing that tired old adage... -
27:39 - 27:42...that this massacre of civilians...
-
27:42 - 27:47...was Israelís answer to the Palestinians launching
their modest, homemade "rockets". -
27:47 - 27:50For precisionís sake, from 2002 to the present-day...
-
27:50 - 27:54...the Qassam rockets against Israel
have produced 18 dead, -
27:54 - 27:57while only last Saturday, in just a couple of hours,
-
27:57 - 28:03we counted more than 250 civilian casualties in the hospitals.
-
28:03 - 28:09At the cafÈ I enquire about the ceasefire
proposed by the European Union and rejected by Israel, -
28:09 - 28:15clearly still in possession of the vast supplies of war equipment
it needs to use up from its arsenals. -
28:15 - 28:17They all shake their heads grimly.
-
28:17 - 28:19Had there ever really been a truce...
-
28:19 - 28:23...before this fierce attack
upon an unarmed population commenced? -
28:23 - 28:28In November alone,
the Israeli Army killed a good 17 Palestinians -
28:28 - 28:3243 in total from the start of the "ceasefire".
-
28:32 - 28:36And even before that, the criminal siege of Gaza...
-
28:36 - 28:40...had produced more than 200 dead
among the Palestinian sick. -
28:40 - 28:45Sick, with their papers in order,
and waiting to find treatment in foreign hospitals, -
28:45 - 28:50but prevented from getting anywhere
with the borders being sealed off. -
28:50 - 28:54The criminal siege of Israel
has destroyed an already shaky economy, -
28:54 - 28:57producing a rate of more than 60% unemployed,
-
28:57 - 29:02forcing 80% of Palestinian families
to live off humanitarian aid. -
29:02 - 29:08This is aid trickling through with huge difficulty,
crossing the iron curtain erected by Israel... -
29:08 - 29:14...around the largest
open-air prison in the world: Gaza. -
29:14 - 29:17We were soon forced to evacuate that cafÈ, and fast.
-
29:17 - 29:24The umpteenth threatening phone call had come in:
the cafÈ would be bombed within a few minutes. -
29:24 - 29:27Yesterday at the Jabilia refugee camp...
-
29:27 - 29:32...an F16 plane
dropped some missiles onto an ambulance. -
29:32 - 29:36A doctor, Ihab El-Madhoun,
-
29:36 - 29:39and his trusted nurse, Mohamed Abu Hasira, both died.
-
29:39 - 29:44For this reason, today, we ISM volunteers...
-
29:44 - 29:46...have appeared at a press conference...
-
29:46 - 29:50...before the cameras
of the most popular Palestinian television stations. -
29:50 - 29:54We informed Israel...
-
29:54 - 29:58...that weíll hop on to those ambulances,
-
29:58 - 30:03hoping that our presence as internationals
may act as a slight deterrent... -
30:03 - 30:06...against these inhumane and bloody crimes.
-
30:06 - 30:12Sometimes, our conversations get pretty bleak:
-
30:12 - 30:15itís likely that at the end of this massive,
blood-curdling attack, -
30:15 - 30:21some of us will have to go out there and do a final count
of the dramatic toll of the dead and missing. -
30:21 - 30:25We try not to think about it for now.
-
30:25 - 30:58Stay human.
-
30:58 - 31:003rd January 2009
-
31:00 - 31:03Ghosts demanding Justice
-
31:03 - 31:06While I type this,
Israeli tanks have just entered the Strip. -
31:06 - 31:10The day has begun the same way
as the previous one ended, -
31:10 - 31:13with the earth shaking beneath our feet,
-
31:13 - 31:16the sky and sea conniving endlessly
against us overhead, -
31:16 - 31:19hanging over the destinies
of a million-and-a-half people... -
31:19 - 31:22whoíve gone from the tragedy
of living under siege to the catastrophe... -
31:22 - 31:26...of a targeted attack on civilians.
-
31:26 - 31:29My horizon is devastated by the flames,
-
31:29 - 31:36and thereíve been cannon shots rumbling from the sea
and bombs raining from the sky all morning. -
31:36 - 31:40The same fishing boats
we accompanied into the open sea just a few days ago, -
31:40 - 31:45well beyond the six miles imposed by Israel
in their illegal and criminal siege, -
31:45 - 31:48are now reduced to charred wrecks.
-
31:48 - 31:52If the fire-fighters tried to put out the fires,
-
31:52 - 31:56theyíd instantly become the targets
of the F16ís machine guns, -
31:56 - 31:59this already happened yesterday.
-
31:59 - 32:01After yet another attack,
-
32:01 - 32:07once the exact estimate of the dead is out,
if this will ever be possible, -
32:07 - 32:11the city will have to be rebuilt over a desert of rubble.
-
32:11 - 32:14Israelís Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni,
-
32:14 - 32:19is declaring to the world
that "there is no humanitarian emergency in Gaza". -
32:19 - 32:23Clearly, "being in denial" isnít the sole preserve...
-
32:23 - 32:28...of figures like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
the Iranian president. -
32:28 - 32:32The Palestinians
are in agreement on one thing with Tzipi Livni, -
32:32 - 32:38as Joseph, an ambulance driver,
who calls her "an ex-serial killer with the Mossad", tells me: -
32:38 - 32:41more food is indeed coming in through the borders,
-
32:41 - 32:44simply because in December,
-
32:44 - 32:47next to nothing had managed to make it
across the barbed wire fence stretched out by Israel. -
32:47 - 32:53But what point is there
in serving freshly baked bread in a cemetery? -
32:53 - 32:57The first priority ought
to be stopping the bombing immediately, -
32:57 - 33:01well before bringing any supplies to the survivors.
-
33:01 - 33:03Corpses donít eat;
-
33:03 - 33:05they can only provide compost for the earth,
-
33:05 - 33:11and, at the moment,
Gaza has never been more fertile from decomposition. -
33:11 - 33:15On the other hand,
the disembowelled bodies of the children in the morgues... -
33:15 - 33:19...ought to increase the sense of guilt
in the indifferent lookers-on, -
33:19 - 33:22those who could have done something.
-
33:22 - 33:27The images of a smiling Barack Obama,
the US President, playing golf... -
33:27 - 33:30...were shown on all the Arabic satellite TV stations,
-
33:30 - 33:34as if to scorn the shroud of mourning covering this land,
-
33:34 - 33:38and, as it happens, out here no one
is under any illusion that the colour of oneís skin... -
33:38 - 33:43...will do wonders
to change Americaís foreign policy radically. -
33:43 - 33:47Yesterday, Israel opened the Erez Pass...
-
33:47 - 33:51...to evacuate all foreigners
who are still currently in Gaza. -
33:51 - 33:53We internationals of the ISM...
-
33:53 - 33:55...are the only ones to have remained.
-
33:55 - 34:00Today we addressed the Israeli government
by means of a press conference, -
34:00 - 34:04explaining the motives that commit us to staying put.
-
34:04 - 34:09Weíre disgusted by the passes being opened
for the evacuation of foreigners, -
34:09 - 34:12the only possible eyewitnesses to this massacre,
-
34:12 - 34:15while they are being kept well shut...
-
34:15 - 34:18...to the flow of international doctors and nurses...
-
34:18 - 34:24...pressing to get in
and bring their heroic Palestinian colleagues some relief. -
34:24 - 34:26Weíre not going anywhere
-
34:26 - 34:28because we believe that our presence is essential...
-
34:28 - 34:34...to provide eyewitness accounts of the crimes
inflicted against an unarmed civilian population... -
34:34 - 34:37...hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute.
-
34:37 - 34:40Weíre now up to 445 dead,
-
34:40 - 34:45with over 2,300 wounded and many, many more missing.
-
34:45 - 34:50As I write this,
63 minors have been torn apart by bombs. -
34:50 - 34:54At the moment Israel has counted three victims in total.
-
34:54 - 34:56We havenít fled,
-
34:56 - 34:59as our consulates have advised us to do,
-
34:59 - 35:04because weíre well aware that our contribution
as human shields on the ambulances in giving first aid... -
35:04 - 35:08...could be decisive in saving lives.
-
35:08 - 35:14Once again yesterday, an ambulance was hit in Gaza City.
-
35:14 - 35:17On the previous day
two doctors at the Jabalia refugee camp... -
35:17 - 35:21...had died when they were hit by a missile shot
from an Apache helicopter. -
35:21 - 35:24Personally, Iím not budging from here...
-
35:24 - 35:27...because my friends
have implored me not to abandon them, -
35:27 - 35:30my surviving friends, as well as the dead ones,
-
35:30 - 35:33who crowd my sleepless nights like ghosts.
-
35:33 - 35:37Their diaphanous faces are still smiling at me.
-
35:37 - 35:397.33pm,
-
35:39 - 35:42Red Crescent Hospital in Jabalia.
-
35:42 - 35:46While I was connected via phone
to the demonstrating crowds in Milan, -
35:46 - 35:49two bombs fell in front of the hospital.
-
35:49 - 35:50The front windows were shattered,
-
35:50 - 35:55and, by pure chance, the ambulances were not damaged.
-
35:55 - 36:00The shelling has become more frequent
and powerful in the last few hours. -
36:00 - 36:03Nearby, Ibrahim Maqadme Mosque...
-
36:03 - 36:06...has just crumbled under the bombs:
-
36:06 - 36:08itís the tenth in a week.
-
36:08 - 36:12Eleven victims for now, and about 50 wounded.
-
36:12 - 36:15An elderly Palestinian lady
I met in the street this afternoon... -
36:15 - 36:21...asked me whether Israel thought it was still
in the Middle Ages rather than in 2009, -
36:21 - 36:26considering the way it continues
to hit mosques with such precision. -
36:26 - 36:33Itís as if it is concentrating on a personal holy war
against all the Muslim places of worship in Gaza. -
36:33 - 36:38Yet another downpour of bombs hit Jabalia,
and then the tanks came in. -
36:38 - 36:43They, which had tormented the borders by day
with their creaking, -
36:43 - 36:49are now entering north-west Gaza
and razing the houses, metre by metre. -
36:49 - 36:55Theyíre burying the past and the future,
whole families and an entire population, -
36:55 - 36:58illegitimately dismissed from its own land,
-
36:58 - 37:04a people who havenít found any form of shelter
except for huts in refugee camps. -
37:04 - 37:11We rushed out here to Jabalia after another terrible menace
showered down from the sky last Friday evening. -
37:11 - 37:13Hundreds of leaflets were thrown out of the planes...
-
37:13 - 37:17...ordered the general evacuation of the refugee camp.
-
37:17 - 37:20This threat has unfortunately materialized.
-
37:20 - 37:25The most fortunate have managed to escape instantly,
taking a few possessions with them, -
37:25 - 37:27a TV, a DVD player,
-
37:27 - 37:33and a few pieces of memorabilia
from the life that once existed in Palestine, -
37:33 - 37:36a land lost about 60 years ago.
-
37:36 - 37:39The vast majority havenít found anywhere to go.
-
37:39 - 37:43They will face those tanks hankering after their lives...
-
37:43 - 37:45...with the only weapon the Palestinians have left,
-
37:45 - 37:49the dignity of dying with their heads held up high.
-
37:49 - 37:54My companions and I
are aware of the enormous risk weíre coming up against... -
37:54 - 37:57...tonight more than any other.
-
37:57 - 38:01But weíre more at ease in the midst of this Gazan hell...
-
38:01 - 38:05...than relaxing in a metropolitan heaven
in Europe or America, -
38:05 - 38:08where people celebrating the New Year...
-
38:08 - 38:11...and arenít really aware of just how complicit they are...
-
38:11 - 38:16...with the butchering of all these innocent civilians.
-
38:16 - 38:51Stay human.
-
38:51 - 38:555th January 2009
-
38:55 - 39:03Doctors with Wings: Arafa Abed Al-Dayem R.I.P.
-
39:03 - 39:09"To the innocent people of Gaza,
our war is not against you but against Hamas. -
39:09 - 39:16If they donít stop shooting rockets against us,
youíll be in danger." -
39:16 - 39:24Itís the transcription of a recording you can hear
when answering the phone in Gaza just now. -
39:24 - 39:28The Israeli Army is under the illusion that
-
39:28 - 39:31the Palestinians have no eyes or ears.
-
39:31 - 39:38No eyes to see that the bombs
are hitting civilian targets almost exclusively, -
39:38 - 39:40such as mosques
-
39:40 - 39:47(15, the last being
the Omar Bin Abd Al-Azeez in Beit Hanoun), -
39:47 - 39:53schools, universities, markets and hospitals.
-
39:53 - 39:59No ears to hear the cries of pain
and terror of the children, -
39:59 - 40:01innocent victims...
-
40:01 - 40:07...and yet, at the same time,
the pre-determined targets of each one of these bombings. -
40:07 - 40:11According to hospital records, as Iím writing,
-
40:11 - 40:15120 minors were struck by the bombs,
-
40:15 - 40:19548 being the total death toll so far,
-
40:19 - 40:26in addition to 2,700 wounded and many,
many more missing. -
40:26 - 40:33Two days ago, night time never came
to the Red Crescent Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp. -
40:33 - 40:39Apache helicopters hovering constantly overhead
shower us with luminescent devices, -
40:39 - 40:43to the point that we could no longer
tell the difference between day and night. -
40:43 - 40:48The repeated cannon fire from a tank
positioned less than a kilometre from the hospital... -
40:48 - 40:52...seriously cracked open the buildingís walls,
-
40:52 - 40:58but it managed to stand more
or less intact until morning. -
40:58 - 41:03Around 10 white phosphorous bombs
were dropped on the neighbouring field, -
41:03 - 41:07with machine gun fire exploding all around.
-
41:07 - 41:13To the doctors of the Red Crescent Hospital,
this was clearly a message from the Israeli Army -
41:13 - 41:16ordering an immediate evacuation
-
41:16 - 41:18(or face destruction).
-
41:18 - 41:21We moved the wounded into other hospitals,
-
41:21 - 41:26and the operative ambulance base
is now on Al-Nady Street. -
41:26 - 41:31The medical staff
sits on the sidewalk waiting for the calls... -
41:31 - 41:34...that follow one after the other, frantically.
-
41:34 - 41:37For the first time since the Israeli attack started,
-
41:37 - 41:41Iíve actually seen corpses of members
of the Palestinian Resistance. -
41:41 - 41:45A handful of individuals,
next to the hundreds of civilian victims, -
41:45 - 41:52the numbers of whom
have risen exponentially since the land attacks started. -
41:52 - 41:54Following the shooting at Jabalia Mosque,
-
41:54 - 41:59which left 11 dead and about 50 wounded
and all of which took place while the tanks were coming in, -
41:59 - 42:04for the whole of Saturday on board the ambulances...
-
42:04 - 42:11...we realized just how terrifyingly
powerful the howitzers shot by the Israeli tanks were, -
42:11 - 42:16as if destructive power
had been lacking in the previous few days. -
42:16 - 42:17At Beit Hanoun,
-
42:17 - 42:21a family huddled
in front of a wood stove in their house, -
42:21 - 42:24was struck by one such killer cannon shot.
-
42:24 - 42:27We carried 15 wounded away,
-
42:27 - 42:30four of whom were in a hopeless condition.
-
42:30 - 42:31Later,
-
42:31 - 42:34towards 3.30am,
-
42:34 - 42:36we replied to an emergency call,
-
42:36 - 42:38but we ended up being too late.
-
42:38 - 42:42Standing by their front door,
three women in tears... -
42:42 - 42:46...handed us a four-year-old girl
wrapped in a white sheet, -
42:46 - 42:49shroud, she was stone cold by then.
-
42:49 - 42:54Another family was hit in full,
this time by the Air Force in Jabalia, -
42:54 - 42:58with two adults injured by shrapnel.
-
42:58 - 43:01Their two children were only slightly hurt,
-
43:01 - 43:06but from their screaming it was obvious
they were suffering from psychological trauma, -
43:06 - 43:10something they would carry with them
for the rest of their lives, -
43:10 - 43:14an injury much deeper than a cut on the cheek.
-
43:14 - 43:16Even though no one ever remembers to mention them,
-
43:16 - 43:20there are thousands of children
suffering from serious mental illnesses -
43:20 - 43:25caused by the terror of constant bombing,
-
43:25 - 43:33or, worse, by the sight of their parents
or siblings being torn apart by the explosions. -
43:33 - 43:39The crimes that Israel
is staining its bloodied hands with in these hours... -
43:39 - 43:42...go well beyond the boundaries of what can be imagined.
-
43:42 - 43:46The soldiers actually prevent us
from running to the aid of the survivors... -
43:46 - 43:48...in this immense unnatural catastrophe.
-
43:48 - 43:54When the wounded are close to the armoured vehicles
they were just attacked by, -
43:54 - 44:01we, in our Red Crescent ambulances,
arenít allowed anywhere near, -
44:01 - 44:06as the soldiers take pot shots at us.
-
44:06 - 44:10Before we can hope to run in aid of any human lives,
-
44:10 - 44:17we need to be escorted
by at least one Red Cross ambulance, -
44:17 - 44:21thanks to an agreement
of the latter with the Israeli Armyís senior command. -
44:21 - 44:25Just try and imagine
how long such proceedings would take -
44:25 - 44:27a death sentence...
-
44:27 - 44:31...for all those awaiting transfusions or urgent care.
-
44:31 - 44:38This is even truer considering
the Red Cross has its own wounded to care for, -
44:38 - 44:44leaving them without a chance
of answering our every call. -
44:44 - 44:50We must thus park in a "protected" area,
this term being a euphemism in Gaza, -
44:50 - 44:58and wait for people to bring us their languishing relatives,
often carrying them on foot. -
44:58 - 45:01Thatís what happened around 5.30 this morning.
-
45:01 - 45:05We stopped the ambulance with the engine on,
in the middle of a crossing, -
45:05 - 45:11communicating our whereabouts via phone
to the relatives of some patients on their way. -
45:11 - 45:13After 10 unnerving minutes,
-
45:13 - 45:17when weíd already decided to evacuate the area...
-
45:17 - 45:20...in response to another call,
we noticed them as they turned the corner, -
45:20 - 45:26advancing towards us slowly,
a mule-drawn cart carrying some people. -
45:26 - 45:29It turned out to be a couple and their two children.
-
45:29 - 45:34The best possible illustration of this non-war.
This isnít really a war. -
45:34 - 45:37There arenít two armies battling it out on one front,
-
45:37 - 45:42but a people enduring a siege by an Air Force, a Navy,
-
45:42 - 45:47and what is now
one of the worldís most powerful infantries, -
45:47 - 45:52certainly the most technologically advanced
when it comes to military equipment. -
45:52 - 45:56Here they are, attacking a miserable strip of land,
-
45:56 - 45:59just 360 square kilometres,
-
45:59 - 46:04a place where its inhabitants
still use mules to move around, -
46:04 - 46:12with a hotchpotch resistance
whose only real strength is their readiness for martyrdom. -
46:12 - 46:17When that mule-drawn cart got close enough,
-
46:17 - 46:22approached them and beheld its macabre cargo with horror.
-
46:22 - 46:25A child was lying with his skull cracked open,
-
46:25 - 46:29his eyeballs literally hanging out of their sockets,
-
46:29 - 46:35swaying onto his face like those at the end of a crabís stalks.
When we picked him up, he was still breathing. -
46:35 - 46:39His little brother had a disembowelled chest,
-
46:39 - 46:44and you could distinctly count
his white ribs through the tatters of his torn flesh. -
46:44 - 46:48Their mother pressed her hands
on to that eviscerated chest, -
46:48 - 46:52as if trying to fix what the fruit of her love
had managed to create, -
46:52 - 46:56and which the anonymous hatred of a soldier,
obeying orders, -
46:56 - 46:58had now forever destroyed.
-
46:58 - 47:03Yet another crime I want to report,
-
47:03 - 47:05and our umpteenth personal mourning.
-
47:05 - 47:10The Israeli Army continues to target the ambulances.
-
47:10 - 47:14After the butchering
of the doctor and nurse in Jabalia four days ago, -
47:14 - 47:21odayís new victim was a friend of ours:
35-year-old Arafa Abed Al-Dayem, -
47:21 - 47:23a father of four.
-
47:23 - 47:29Around 8.30 yesterday morning,
we received a call from Gaza City. -
47:29 - 47:33Two civilians had been struck down
by a tankís machine-gun fire. -
47:33 - 47:39One of our Red Crescent ambulances
rushed to their aid. -
47:39 - 47:43Arafa and one of the nurses
were loading the two wounded onto the ambulance... -
47:43 - 47:45...and, while shutting the ambulance doors,
-
47:45 - 47:48they were hit by a howitzer from a tank.
-
47:48 - 47:54The shot decapitated one of the wounded
and also killed our friend. -
47:54 - 47:58Nader, the nurse accompanying them,
managed to survive... -
47:58 - 48:02...although he is now a patient
in the same hospital that he works in. -
48:02 - 48:08Arafa, an elementary school teacher,
was a voluntary paramedic in emergencies. -
48:08 - 48:15We were being showered with bombs and, yet,
hadnít had the heart to call Arafa in such a high-risk situation. -
48:15 - 48:20He showed up of his own accord, working
with a full awareness of the risks involved, -
48:20 - 48:23convinced as he was that, aside from his family,
-
48:23 - 48:27there were other human beings
in need of protection and aid. -
48:27 - 48:30We miss his jokes,
-
48:30 - 48:34his irresistible and contagious sense of humour,
-
48:34 - 48:38and a balm for the soul in our bleakest moments.
-
48:38 - 48:41Someone has to stop this massacre.
-
48:41 - 48:44In the last few days
Iíve seen things, heard uproars... -
48:44 - 48:50...and smelt pestilential miasmas
that Iíll never have the courage to talk about, -
48:50 - 48:56if I should ever have children of my own.
-
48:56 - 48:59Is there anyone out there?
-
48:59 - 49:05The desolation of feeling isolated and abandoned is equivalent
to a view of a Gaza neighbourhood after a heavy air raid campaign. -
49:05 - 49:07Saturday evening,
-
49:07 - 49:11I was connected via phone
to the protesting crowds in Milan, -
49:11 - 49:17and I handed my cell phone over to the heroic doctors
and nurses Iím working with at the moment. -
49:17 - 49:21They looked reassured for a few moments.
-
49:21 - 49:25Demonstrations the world
over are a sign that you can still believe in someone, -
49:25 - 49:32but these demonstrations are still not large enough
to exercise the necessary pressure on Western governments, -
49:32 - 49:35which should be forcing Israel into a corner,
-
49:35 - 49:44making it take responsibility
for its war crimes and crimes against humanity. -
49:44 - 49:50Many terrified pregnant women
are prematurely giving birth right now. -
49:50 - 49:55I was personally present with three of them
as they were rushed to the delivery room. -
49:55 - 49:59One of these, Samira, seven months pregnant,
-
49:59 - 50:03gave birth to a beautiful, tiny baby called Ahmed.
-
50:03 - 50:06Rushing to the Al-Auda Hospital
on board the ambulance with her... -
50:06 - 50:11...and leaving behind in our rear-view mirrors
the scenarios of death and destruction -
50:11 - 50:16(the places where just a moment before
weíd been picking up corpses) -
50:16 - 50:21I thought for a moment that this new life,
on the point of blossoming, -
50:21 - 50:24could be a harbinger for future hope and peace.
-
50:24 - 50:28But the illusion melted away with the first rocket...
-
50:28 - 50:32...falling by the side of our ambulance
from the centre of Jabalia. -
50:32 - 50:36These brave mothers sadly give birth to creatures...
-
50:36 - 50:41...who take in nothing
but the military green of tanks and jeeps... -
50:41 - 50:45...or the blinking flashes that precede an explosion.
-
50:45 - 50:51What kind of adults will they grow up to be?
-
50:51 - 51:34Stay human.
-
51:34 - 51:386th january 2009
-
51:38 - 51:40Al-Nakba
-
51:40 - 51:44They parade in fear, their eyes turned upwards,
-
51:44 - 51:49surrendering to the sky which keeps raining terror
and death down upon them, -
51:49 - 51:51and fearing the earth that keeps shaking
under them with every step they take, -
51:51 - 51:56craters opening up where there were once houses,
-
51:56 - 52:02schools, universities, markets and hospitals.
-
52:02 - 52:07I've seen caravans of desperate Palestinians...
-
52:07 - 52:13...evacuate Jabalia, Beit Hanoun
and all the refugee camps in Gaza, -
52:13 - 52:20crowding the United Nations' schools
like earthquake survivors, -
52:20 - 52:23like the victims of a tsunami...
-
52:23 - 52:30...eating into the Gaza Strip
and its civilian population, -
52:30 - 52:37without pity or compliance with human rights
and the Geneva Conventions. -
52:37 - 52:48Most of all, without a single Western government
lifting a finger to stop this massacre, -
52:48 - 52:57or sending medical staff out here, or stopping the genocide
that Israel is smearing its hands with in these hours. -
52:57 - 53:06The indiscriminate attacks against
the hospitals and their medical staff continue. -
53:06 - 53:12Yesterday, after having left the Al-Auda Hospital in Jabalia,
I received a call from Alberto, -
53:12 - 53:16a Spanish colleague with the ISM.
-
53:16 - 53:20A bomb had been dropped there
-
53:20 - 53:25and Abu Mohammed, a nurse,
had been seriously injured to his head. -
53:25 - 53:34Just moments before, in front of a cafÈ,
-
53:34 - 53:39I'd been listening to the stories of the heroic deeds
of the communist Abu Mohammed's heroes... -
53:39 - 53:50...the leaders of the Popular Front:
George Habbash, Abu Ali Mustafa and Ahmad Al-Sadat. -
53:50 - 53:54His eyes lit up when I told him...
-
53:54 - 54:04...that the first understanding of Palestine
and its immense tragedy had been passed onto me by my parents, -
54:04 - 54:08both communists through and through.
-
54:08 - 54:17He asked me who'd been the truly
revolutionary leaders of the italian left, -
54:17 - 54:23and I'd replied, "Antonio Gramsci".
-
54:23 - 54:31As for those of the present-day,
I'd said I'd think it over and tell him the next day. -
54:31 - 54:41But Abu Mohammed now lies in a coma,
in the same hospital where he works. -
54:41 - 54:46He spared himself my disappointing reply.
-
54:46 - 54:50Towards midnight I received another call,
from Eva this time. -
54:50 - 54:54The building she was in was under attack.
-
54:54 - 55:00I know that building well:
it's in downtown Gaza City. -
55:00 - 55:10I'd once spent the night there along
with some Palestinian photojournalist, -
55:10 - 55:14whose job it is to try
and capture through images and words... -
55:14 - 55:22...something of the unnatural catastrophe
we've been enduring these last 10 days. -
55:22 - 55:29Reuters, Fox News, Russia Today
and many, many other local or foreign agencies -
55:29 - 55:36were under fire from seven rockets shot
by an Israeli helicopter. -
55:36 - 55:43They managed to evacuate everyone in time
before anyone could be seriously injured -
55:43 - 55:50all those cameramen, photographers, reporters,
all Palestinian, -
55:50 - 55:59given that Israel won't allow
any international journalists into Gaza. -
55:59 - 56:04There are no "strategic" targets
around that building, -
56:04 - 56:12nor a resistance fighting off
the deadly armoured Israeli vehicles, -
56:12 - 56:17currently located only a long way away
towards the north. -
56:17 - 56:26Clearly, someone in Tel Aviv cannot bear
the images of the massacres of civilians... -
56:26 - 56:36...clashing with those briefings the Israeli officers provide,
while offering mercenary journalists their aperitifs. -
56:36 - 56:41These press conferences
are persuading the world... -
56:41 - 56:47...that the bombing targets
are solely targeting Hamas terrorists, -
56:47 - 56:58not one of those atrociously mutilated children
we pull out of the rubble every day. -
56:58 - 57:02In Zeitoun,
about 10 kilometres from Jabalia, -
57:02 - 57:09a bombed building crumbled over a family,
leaving about 20 dead. -
57:09 - 57:14The ambulances had to wait several hours
before they could reach the spot, -
57:14 - 57:19as the military persist in shooting at us.
-
57:19 - 57:24They shoot at ambulances
and bomb hospitals. -
57:24 - 57:29A few days ago, while I was being interviewed
live on a well-known Milanese radio station, -
57:29 - 57:33an Israeli "pacifist"
clearly spelt out to me... -
57:33 - 57:41...that this was a war where both sides
used all the weapons at their disposal. -
57:41 - 57:53I then invited Israel to drop one
of its many atomic bombs upon us, -
57:53 - 57:59those they keep secretly stashed away,
defying all treaties against nuclear proliferation. -
57:59 - 58:04Why not just drop that decisive bomb of theirs
-
58:04 - 58:17and put an end to the inhuman agony of thousands of bodies,
lying in tatters in the overcrowded hospital wards that I visit? -
58:17 - 58:24I took some black-and-white photos yesterday,
the caravans of mule-drawn carts, -
58:24 - 58:31overloaded beyond belief with children
waving white drapes pointing skywards, -
58:31 - 58:38their faces pale and terrified.
-
58:38 - 58:48Looking through those snaps of fleeing refugees today,
shivers went down my spine. -
58:48 - 58:59If they could only be superimposed with those
portraying the Nakba of 1948, the Palestinian catastrophe, -
58:59 - 59:02they would be the perfect mirror image of them.
-
59:02 - 59:09The cowardly passiveness
of self-styled democratic states and governments... -
59:09 - 59:13...are responsible
for a new catastrophe in full swing, -
59:13 - 59:21a new Nakba, a brand new ethnic cleansing
befalling the Palestinian population right now. -
59:21 - 59:29Until a few moments ago we counted 650 dead,
153 murdered children, -
59:29 - 59:35in addition to 3,000 injured,
and innumerable missing. -
59:35 - 59:43The number of civilian deaths in Israel
has thankfully remained at four. -
59:43 - 59:52But after this afternoon the death toll on the Palestinian side
requires an urgent recount, -
59:52 - 59:59ever since the Israeli Army has started attacking
the United Nations schools, -
59:59 - 60:08the very same that had been offering shelter
to the thousands evacuated under threat of an imminent attack. -
60:08 - 60:17They chased them out of the refugee camps, the villages,
only to collect them all in one place, -
60:17 - 60:21an easier target.
-
60:21 - 60:31Three schools were attacked today,
the last being at Al-Fakhura, in Jabalia, -
60:31 - 60:36which was hit smack bang in the middle.
Over 40 dead: -
60:36 - 60:41in a heartbeat,
men, women, elderly people and children were wiped away, -
60:41 - 60:51who believed themselves to be safe within those
blue-tinted walls adorned by a United Nations logo. -
60:51 - 60:58The peole sheltered within the other 20 UN schools
are now shaking with fear. -
60:58 - 61:01There's no way out anywhere
in the Gaza Strip. -
61:01 - 61:07This isn't Lebanon, where the civilians in the southern villages
targeted by the Israeli bombs... -
61:07 - 61:13...could flee to the north,
or to Syria or Jordan. -
61:13 - 61:26From being one enormous open-air prison,
the Gaza Strip has become a deadly trap. -
61:26 - 61:28We look at one another in bewilderment...
-
61:28 - 61:34...and ask ourselves
whether the UN Security Council will finally... -
61:34 - 61:41...and unanimously condemn...
-
61:41 - 61:47...these attacks
after their own schools have been targeted. -
61:47 - 61:52Someone out there has really decided...
-
61:52 - 61:57...to turn this place into a desert,
and then call it peace. -
61:57 - 62:07A long night on the ambulances awaits us now, even though the arrival
of down has become nothing but an illusion around here. -
62:07 - 62:17Antenna towers all along the Strip have been destroyed
and we've stopped relying of them for our mobile phones. -
62:17 - 62:26I hope I may one day be able to see all the friends
I can no longer contact, but I'm under no illusions. -
62:26 - 62:37Bar none, everyone in Gaza
is a walking target. -
62:37 - 62:47The Italian Consulate has just contacted me,
saying that tomorrow they'll evacuate a fellow italian, -
62:47 - 62:55an elderly nun who'd lived
near the Catholic church in Gaza for the last 20 years, -
62:55 - 63:01and who had by now
been adopted by the Palestinians in the Strip. -
63:01 - 63:07The consul gently urged me
to seize this last opportunity... -
63:07 - 63:14...and escape from this hell with the nun.
-
63:14 - 63:22I thanked him for the offer,
and told him I'm not moving from here, I just can't. -
63:22 - 63:26For the sake of the losses we endured...
-
63:26 - 63:37...before being Italian, Spanish, British or Australian,
right now we are all Palestinian. -
63:37 - 63:48If only we could do that for just one minute a day,
-
63:48 - 63:53the way we were all Jewish during the Holocaust,
-
63:53 - 64:03I think we would have been spared this entire massacre.
-
64:03 - 64:32Stay Human
-
64:32 - 64:347th January 2009
-
64:34 - 64:38Slingshots vs. White Phosphorous Bombs
-
64:38 - 64:42"Take some kittens,
some tender little moggies in a box", -
64:42 - 64:47said Jamal,
a surgeon at Al-Shifa, Gazaís main hospital, -
64:47 - 64:52while a nurse actually placed a couple
of blood-stained cardboard boxes in front of us. -
64:52 - 64:56"Seal it up, then jump on it
with all your weight and might, -
64:56 - 65:03until you feel their little bones crunching,
and you hear the last muffled little mew." -
65:03 - 65:08I stared at the boxes in astonishment,
and the doctor continued: -
65:08 - 65:12"Try to imagine what would happen
after such images were circulated. -
65:12 - 65:15The righteous outrage of public opinion,
-
65:15 - 65:18the complaints of the animal rights organizations...."
-
65:18 - 65:20The doctors went on in this vein,
-
65:20 - 65:24and I was unable
to take my eyes off the boxes at our feet. -
65:24 - 65:29"Israel trapped hundreds of civilians
inside a school as if in a box, -
65:29 - 65:35including many children,
and then crushed them with all the might of its bombs. -
65:35 - 65:38What were the worldís reactions?
-
65:38 - 65:40Almost nothing.
-
65:40 - 65:44We would have been better
off as animals rather than Palestinians, -
65:44 - 65:48we would have been better protected."
-
65:48 - 65:54At this point the doctor leans towards one of the boxes,
and takes its lid off in front of me. -
65:54 - 66:00Inside it are the amputated limbs,
legs and arms, some from the knee down, -
66:00 - 66:08others with the entire femur attached, from amputees injured
at the Al-Fakhura United Nations school in Jabalia, -
66:08 - 66:12which resulted in more than 50 casualties.
-
66:12 - 66:15Pretending to be taking an urgent call,
I took my leave of Jamal, -
66:15 - 66:19actually rushing to the bathroom to throw up.
-
66:19 - 66:25A little earlier Iíd been involved in a conversation
with Dr. Abdel, an ophthalmologist, -
66:25 - 66:29regarding the rumours
that the Israeli Army had been showering us... -
66:29 - 66:33...with non-conventional weapons,
forbidden by the Geneva Convention, -
66:33 - 66:36such as cluster bombs and white phosphorous.
-
66:36 - 66:41The very same that the Israeli Army
used during the last Lebanese war, -
66:41 - 66:47as well as the US Air Force in Falluja,
in violation of international norms. -
66:47 - 66:51In front of Al-Awda Hospital
we witnessed and filmed white phosphorous bombs... -
66:51 - 66:55...being used about 500 metres from where we stood,
-
66:55 - 67:02too far away to be absolutely certain
there were any civilians underneath the Israeli Apaches, -
67:02 - 67:05but so terribly close all the same.
-
67:05 - 67:08The Geneva Treaty of 1980...
-
67:08 - 67:13...forbids white phosphorous
being used directly as a war weapon in civilian areas, -
67:13 - 67:18allowing it only as a smoke screen or for lighting.
-
67:18 - 67:21Thereís no doubt that using this weapon in Gaza,
-
67:21 - 67:25a strip of land concentrating
the highest population rate in the world, -
67:25 - 67:28is a crime all on its own.
-
67:28 - 67:32Doctor Abdel told me that at Al-Shifa Hospital...
-
67:32 - 67:36...they donít have the medical and military competence
-
67:36 - 67:42to say for sure whether the wounds they examined
on certain corpses were indeed caused by illegal weapons. -
67:42 - 67:46But he gave his word that, in 20 years on the job,
-
67:46 - 67:51he had never seen casualties like these
that were now being carried into the ward. -
67:51 - 67:54He told me about the traumas to the skull,
-
67:54 - 68:02with the fractures to the vomer bone, the jaw,
the cheekbones, the tear ducts, the nasal and palatine bones, -
68:02 - 68:08all showing signs of the collision
of an immense force against the victimís face. -
68:08 - 68:12What he finds inexplicable is the total lack of eyeballs,
-
68:12 - 68:18which ought to leave a trace somewhere
within the skull even with such a violent impact. -
68:18 - 68:24Instead, we see Palestinian corpses
coming into the hospitals without any eyes at all, -
68:24 - 68:30as if someone had removed them surgically
before handing them over to the coroner. -
68:30 - 68:35Israel has let us know that weíve been generously
granted a three-hour daily ceasefire, -
68:35 - 68:38from 1.00 to 4.00pm.
-
68:38 - 68:42These statements from the Israeli military leadership
are considered by the people of Gaza... -
68:42 - 68:50...as having the same reliability as the Hamas leadersí declarations
that theyíve just provoked a massacre of enemy soldiers. -
68:50 - 68:58Just to be clear on this point, Tel Avivís worst enemy
is the very same that fights under the Star of David. -
68:58 - 69:02Yesterday, a warship off the coast of Gazaís port...
-
69:02 - 69:06...picked out a large group of alleged guerrilla fighters
from the Palestinian Resistance, -
69:06 - 69:10moving as a united front around Jabalia.
-
69:10 - 69:12They shot their cannons at them.
-
69:12 - 69:18But as it turned out, they were their own fellow soldiers,
with the shooting resulting in three being killed... -
69:18 - 69:22...and about 20 injured.
-
69:22 - 69:26No one here believes in the ceasefires that Israel calls,
-
69:26 - 69:32and as it happens, today at 2.00pm
Rafah was under attack by Israeli helicopters. -
69:32 - 69:36There was also yet
another massacre of children in Jabalia: -
69:36 - 69:41three little sisters aged two, four and six...
-
69:41 - 69:44...from the Abed Rabbu family were slaughtered.
-
69:44 - 69:51Just half-an-hour earlier in Jabalia, once again
the Red Crescent Hospitalís ambulances were under attack. -
69:51 - 69:59Eva and Alberto, my ISM companions were on board
that ambulance and managed to film everything, -
69:59 - 70:03passing those videos and photos
on to all the major media. -
70:03 - 70:08Hassan was kneecapped,
fresh from mourning the death of his friend Araf, -
70:08 - 70:14a paramedic who was killed two days ago
as he was going in aid of the injured in Gaza City. -
70:14 - 70:18They had stopped to pick up the body of a man
languishing in the middle of the road, -
70:18 - 70:23when they were showered
by about 10 shots from an Israeli sniper. -
70:23 - 70:29One bullet hit Hassan in the knee
and the ambulance was filled with holes. -
70:29 - 70:34Travelling towards Al-Quds Hospital,
-
70:34 - 70:39I raced along on board
one of the very few fearless taxi drivers left, -
70:39 - 70:42zigzagging to avoid the bombs,
-
70:42 - 70:48and, on the corner of one street, I saw a group
of dirty street urchins in tattered clothes, -
70:48 - 70:53looking exactly like the "sciusci‡" kids
of the Italian post-war period. -
70:53 - 70:57They threw stones towards the sky with slingshots,
-
70:57 - 71:01at a remote
and unreachable enemy toying with their lives. -
71:01 - 71:10This is a crazy metaphor, which could serve
as a snapshot of the absurdity of this place at the moment. -
71:10 - 71:37Stay human.
-
71:37 - 71:398th january 2009
-
71:39 - 71:42I won't leave my country!
-
71:42 - 71:47My toothpaste, toothbrush,
razors and shaving foam. -
71:47 - 71:53The clothes I'm wearing, the cough medicine
I'm using to get rid of a persistent cough, -
71:53 - 71:58the cigarettes I bought for Ahmed,
and some tobacco for my arghile. -
71:58 - 72:08My cell phone, the laptop onto which I compulsively type
eyewitness accounts from the hell surrounding me. -
72:08 - 72:14All that's needed for a modest,
yet dignified, existence in Gaza comes from Egypt, -
72:14 - 72:21and arrives onto the shop
shelves through the tunnels. -
72:21 - 72:30These are the very same tunnels that the Israeli F16s
haven't stopped bombing heavily in the last 12 hours, -
72:30 - 72:36destroying thousands of Rafah houses
near the border. -
72:36 - 72:41A few months ago
I had three dodgy teeth fixed, -
72:41 - 72:49and at the end of the operation I asked my Palestinian dentist
where he'd gotten all of his dental equipment from -
72:49 - 72:54the anaesthetic, the syringes, the ceramic inlays
and all the other tools. -
72:54 - 72:59With a sly look on his face, he'd made
a certain gesture with his hand: from underground. -
72:59 - 73:06There's no doubt that explosives and weapons
were also smuggled through the tunnels underneath Rafah, -
73:06 - 73:15the very same that the resistance is using today to try
and contain the terrifying advance of the Israeli tanks. -
73:15 - 73:22But it's next to nothing compared with the tonnes
of consumer goods flowing into famished Gaza... -
73:22 - 73:26...under this criminal siege.
-
73:26 - 73:36It's easy enough to find photos on the web showing
how even livestock comes in from Egypt through the tunnels. -
73:36 - 73:44Sedated, strapped-up goats and cows
are lowered into an Egyptian well, -
73:44 - 73:50re-emerging on this side
to provide milk, cheese and meat. -
73:50 - 73:55Even the main hospitals in the Strip
stock up surreptitiously at the border. -
73:55 - 74:03The tunnels were the only means by which
the Palestinians could survive the siege. -
74:03 - 74:10Long before the current bombing, this siege
became the cause of a 60% unemployment rate, -
74:10 - 74:17forcing 80% of families
to live off humanitarian handouts. -
74:17 - 74:23Our ISM colleagues in Rafah
describe the umpteenth mass exodus they've witnessed: -
74:23 - 74:33caravans of desperate refugees leaving their homes
for Egypt, on mule-drawn carts or hodgepodge vehicles. -
74:33 - 74:41A dÈj‡-vu scenario. In recent days, leaflets were raining down
from the planes, intimidating the Palestinians into evacuating. -
74:41 - 74:48Since Israel always keeps her threatening promises,
bombs are now pouring down from her planes. -
74:48 - 74:53Today's new homeless will spend the night
with their relatives, friends or acquaintances in Gaza. -
74:53 - 75:00After yesterday's massacre in Jabalia, no one dares
take shelter in the United Nations schools anymore. -
75:00 - 75:07But a considerable number haven't gone anywhere,
as they have nowhere safe to go. -
75:07 - 75:11They shall be spending the night
praying to God that they'll be spared, -
75:11 - 75:16since no one on earth seems to take
any interest whatsoever in their existence. -
75:16 - 75:26The death toll at present is of 768 Palestinians,
with 3,129 wounded, and 219 children dead. -
75:26 - 75:34The count of civilian victims on the Israeli side
is thankfully still only four. -
75:34 - 75:39In Zeitoun, a neighbourhood East of Gaza City,
the Red Cross ambulances... -
75:39 - 75:45...could only rush to the scene of a massacre
after several hours, -
75:45 - 75:49with permission from the Israeli military leadership.
-
75:49 - 75:54When they finally got there,
they picked up 17 corpses and 10 injured, -
75:54 - 75:58all belonging to the Al-Samouni family.
-
75:58 - 76:00It was a perfect execution:
-
76:00 - 76:04in the tiny bodies of the children
it was possible to notice... -
76:04 - 76:10...bullet holes rather
than wounds caused by shrapnel. -
76:10 - 76:15The last two nights
in the Gaza City hospitals were quieter than usual, -
76:15 - 76:19as we assisted a number of injured
in the dozens rather than in the hundreds. -
76:19 - 76:23Obviously after the massacre at the Al-Fakhura school...
-
76:23 - 76:28...the Israeli Army
surpassed the daily total of civilian casualties... -
76:28 - 76:34...as an offering to its bloodthirsty government
in view of the imminent elections. -
76:34 - 76:41We have a feeling though that the morgues
will be filled to bursting point again tonight. -
76:41 - 76:48With our sirens screaming, we continue to rush
pregnant women into hospital as they give birth prematurely. -
76:48 - 76:53It's as if nature
and the conservation instinct... -
76:53 - 77:00...were inducing these brave mothers
to pre-empt the due-date of these newly-born... -
77:00 - 77:03...making up for the growing number of the dead.
-
77:03 - 77:07The first cries of the newborn,
when they survive... -
77:07 - 77:12...can, only for a moment,
rise over the rumbling of the bombs. -
77:12 - 77:22Leila, a colleague at the ISM, asked our neighbours'children to write
some of their impressions of the atrocious tragedy we're enduring. -
77:22 - 77:29Here are some extracts of their words,
the horrors of war seen through the pure and innocent... -
77:29 - 77:32...gaze of Gaza's children:
-
77:32 - 77:34Suzanne, aged 15:
-
77:34 - 77:39"Life in Gaza is very difficult.
Actually we can't describe everything. -
77:39 - 77:43We can't sleep,
we can't go to school and study. -
77:43 - 77:47We feel a lot of feelings,
sometimes we feel afraid... -
77:47 - 77:52...and worry because the planes and the ships,
they hit [us] twenty-four hours [a day]. -
77:52 - 78:01Sometimes we feel bored because there is no electricity
during the day, and in the night, it comes for just four hours... -
78:01 - 78:05...and when it comes
we are watching the news on TV. -
78:05 - 78:11And we see kids and women who are injured and dead.
So we live under siege and war." -
78:11 - 78:14Fatma, aged 13:
-
78:14 - 78:17"It was the hardest week in our lives.
-
78:17 - 78:21The first day we were to school,
having the final exam of the first term... -
78:21 - 78:27...then the explosions started,
and many students were killed and injured... -
78:27 - 78:32...and the others surely
lost a relative or a neighbour. -
78:32 - 78:35There's no electricity, no food, no bread.
-
78:35 - 78:38What can we do?
It's the Israelis! -
78:38 - 78:45All the people in the world celebrated the New Year;
we also celebrate but in a different way." -
78:45 - 78:49Sara, aged 11:
-
78:49 - 78:56"Gaza is living under a siege, like a big jail:
no water, no electricity. -
78:56 - 79:01People feel afraid, [they] don't sleep at night,
and every day more people are killed. -
79:01 - 79:08Until now, more than 700 are killed
and more than 3,000 injured. -
79:08 - 79:18And students had their final first-term exams,
so Israel hit the Ministry of Education, and a lot of ministries. -
79:18 - 79:21Every day people are asking,
"When will it end?", -
79:21 - 79:27and they are waiting for more ships
with activists like Vittorio and Leila." -
79:27 - 79:30Darween, aged 8:
-
79:30 - 79:35"I am a Palestinian kid:
I won't leave my country... -
79:35 - 79:39...so I will have lots of advantage,
because I won't leave my country... -
79:39 - 79:45...and I hear a sound of rockets,
so I won't leave my country." -
79:45 - 79:47Meriam is four.
-
79:47 - 79:51Her siblings asked her,
"What do you feel when you hear the rockets?" -
79:51 - 79:54And she said,
"I'm scared!", -
79:54 - 80:00before running to take cover
behind her father's legs. -
80:00 - 80:04Sadly, Gaza has been shrouded
in obscurity these last 10 days. -
80:04 - 80:08I can recharge my computer and phone
only in the hospitals. -
80:08 - 80:15We watch TV with the doctors and paramedics
while waiting for an urgent call. -
80:15 - 80:21We listen to the rumblings in the distance,
and after a few minutes the Arab satellite networks... -
80:21 - 80:25...report exactly
where the explosions took place. -
80:25 - 80:36We often watch ourselves pull bodies out of the rubble,
as if having seen it all in the flesh weren't enough already. -
80:36 - 80:40Last night I switched over to
an Israeli channel with the remote. -
80:40 - 80:48They were showing a traditional music festival, complete
with scantily-clad showgirls and firework displays at the end. -
80:48 - 80:53We went back to our horror,
not on screen, but in the ambulances. -
80:53 - 81:01Israel has every right to laugh and sing
even while they're massacring their neighbours. -
81:01 - 81:07Palestinians only ask to die
a different kind of death, -
81:07 - 81:13say, of old age.
-
81:13 - 81:45Stay Human
-
81:45 - 81:509th January 2009
-
81:50 - 81:54Killing Hippocrates
-
81:54 - 81:59In Gaza, a firing squad...
-
81:59 - 82:06...put Hippocrates up against a wall,
aimed and fired. -
82:06 - 82:13The absurd declarations
of an Israeli secret servicesí spokesman, -
82:13 - 82:19according to which the army
was given the green light to fire at ambulances... -
82:19 - 82:27...because they allegedly carried terrorists,
-
82:27 - 82:33, is an illustration of the value
that Israel assigns to human life these days -
82:33 - 82:38the lives of their enemies, that is.
-
82:38 - 82:41Itís worth revisiting...
-
82:41 - 82:45...whatís stated in the Hippocratic Oath,
-
82:45 - 82:48which every doctor swears...
-
82:48 - 82:51...before practising their profession.
-
82:51 - 82:58The following passages
are especially worthy of note: -
82:58 - 83:09"I solemnly pledge myself
to consecrate my life to the service of humanity. -
83:09 - 83:18I will practise my profession
with conscience and dignity. -
83:18 - 83:31I will cure all patients
with the same diligence and commitment. -
83:31 - 83:38I will not permit considerations of religion,
nationality, race, -
83:38 - 83:44party politics, or social standing to intervene
between my duty and my patient.í -
83:44 - 83:52Nine doctors and voluntary nurses
have been killed since the start of the bombing campaign, -
83:52 - 83:58and about 10 ambulances
were shot at by the Israeli artillery. -
83:58 - 84:01The survivors are quaking with fear,
-
84:01 - 84:04but refuse to take a step back.
-
84:04 - 84:07The crimson flashes of the ambulances...
-
84:07 - 84:14...are the only bursts of light
in the dark streets of Gaza, -
84:14 - 84:19bar the flashes that precede an explosion.
-
84:19 - 84:25Regarding these crimes, the last report comes
from Pierre Wettach, Head of the Red Cross in Gaza. -
84:25 - 84:34His ambulances had access to the spot of a massacre,
in Zeitoun (east of Gaza City)... -
84:34 - 84:38...only 24 hours after an Israeli attack.
-
84:38 - 84:40The rescue workers state...
-
84:40 - 84:45...that they found themselves
facing a blood-curdling scenario. -
84:45 - 84:53"In one of the houses four small children
were found near the body of their dead mother. -
84:53 - 84:58They were too weak to stand on their feet.
-
84:58 - 85:07We also found a grown man,
also too weak to stand upright. -
85:07 - 85:13About 20 corpses were found
lying on the mattresses." -
85:13 - 85:21The witnesses to this umpteenth massacre
describe how the Israeli soldiers, -
85:21 - 85:24after arriving in the neighbourhood,
-
85:24 - 85:31gathered the numerous members
of the Al-Samouni family into one building... -
85:31 - 85:38...and then proceeded to bomb it repeatedly.
-
85:38 - 85:45My ISM companions and I have been driving around
in the Red Crescent ambulances for days, -
85:45 - 85:48suffering many attacks.
-
85:48 - 85:56Our duty on the ambulances is to rescue the injured,
not to carry guerrilla fighters. -
85:56 - 86:02When we find someone lying in the street
in a pool of their own blood, -
86:02 - 86:09we donít have the time to check their papers
or ask them whether they support Hamas or Fatah. -
86:09 - 86:16Most of the seriously injured canít talk,
much like the dead. -
86:16 - 86:19A few days ago,
-
86:19 - 86:23while picking up a badly-wounded patient,
-
86:23 - 86:32another man with light injuries
tried to hop onto the ambulance. -
86:32 - 86:35We pushed him out,
-
86:35 - 86:39just to make it clear
to whoeverís watching from up above... -
86:39 - 86:45...that we donít serve as a taxi
to carry members of the resistance around. -
86:45 - 86:53At Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City,
seventeen-year-old Miriam was carried in, -
86:53 - 86:55in full-blown labour.
-
86:55 - 87:05Her father and sister-in-law, both dead,
had passed through the hospital in the morning, -
87:05 - 87:12both victims of the indiscriminate bombing.
-
87:12 - 87:16Miriam gave birth to a gorgeous baby during the night,
-
87:16 - 87:18not aware of the fact...
-
87:18 - 87:22...that while she lay in the delivery room,
-
87:22 - 87:30her young husband
had arrived in the morgue one floor below her. -
87:30 - 87:32In the end,
-
87:32 - 87:36even the United Nations
has started to see that... -
87:36 - 87:40...weíre all in the same boat here in Gaza.
-
87:40 - 87:44Weíre all walking targets for the snipers.
-
87:44 - 87:50The death toll is now at 789 dead,
-
87:50 - 87:533,300 wounded
-
87:53 - 87:58with 410 in critical condition,
-
87:58 - 88:03230 children killed and countless missing.
-
88:03 - 88:07The death toll on the Israeli side...
-
88:07 - 88:12...has thankfully remained at four.
-
88:12 - 88:19John Ging, Director of UNRWAís (United Nations Relief
and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees)... -
88:19 - 88:23...Field Operations in Gaza,
has related the UN announcement that theyíll suspend... -
88:23 - 88:28...their humanitarian activities in the Gaza Strip.
-
88:28 - 88:33I bumped into Ging
at the Ramattan press office... -
88:33 - 88:41...and saw him wagging his finger
with disdain at Israel before the cameras. -
88:41 - 88:48The UN stopped its work in Gaza after
two of its operators were killed yesterday, -
88:48 - 88:58ironically during the three-hour ceasefire that Israel
had announced and, as usual, had failed to stick to. -
88:58 - 89:08"The civilians in Gaza have three hours a day
at their disposal in which to survive, -
89:08 - 89:12the Israeli soldiers have the remaining 21...
-
89:12 - 89:16...in which to try and exterminate them",
-
89:16 - 89:22I heard Ging state, two steps away from me.
-
89:22 - 89:29Yasmine, the wife of one of the many journalists
waiting in line at the Erez Pass, wrote to me from Jerusalem. -
89:29 - 89:41Israel wonít grant these journalists a pass to let them in
and film or describe the immense unnatural catastrophe -
89:41 - 89:43She said:
-
89:43 - 89:47"The day before yesterday
I went to have a look at Gaza from the outside. -
89:47 - 89:53The worldís journalists
are all huddled on a small sandy hill... -
89:53 - 89:57...a few kilometres from the border.
-
89:57 - 90:01Innumerable cameras are pointed towards us.
-
90:01 - 90:05Planes circle overhead,
you can hear them but you canít see them. -
90:05 - 90:09Theyíre like hallucinations,
-
90:09 - 90:14like something in your head until you see the black smoke
rising from the horizon, in Gaza. -
90:14 - 90:21The hill has also become
a tourist site for Israelis in the area. -
90:21 - 90:27With their large binoculars and cameras,
-
90:27 - 90:32they come and watch the bombings live."
-
90:32 - 90:39While I write this piece of correspondence in a mad rush,
-
90:39 - 90:44a bomb has been dropped on to the building
next to the one Iím in right now. -
90:44 - 90:47The windowpanes shake,
my ears ache -
90:47 - 90:56I look out the window and see that the building holding
the major Arabic media agencies has been struck. -
90:56 - 91:00Itís one of Gaza Cityís tallest buildings,
-
91:00 - 91:03the Al-Jawhara building.
-
91:03 - 91:07A camera crew is permanently stationed on the roof,
-
91:07 - 91:09and I can now see them all waving their arms...
-
91:09 - 91:15...and asking for help
as theyíre covered by a black cloud of smoke. -
91:15 - 91:22Paramedics and journalists,
the most heroic occupations in this corner of the world. -
91:22 - 91:26Yesterday
I paid Tamim a visit at the Al-Shifa Hospital, -
91:26 - 91:31heís a journalist whoís survived an air raid.
-
91:31 - 91:36He explained how
he thinks that Israel is adopting the same, -
91:36 - 91:39identical terrorist techniques as Al-Qaeda:
-
91:39 - 91:42bombing a building,
-
91:42 - 91:45waiting for the journalists
and ambulances to rush in, -
91:45 - 91:48then dropping another bomb...
-
91:48 - 91:51...to finish the latter off as well.
-
91:51 - 91:54In his view thatís why...
-
91:54 - 91:59...thereíve been so many casualties
among the journalists and paramedics. -
91:59 - 92:03As he said this, the nurses around his bed
all nodded in agreement. -
92:03 - 92:09Smilingly, Tamim showed me his two stubs for legs.
-
92:09 - 92:15He was happy
he was still around to tell the story, -
92:15 - 92:18while his colleague, Mohammed,
-
92:18 - 92:24had died with a camera
in his hand when the second explosion had proved fatal. -
92:24 - 92:30In the meantime I asked about the bomb
that had just been dropped on the building next door, -
92:30 - 92:35where two journalists, both Palestinian,
-
92:35 - 92:41one from Libyan TV and the other from Dubai Television,
have been injured. -
92:41 - 92:52This is a harsh new reminder that
this massacre must in no way be described or recorded. -
92:52 - 92:55All thatís left for me to hope...
-
92:55 - 93:00...is that among the Israel's military leaders,
-
93:00 - 93:03no one reads Il Manifesto,
-
93:03 - 93:09or habitually visits my blog.
-
93:09 - 93:30Stay human.
-
93:30 - 93:3610th January 2009
-
93:36 - 93:40Total Destruction: Work in Progress
-
93:40 - 93:49Some Palestinian families have handed us some leaflets
that had fallen from the sky in the last few days, -
93:49 - 93:56courtesy of the Israeli Air Force,
in lieu of the customary bombs. -
93:56 - 94:01The first leaflet,
translated from the Arabic, reads: -
94:01 - 94:05To all the people living in this area.
-
94:05 - 94:14Due to the terrorist acts
with which the terrorists from your area are attacking Israel, -
94:14 - 94:22the Israeli Army Forces
were forced to take immediate action in your area. -
94:22 - 94:29We thus urge you, for your own safety,
to immediately evacuate the area. -
94:29 - 94:32The Israeli Army.
-
94:32 - 94:41In short, the Israelis
are sticking a "work in progress" at every door, -
94:41 - 94:46before razing whole neighbourhoods to their foundations,
-
94:46 - 94:52and forever dashing hopes of a life
in the present or in the future. -
94:52 - 95:01Apparently, those who havenít got anywhere
to flee to are consigned to be buried under tonnes of rubble. -
95:01 - 95:08A little while ago they had warned us
they intended to throw more leaflets, -
95:08 - 95:13threatening us
with a "third phase of war of terror [that] is about to start". -
95:13 - 95:18Israeli military commanders are indeed polite,
-
95:18 - 95:24they ask the population of Gaza to cooperate
before crushing them like insects. -
95:24 - 95:27If the leaflets arenít persuasive enough,
-
95:27 - 95:34itís up to the Air Force
to knock gently on the roofs of Gazaís houses. -
95:34 - 95:43Itís a brand new tactic,
slightly less powerful bombs are dropped, -
95:43 - 95:54though powerful enough to tear the roofs clear off the houses,
"gently" persuading their occupiers to evacuate them. -
95:54 - 96:05After two or three minutes the planes drift past again,
and nothing remains of the buildings. -
96:05 - 96:09Where should the evacuees go?
-
96:09 - 96:13There are no safe shelters in the whole of the Strip,
-
96:13 - 96:20and personally I fear for my own life more
when walking past a mosque or a school, -
96:20 - 96:29than when standing in front of any of the government buildings,
which are still standing intact. -
96:29 - 96:32Last night, 20 metres from my home,
-
96:32 - 96:36Israeli jet fighters tore down the fire station.
-
96:36 - 96:45This morning, on the street running parallel to the port,
I discovered some craters several metres deep, -
96:45 - 96:56as if meteors had rained down from the sky,
as are often featured in sci-fi movies. -
96:56 - 97:03The difference here
is that the special effects are pretty damn painful. -
97:03 - 97:08Visiting the wards of Al-Shifa Hospital,
crowded with injured patients awaiting treatment, -
97:08 - 97:12you can bump into a doctor who doesnít look very Arab.
-
97:12 - 97:18Mads Gilbert is a Norwegian doctor
from the NGO Norwac. -
97:18 - 97:27Gilbert, an anaesthetist, confirms our suspicion regarding
the use of forbidden weapons by Israel on Gazaís civilians: -
97:27 - 97:35"Many injured arrive with extreme amputations,
with both their legs reduced to a pulp, -
97:35 - 97:40which I suspect is an effect of Dime weapons."
-
97:40 - 97:44(The Dime bomb
is an innovative explosive... -
97:44 - 97:57...made to strike specific targets
and cause as much damage as possible.) -
97:57 - 98:05This is happening while Navi Pillay,
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, -
98:05 - 98:14reports that "extremely serious violations
possibly constituting war crimes" are taking place. -
98:14 - 98:21The last instance of one such crime happened
a few hours ago, east of Jabalia, -
98:21 - 98:27where a family,
at the point of evacuating their house, -
98:27 - 98:30was stocking up
on some food supplies at a small shop. -
98:30 - 98:36When it was promptly bombed, eight were killed,
and all members of the Abed Rabbu family, -
98:36 - 98:39in addition to two others, were left severely injured.
-
98:39 - 98:46People I speak to in the street
are under the impression that Israel is biding its time, -
98:46 - 98:52even while the bombs are being dropped non-stop
and the land artillery is slowly advancing. -
98:52 - 99:01The soldiers have no problems in stocking up with "K-rations",
the individual military food rations, -
99:01 - 99:07unlike many people in Gaza
who can no longer get any bread. -
99:07 - 99:20The bakers, having run out of flour, have resorted to mixing it
with animal flour with which to make buns. -
99:20 - 99:26Itís week-old bread, green with mould.
-
99:26 - 99:30You cook it over a small fire lit
with a couple of pieces of wood... -
99:30 - 99:38...and I can assure you that,
even then, itís not exactly a delicacy. -
99:38 - 99:50All over the net, Israel is uploading
dozens of films featuring birdís eye-view images, -
99:50 - 99:55allegedly showing how precise its bombings...
-
99:55 - 100:02...against the "terrorists" are, or against hypothetical enemy
warehouses stocking weapons and explosives. -
100:02 - 100:07The dizzying count of civilian casualties
is enough to discredit these videos. -
100:07 - 100:17I wonder how Israel
can call itself civilized and democratic, -
100:17 - 100:20when its army, in trying to drive out and kill an enemy,
-
100:20 - 100:30wonít hesitate to knock down an entire, crowded building,
burying dozens of innocent victims alive in the process. -
100:30 - 100:37Itís as if the Italian army
hunting down a dangerous mafia criminal... -
100:37 - 100:43...started heavily bombing the centre of Palermo.
-
100:43 - 100:54As sit here I writing this, there are 821 Palestinians dead,
-
100:54 - 101:0393 being women,
and 235 children. -
101:03 - 101:16Twelve paramedics were killed while fulfilling their duty
and three journalists died with cameras hanging round their necks. -
101:16 - 101:22A good 3,350 are among the injured,
-
101:22 - 101:25with more than half being under 18 years of age.
-
101:25 - 101:32According to the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights
based in Jabalia, renowned for its reliability, -
101:32 - 101:41they make up 85% of the Palestinian civilian casualties
massacred in the last two weeks. -
101:41 - 101:48The death toll on the Israeli side
has thankfully remained at four. -
101:48 - 101:53If the United Nations
cannot protect the Palestinian civilian population... -
101:53 - 101:58...from the massive Israeli violations
of their own international humanitarian obligations, -
101:58 - 102:10my friends from the Free Gaza Movement will give it a shot,
ready as they are to sail to Gaza in a few days. -
102:10 - 102:15Among them are doctors,
nurses and human rights activists, -
102:15 - 102:25who consider it their personal moral duty to do whatever
is humanly possible to provide some measure of protection. -
102:25 - 102:33They had already tried to get here
on the 31st December, on board the Dignity. -
102:33 - 102:38But the Israeli Navy had rammed our boat
in international waters, -
102:38 - 102:47trying to sink it,
and had subsequently spoken of "an accident". -
102:47 - 102:54I will wait for my friends with their load of humanitarian aid
among the ruins of whatís left of the port. -
102:54 - 103:02Hereís to hoping that no more "accidents"
will occur off the coast this time. -
103:02 - 103:12The second leaflet dropped from planes
that weíve translated is a scream: -
103:12 - 103:18Citizens of Gaza,
take responsibility for your destiny! -
103:18 - 103:24In Gaza the terrorists and those who launch rockets against Israel
represent a threat to your lives... -
103:24 - 103:27...and to those of your families.
-
103:27 - 103:32If you wish to help your families
and brothers in Gaza, -
103:32 - 103:39all youíll have to do is call the number below
and give us information... -
103:39 - 103:43...on the whereabouts
of those responsible for launching rockets. -
103:43 - 103:48The terrorist militia has turned you
into the first victims of their actions. -
103:48 - 103:55Avoiding more atrocities being committed
is now your responsibility! -
103:55 - 104:00Donít hesitate! Complete discretion is guaranteed.
-
104:00 - 104:03You can contact us at the following number...
-
104:03 - 104:07Otherwise write to us at the following email,
-
104:07 - 104:15giving us any information
you may have on terrorist activities. -
104:15 - 104:27Many write to me from Italy, filled with frustration at not being
able to do anything against the genocide currently taking place. -
104:27 - 104:34I would urge you to continue showing your indignation
and supporting human rights. -
104:34 - 104:39If you then have five minutes to spare
and a phone card, -
104:39 - 104:48the details contained in the last leaflet
could come in useful in communicating your disdain... -
104:48 - 104:59...to those who cynically gamble
with the lives of a million-and-a-half people via air, sea and land. -
104:59 - 105:05Never would a phone card have been better spent.
-
105:05 - 105:15Those 235 massacred children are asking for it.
-
105:15 - 105:47Stay human.
-
105:47 - 105:5113th January 2009
-
105:51 - 105:54Vultures and Bounty Hunters
-
105:54 - 105:59We still try to create routes of salvation via the sea,
-
105:59 - 106:06to make a breakthrough into this tormented land,
now confiscated and imprisoned, -
106:06 - 106:14every inch of it raped and reduced to a cemetery
for corpses that are being denied a peaceful repose. -
106:14 - 106:16For a few days now,
-
106:16 - 106:20even funerals have become the targets
of the Israeli Air Force, -
106:20 - 106:27as if murdered Palestinians
deserve additional punishment in death as well. -
106:27 - 106:32If a humanitarian passage
is struggling to make its way... -
106:32 - 106:36...and come in aid of a people at the end of their tether,
-
106:36 - 106:38the Spirit of Humanity,
-
106:38 - 106:44one of our Free Gaza Movement boats,
will try to be there for them. -
106:44 - 106:47It sailed from Larnaca, Cyprus, today
-
106:47 - 106:51and will bring tonnes of medicine to Gazaís port,
-
106:51 - 106:57in addition to about 40 doctors, nurses, journalists,
-
106:57 - 107:05European parliamentarians, and human rights activists
representing 17 different nations in all. -
107:05 - 107:08Human beings, like myself,
-
107:08 - 107:10like many who vent their indignation,
-
107:10 - 107:13are ready to risk their lives...
-
107:13 - 107:16...rather than lounge passively in their living rooms,
-
107:16 - 107:18watching news bulletins...
-
107:18 - 107:27...that reveal only a tiny fraction
of what the massacre being inflicted upon us is doing here. -
107:27 - 107:30On the 29th December,
-
107:30 - 107:35my friends gave it a shot with Dignity:
-
107:35 - 107:39but they were attacked by the Israeli Navy.
It tried to sink them. -
107:39 - 107:44They had to send out an SOS and fled to Lebanon...
-
107:44 - 107:48...with engine failure and a leak in their hull.
-
107:48 - 107:53On that occasion it was only by pure chance
that no one was badly hurt, -
107:53 - 107:54so we hope...
-
107:54 - 108:01...human rights as well as the lives of the activists
will be spared tomorrow. -
108:01 - 108:06There are terrifying catastrophes in this world,
such as earthquakes and hurricanes, -
108:06 - 108:09inevitable natural phenomena.
-
108:09 - 108:15But Gaza endures
an unnatural humanitarian catastrophe... -
108:15 - 108:18...being perpetuated by Israel,
-
108:18 - 108:23damaging a people long reduced
to abject poverty and submission. -
108:23 - 108:29Gazans are a desperate people
without bread or milk to feed their children. -
108:29 - 108:33They no longer shed any tears when mourning,
-
108:33 - 108:37as their eyes are also on a strictly imposed diet.
-
108:37 - 108:40The entire world cannot ignore this tragedy and,
-
108:40 - 108:45if they continue to do so,
we donít want any part of it. -
108:45 - 108:50Every day we invoke someone above us
to stop the genocide, -
108:50 - 108:52but for tomorrow...
-
108:52 - 108:56...all we ask is for our small boat to land in Gaza...
-
108:56 - 109:00...with its cargo of compassion and empathy.
-
109:00 - 109:05May the Palestinians also
receive the same rights that Israelis, -
109:05 - 109:10or any other people on earth enjoy.
-
109:10 - 109:13The sea can be an anchor of hope,
-
109:13 - 109:16or a scenario of destruction.
-
109:16 - 109:22According to the Maían Press Agency, with Reuters
echoing their statement, -
109:22 - 109:28the United States are about to ship
300 tonnes of weapons to Israel... -
109:28 - 109:31...via cargo ships sailing from Greece.
-
109:31 - 109:36Weapons and enormous amounts
of explosives and fuses, -
109:36 - 109:38and all thatís needed...
-
109:38 - 109:43...to raze thousands of houses to their foundations.
-
109:43 - 109:50There are 120,000 homeless displaced
from Gaza to Jabalia already. -
109:50 - 109:53But most, including many of my friends,
-
109:53 - 109:56havenít budged and have nowhere to flee.
-
109:56 - 110:00Journalists, doctors and gravediggers:
-
110:00 - 110:08for 16 days non-stop now
these have been the busiest professionals in Gaza. -
110:08 - 110:17The circling vultures in follow in the wake
of the bomber planes stir up more hatred among the Palestinians, -
110:17 - 110:24especially towards those
seated where the late lamented Yasser Arafat... -
110:24 - 110:33...(1929-2004), the former Chairman
of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, used to sit. -
110:33 - 110:41They now itch to come
and take over the throne towering over Gazaís ashes. -
110:41 - 110:45The death toll is now at 923,
-
110:45 - 110:48with 4,150 wounded,
-
110:48 - 110:55including 255 horrendously butchered
Palestinian children. -
110:55 - 111:01The number of dead on the Israeli side
has thankfully stayed at four. -
111:01 - 111:10Rumour has it that Ehud Olmert,
the Israeli Prime Minister, had told his side... -
111:10 - 111:21...that hitting a death toll of 1,000 civilians marked the limit
after which this brutal attack and infanticide would be halted. -
111:21 - 111:27Itís a bit like what happens
at the Vucciria markets in Palermo, -
111:27 - 111:32where quarters of beef
are hung up to drip blood out in the open, -
111:32 - 111:37and you haggle for the meat,
so much per kilo. -
111:37 - 111:49Few Palestinians now miss tuning in for Ismail Haniyehís
appearances on the small screen here in the Gaza Strip. -
111:49 - 111:56You canít speak of a ceasefire
without simultaneously establishing an end to the siege. -
111:56 - 112:03Continuing to keep Gaza under siege
now that itís been reduced to a heap of rubble, -
112:03 - 112:06not allowing provisions and medicine to come through,
-
112:06 - 112:09preventing the sick and injured from getting out,
-
112:09 - 112:14is equivalent to condemning them
to more prolonged agony. -
112:14 - 112:20These in brief were the words spoken by Hamasís leader,
-
112:20 - 112:30spoken from an underground bunker from God knows where.
These words find an echo in Gazan public opinion. -
112:30 - 112:36This was the speech of a leader
who could have fled and taken refuge elsewhere. -
112:36 - 112:44To the contrary, he decided to risk a bomb
being dropped on his head like everyone else. -
112:44 - 112:48I was just interrupted, while typing this piece,
-
112:48 - 112:52by the usual intimidating phone call...
-
112:52 - 112:56...ordering us to evacuate the building
before a bombing. -
112:56 - 113:03Iím currently in the building
where the main international media agencies operate, -
113:03 - 113:10these being, among others,
Al-Jazeera, Ramattan and Reuters. -
113:10 - 113:17We were forced to unplug our PCs,
rush downstairs and crowd the street, -
113:17 - 113:21where we kept our eyes glued to the sky,
trying to pick out... -
113:21 - 113:26...where the destructive thunder
would strike from this time. -
113:26 - 113:33There wonít be any cameras or reporters
around to document the civilian massacre tonight, -
113:33 - 113:40as we suspect that Gazaís innocent casualties
will be more numerous than usual. -
113:40 - 113:46Still standing in the street,
I stared at Alberto, winking at him. -
113:46 - 113:50He came up closer and, whispering,
-
113:50 - 113:58I asked him whether he thought it plausible that the threatening
phone call had been made especially for the two of us, -
113:58 - 114:01after the discovery of the American website...
-
114:01 - 114:05...singling us out as targets:
-
114:05 - 114:10ALERT THE IDF MILITARY TO TARGET ISM
-
114:10 - 114:17Number to call if you can pinpoint the locations of Hamas
with their ISM members. -
114:17 - 114:20From the US call,
-
114:20 - 114:28...011-972-2-5839749.
-
114:28 - 114:31From other countries drop the 011.
-
114:31 - 114:35Help us neutralize the ISM,
-
114:35 - 114:40now definitely a part of Hamas
since the war has begun. -
114:40 - 114:46#1 ISM TARGET FOR THE ISRAELI AIR FORCE
AND IDF GROUND TROOPS: -
114:46 - 114:54VITTORIO ARRIGONI (PICTURED BELOW)
IS CURRENTLY IN GAZA ASSISTING HAMAS -
114:54 - 114:59This is copied from "stoptheism.com".
-
114:59 - 115:02Don't bother to visit this website...
-
115:02 - 115:06...or provide a link to it from your own websites.
-
115:06 - 115:13Itís a sociological case
to be passed on to future generations for study. -
115:13 - 115:16On closer analysis of the present,
-
115:16 - 115:21the future will pronounce its sentence without appeal:
-
115:21 - 115:26of how hatred was the purest of all feelings.
-
115:26 - 115:32Spite against anything
thatís different could fuel whole armies, -
115:32 - 115:37becoming the feeling
that brings masses of people together. -
115:37 - 115:41Thereís no need for my enemies...
-
115:41 - 115:46...and those who wish for my martyrdom
to dial that number. -
115:46 - 115:50The Israeli Army
knows exactly where to find me tonight, -
115:50 - 115:55on the Al-Quds Hospital ambulances in Gaza City.
-
115:55 - 115:57Stay human.
-
115:57 - 116:39Stay human.
-
116:39 - 116:4214th January 2009
-
116:42 - 116:48The children of a lesser God.They continue to atone
for the spite passed on from one generation to the next, -
116:48 - 116:51through no fault of their own.
-
116:51 - 116:57The soldiers bearing the Star of David are perfectly at ease
in their roles as so many contemporary Herods, -
116:57 - 117:02with 253 massacred Palestinian children so far.
-
117:02 - 117:04An endless horror,
-
117:04 - 117:07for which no soldier, no Israeli army officer,
-
117:07 - 117:15nor the Israeli government
will ever be put in front of its responsabilities of war criminal. -
117:15 - 117:18If these innocent victims are spared for a few hours,
-
117:18 - 117:21it might not necessarily be so for the buildings
and courtyards providing a backdrop for their games, -
117:21 - 117:24dreams and ambitions, their fantasies of growing up.
-
117:24 - 117:29The places filling the void left by
their deceased fathers and mothers, -
117:29 - 117:33that is, orphanages, have become a favourite nesting place
for a species of Israeli mechanical bird. -
117:33 - 117:37Itís there that the fighter
planes go and lay their bombs. -
117:37 - 117:41My fellow ISM volunteers in Rafah
have written to me, saying: -
117:41 - 117:45On Sunday, 11th January, at about 3.00am,
-
117:45 - 117:51the F16s bombed the orphanage
of the Dar al-Fadila Association, -
117:51 - 117:55which included a school, a college,
a computer centre... -
117:55 - 118:02...a mosque in Taha Hussein Street,
in the Kherbat al-Adas neighbourhood, north-east of Rafah. -
118:02 - 118:08Parts of the buildings were severely damaged.
-
118:08 - 118:13The school assisted 500 orphaned children.
-
118:13 - 118:19This very personal Israeli jihad
against Islamís sacred places along the Strip... -
118:19 - 118:23...is still under way as well, with blessings from the international
communityís lack of anything resembling a protest. -
118:23 - 118:25Including the Kherbat al-Adas Mosque,
-
118:25 - 118:2920 Muslim places of worship
have been razed to the ground up till now. -
118:29 - 118:34Thankfully, no Qassam "rocket"
has as yet even brushed the walls of a synagogue. -
118:34 - 118:41Otherwise, weíre certain that weíd have heard rightful
cries of disdain from every corner of the world. -
118:41 - 118:46God must be paying a tax
for receiving prayers from the Palestinians. -
118:46 - 118:51Out of almost 950 victims, 85% are civilians.
-
118:51 - 118:58The infernal Israeli death machine is slowly advancing,
taking over the whole of Gaza, -
118:58 - 119:02knocking down houses, schools, universities, hospitals,
-
119:02 - 119:08without any tangible sign from the international community
of a will to boycott these actions. -
119:08 - 119:11Itís now our turn,
-
119:11 - 119:13as ordinary citizens without citizenship,
-
119:13 - 119:18if not without the feeling of belonging
to the one and only community of people, -
119:18 - 119:19the Human family.
-
119:19 - 119:25it's time we put a spoke in this this hellish contraption.
-
119:25 - 119:30I recently met Doctor Haidar Eid,
a Professor at Al-Quds University in Gaza City. -
119:30 - 119:36A leftist intellectual type, tough as nails
and simultaneously good-humoured, passionate and generous, -
119:36 - 119:38the likes of which is completely extinct in Italy today.
-
119:38 - 119:41And if they're still to be found their type is likely to be
imprisoned in some basement, removed from the collective memory. -
119:41 - 119:44Itís impossible to adapt their type to the bipartisan...
-
119:44 - 119:48...trend whereby post-fascists and post-socialists
walk arm in arm, -
119:48 - 119:54reciting in unison their refrain
to defend every single massacre Israel carries out. -
119:54 - 119:57Haidar also happens to be a spokesman for PACBI
-
119:57 - 120:01(The Palestinian Campaign
for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel), -
120:01 - 120:06and BNC (The Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions
Campaign National Committee), -
120:06 - 120:10and with him
i discussed about the boycott. -
120:10 - 120:13History is a teacher, but it has no students.
-
120:13 - 120:17Nelson Mandela or Mahatma Gandhi
are at the moment unable to hold remedial lessons. -
120:17 - 120:24Thankfully, the history lesson offered by South Africaís example
can show us the way towards forcing a racist and colonialist Israel... -
120:24 - 120:26...towards compromise.
-
120:26 - 120:31Refraining from boycotting the regime of apartheid back
then was a little like being an accomplice to it. -
120:31 - 120:33What has possibly changed today?
-
120:33 - 120:40Like myself, the vast majority of Palestinians donít think
the answer to the Israeli occupation and the ongoing massacre... -
120:40 - 120:44...is suicide bombings,
ëkamikazesí and ërocketsí against Sderot. -
120:44 - 120:47Boycotting is peaceful and non-violent,
-
120:47 - 120:54the most humanly acceptable answer to a conflict so depraved
it has turned every gesture into something inhuman. -
120:54 - 120:57Itís the best weapon in our arsenal of non-violence,
-
120:57 - 121:01as Naomi Klein reminds us in the London Guardian.
-
121:01 - 121:06Haidar even manages to look on the bright side
despite the bloody pit weíre sinking into. -
121:06 - 121:12Just as the world felt the time had come to say "Enough!"
after the Sharpeville massacre of 21st March 1960... -
121:12 - 121:21...when 78 black citizens were torn to pieces
by the will of a barbaric regime in South Africa, -
121:21 - 121:28the incomparable massacre of 1,000 Palestinian civilians
could breathe life into an equally strong activist campaign... -
121:28 - 121:30...to punish Israeli crimes.
-
121:30 - 121:35Haidar also supports the idea of Israel and Palestine as a sole,
-
121:35 - 121:38secular, democratic, and inter-religious state:
-
121:38 - 121:44he sees no other pragmatic way out of the conflict.
-
121:44 - 121:48More intimately, he speaks to me of al-Nakba,
which he was spared from by a few years, -
121:48 - 121:52as if it had been very much brought to life by the stories
he had inherited from his family. -
121:52 - 121:56As the child of a post-catastrophe,
he speaks without mincing his words. -
121:56 - 121:59The Nakba has been passed down to him as a nightmare...
-
121:59 - 122:03...that has fed into the collective unconscious
of thousands of Palestinians. -
122:03 - 122:08The nightmare has come to life again,
knocking on the rooftops on the 27th December 2008. -
122:08 - 122:12It still hasnít finished inflicting sleepless nights ever since.
-
122:12 - 122:16Haidar encourages me to divulge all this,
so I jot down his appeal in my tattered notebook... -
122:16 - 122:22...to no longer buy anything "made in Israel".
-
122:22 - 122:28You can pick out Israeli products
on the shelves from their barcodes, -
122:28 - 122:32with 729 being the first three numbers.
-
122:32 - 122:38To obtain the complete list of products
you can access at www.boycottisraeligoods.org. -
122:38 - 122:46Get hold of a list and stick it on your fridge door
for safe keeping until your next shopping trip. -
122:46 - 122:50"if you buy just one glass of water
that was imported from Israel, -
122:50 - 122:57you might be funding one of the bullets that might lodge itself
into one of our childrenís bodies,í said Haidar. -
122:57 - 123:02The boycott movement
that saw the light in Palestine in 2005... -
123:02 - 123:07...is now taking gigantic steps forward and is spreading
among millions of consumers around the world. -
123:07 - 123:11Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez,
who expelled the Israeli Ambassador... -
123:11 - 123:15...and stopped all relations
with the state thatís currently strangling us, -
123:15 - 123:18is an example for all of our politicians to emulate.
-
123:18 - 123:25The South African leaders of the struggle against apartheid,
Nelson Mandela, Ronnie Kasrils and Desmond Tutu... -
123:25 - 123:31...have stated that Israelís oppression of Palestine
is far worse than South Africaís of the blacks ever was. -
123:31 - 123:35Voices certainly most authoritative
than italian politicians Frattini and Fassino. -
123:35 - 123:39Some Israeli Jews have joined the boycotting campaign,
-
123:39 - 123:43about 500 so far, among them Ilan PappÈ and Neta Golan,
-
123:43 - 123:48the descendent of Holocaust survivors,
who protests, ëNever again!í -
123:48 - 123:51The Israeli poet Aharon Shabtai also urges us to act:
-
123:51 - 123:54"My hopes rest on Europeís support,
-
123:54 - 123:57hoping that the descendents
of Voltaire and Rousseau might help Israel, -
123:57 - 124:03because Israel wonít end its occupation
until Europe says "Enough!" -
124:03 - 124:10Only pressure from civilized and democratic nations
can change the situation and bring us peace. -
124:10 - 124:14The current situation, with the army in charge,
-
124:14 - 124:17cannot be changed from the inside.
-
124:17 - 124:23For the values that it represents,
Europe must refuse to continue cooperating with Israel. -
124:23 - 124:28729 must therefore become our Shoah:
-
124:28 - 124:31never again!"
-
124:31 - 125:06Stay human.
-
125:06 - 125:0915th January 2009
-
125:09 - 125:13Jabaliaís Circles of the Inferno
-
125:13 - 125:23Dante Alighieri could never have imagined circles as hellish
as the wards of the damned in Jabaliaís hospitals. -
125:23 - 125:26The laws of divine justice
are turned on their head around here: -
125:26 - 125:33the more innocent the victim, the less likely
that theyíll be spared martyrdom through shelling. -
125:33 - 125:40At Kamal Odwan and Al-Auda Hospitals,
the ceramic tiles in the first aid units are always pristine. -
125:40 - 125:46The cleaners are kept permanently busy
wiping away the blood dripping copiously... -
125:46 - 125:52...from the stretchers constantly being
brought in carrying massacred bodies. -
125:52 - 126:01Iyad Mutawwaq was walking in the street
when a bomb tore open a building not far from him. -
126:01 - 126:05He and other passers-by rushed over to try and help...
-
126:05 - 126:09...when a second bomb
was dropped on the same building. -
126:09 - 126:13It killed a father of nine,
two brothers... -
126:13 - 126:20...and another passer-by
who had rushed over to help. -
126:20 - 126:25The same story
could be told over ten or a hundred times. -
126:25 - 126:33The perfect terrorist technique is being carried
out immaculately by the Israeli Army. -
126:33 - 126:37You drop a bomb,
wait for the first-aiders, -
126:37 - 126:40then drop another bomb on the wounded
and the people rushing in to help. -
126:40 - 126:48In Iyadís eyes, these were American bombs, but they also carry
the stamp of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian dictator -
126:48 - 126:55who rivals Ehud Olmert here in Gaza
when it comes to stirring up resentment. -
126:55 - 127:03Behind Iyadís bed, an elderly man
with both his arms in plasters is lying staring at the ceiling. -
127:03 - 127:09Iím told heís lost everything,
his family and his home. -
127:09 - 127:11Khaled stares at the cracks in the falling plaster,
-
127:11 - 127:18as if seeking an answer
for the sheer destruction of his existence. -
127:18 - 127:24He worked in Israel for 25 years,
prior to the first Intifada. -
127:24 - 127:28In recognition,
Tel Aviv hasnít even granted him a pension, -
127:28 - 127:32only a series of missiles
from land and air onto his house. -
127:32 - 127:36He suffers from shrapnel wounds all over his body.
-
127:36 - 127:41I ask him where he plans to go after
heís been discharged from hospital. -
127:41 - 127:46He says heíll join his family,
out on the streets. -
127:46 - 127:50Not unlike Khaledís,
many families donít know where to find shelter. -
127:50 - 127:56The most fortunate were offered hospitality
by relatives and acquaintances, -
127:56 - 128:04but can you really say that 100 people crammed
into two apartments having three rooms each is really a life? -
128:04 - 128:08Two bombs were dropped onto Ahmed Jaberís home
and though his family initially fled, -
128:08 - 128:12it wasnít third time lucky for some of them.
The third explosion... -
128:12 - 128:16...buried seven of his relatives under the rubble,
-
128:16 - 128:21including two children aged eight and nine,
plus his neighbourís children. -
128:21 - 128:28He says: "They made us leap back in time,
back to 1948. -
128:28 - 128:32This is their punishment
for our attachment to our country. -
128:32 - 128:40They can tear my arms and legs off from my body,
but they wonít make me leave my land". -
128:40 - 128:47A doctor takes me aside and tells me that Ahmedís seven-year-old
daughter was just brought in, or what was left of her, -
128:47 - 128:52inside a tiny cardboard box.
-
128:52 - 128:59They donít have the heart to tell him
and make his already precarious health condition any worse. -
128:59 - 129:06In the evening they took the phone away from Iyad as well,
to prevent him from receiving any more bad news. -
129:06 - 129:12A tank had hit his sisterís house,
beheading her in the process. -
129:12 - 129:17In the end, our Free Gaza Movement boat
never got to the port in Gaza. -
129:17 - 129:21About 100 miles from their designated destination,
they were intercepted in international waters... -
129:21 - 129:25...by four Israeli war ships,
-
129:25 - 129:33poised to open fire and kill its cargo of doctors,
nurses and human rights activists. -
129:33 - 129:40No one must dare to obstruct the massacre of civilians,
now in full swing for the last three weeks. -
129:40 - 129:44East of Jabalia, in front of the border,
-
129:44 - 129:50eyewitnesses speak
of numerous decaying bodies in the streets. -
129:50 - 129:53Their rotting flesh is being devoured by dogs.
-
129:53 - 129:59There are also hundreds of people
unable to get anywhere, many of whom are injured. -
129:59 - 130:06The ambulances simply cannot get anywhere near,
with trigger-happy snipers all over the place. -
130:06 - 130:13Palestinians are sick of languishing
in the midst of this general indifference, -
130:13 - 130:17and many even accuse the International Red Cross
and the UN of not doing enough, -
130:17 - 130:25including not fulfilling their duties,
nor risking their lives to save hundreds. -
130:25 - 130:32We of the ISM will thus equip ourselves
with some stretchers and proceed on foot to the areas -
130:32 - 130:40where humanity has surpassed all boundaries,
eclipsing itself in the process. -
130:40 - 130:43The heavy-bottomed settlers
sitting in the pristine lounges of armchair politics... -
130:43 - 130:46...harp on about military strategies
against Hamas. -
130:46 - 130:51Meanwhile,
weíre being literally massacred out here. -
130:51 - 130:53They bomb hospitals,
and yet there are some... -
130:53 - 130:57...who still champion Israelís right to self-defence.
-
130:57 - 131:02In any self-styled civilized country,
-
131:02 - 131:06self-defence is proportionate to the attack.
-
131:06 - 131:13In these 20 days weíve counted 1,075 dead Palestinians,
85% of whom were civilians, -
131:13 - 131:19and over 5,000 injured,
of whom half were under 18 years of age. -
131:19 - 131:24303 children were atrociously massacred.
-
131:24 - 131:31Thankfully, there were still only four victims
on the Israeli side. -
131:31 - 131:34Itís equivalent to saying that for Israel,
-
131:34 - 131:43butchering at least 250 Palestinians is a justified blood-bath
in avenging each civilian victim on its own side. -
131:43 - 131:49How can this lop-sided reaction not take one back...
-
131:49 - 131:55...to some of modern European historyís bleakest periods?
-
131:55 - 132:00Letís get straight to the point:
are we seriously talking about self-defence? -
132:00 - 132:05For journalists who support the refrain
that Hamas bears full responsibility for this genocide, -
132:05 - 132:14as well as for breaking
the truce between Israel and Palestine, -
132:14 - 132:19I would like to remind them
of the UN's position on the matter. -
132:19 - 132:25Professor Richard Falk,
a special rapporteur for human rights at the UN, -
132:25 - 132:28has clearly expressed his views:
-
132:28 - 132:32it was in fact Israel
that broke the ceasefire in November, -
132:32 - 132:36by literally exterminating 17 Palestinians.
-
132:36 - 132:41In the same month,
no Israeli victims had been recorded, -
132:41 - 132:46none in October
and none in the previous two months. -
132:46 - 132:53We were also recently reminded of this
by Nobel Peace Prize winner and ex-US President Jimmy Carter. -
132:53 - 132:56It really is a crying shame
that a journalist like Marco Travaglio, -
132:56 - 133:03whoís earned our admiration
as a proud upholder of freedom of the press, -
133:03 - 133:06is now sporting an IDF helmet...
-
133:06 - 133:11...and entertaining the masses on TV
-
133:11 - 133:15while amusing himself
with the pastime most in vogue at the moment: -
133:15 - 133:18infant-shooting in Gaza.
-
133:18 - 133:22As I franticly tap at my keyboard
in the Ramattan Press Agency office, -
133:22 - 133:28all the Palestinian reporters around me
are wearing bullet-proof vests and helmets. -
133:28 - 133:32They havenít come in straight
from driving a tank, -
133:32 - 133:36theyíve simply been sitting in front of
their computers the whole time. -
133:36 - 133:41Two floors above,
the Reuters offices were recently struck by a rocket, -
133:41 - 133:44which seriously injured two.
-
133:44 - 133:49Almost all the floors in the building are empty at the moment,
and only the most heroic of journalists are still around. -
133:49 - 133:54The story of this hell
must somehow continue to be told. -
133:54 - 134:00And yet earlier this week, the Israeli Army
had assured Reuters it wouldnít need to evacuate, -
134:00 - 134:03as they would be safe staying in their offices.
-
134:03 - 134:08This morning the bombing of the United Nations building
also caused many casualties, -
134:08 - 134:12built, among others,
with money from the Italian government. -
134:12 - 134:15Silvio Berlusconi, where are you?
-
134:15 - 134:18There were many dead and wounded.
-
134:18 - 134:21John Ging,
Director of UNRWAís Field Operations in Gaza, -
134:21 - 134:26spoke frankly
about white phosphorous bombs. -
134:26 - 134:33In the Tal El-Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza City,
a whole wing of Al-Quds Hospital is presently in flames. -
134:33 - 134:41Leila, an ISM colleague is trapped inside,
alongside 40 doctors and nurses and about 100 patients. -
134:41 - 134:46She described
these last dramatic hours to us by phone. -
134:46 - 134:51She described
these last dramatic hours to us by phone. -
134:51 - 134:57A tank is stationed in front of the hospital.
There are snipers everywhere, ready to shoot at anything. -
134:57 - 135:00Destruction is all around.
-
135:00 - 135:06At night, from their windows, they could observe
a building going up in flames after having been shelled. -
135:06 - 135:10They heard the cries of whole families with children,
-
135:10 - 135:12pleading for help.
-
135:12 - 135:15hey were impotent to help,
-
135:15 - 135:20watching people being devoured by flames,
running out on to the street... -
135:20 - 135:23...and then being reduced to ashes.
-
135:23 - 135:30Hell has switched places
and come to the centre of Gaza, -
135:30 - 135:33and we are the damned,
-
135:33 - 135:36designated as such by an inhuman hatred.
-
135:36 - 136:22Stay human.
-
136:22 - 136:2416th January 2009
-
136:24 - 136:27Turning Geography on its Head
-
136:27 - 136:33Thereís a story of an elderly Palestinian
who leaves his house in search of his next meal... -
136:33 - 136:36...during one of our rare morning ceasefires.
-
136:36 - 136:39But he is then unable to find his way back home.
-
136:39 - 136:44Shelling and bombing has radically changed Gazaís cityscape,
-
136:44 - 136:47warping its social structure with it as well.
-
136:47 - 136:53Hundreds of families are forced to flee
to different destinations all over the whole of the Strip, -
136:53 - 136:58and hundreds who used to live alongside one another before...
-
136:58 - 137:01...are now no longer even in touch.
-
137:01 - 137:06In order to reach the Tal El-Hawa neighbourhood
in south-eastern Gaza City, -
137:06 - 137:09you have to walk across a lunar landscape.
-
137:09 - 137:12Leaving behind a trail of craters and mounds of rubble,
-
137:12 - 137:18the Israeli tanks yesterday have pulled away after a 48-hour siege.
-
137:18 - 137:26Ever-present in this desolate scenario
is the lingering, pestilent and unmistakable stench of death. -
137:26 - 137:34Struggling past what remains of entire buildings and houses,
carcasses of burnt-out cars and ambulances, -
137:34 - 137:37I started searching for Ahmedís house.
-
137:37 - 137:43It wasnít an easy task
because of the radical transformation that whole neighbourhoods... -
137:43 - 137:49...razed to the ground and burnt to cinders
had endured at the hands of the Israeli military. -
137:49 - 137:54I remembered that Ahmed lived
at the end of a dirt road, impossible to recognize... -
137:54 - 138:01...now that I was struggling to tread
over one whole vast surface of debris... -
138:01 - 138:03that had been chewed and spat out by the tanks.
-
138:03 - 138:09If a satellite photo of Gaza
were taken at the end of this massive genocidal attack, -
138:09 - 138:18it would be difficult to convince anyone
that the city in the photo was the same one pictured just 20 days earlier. -
138:18 - 138:21I had a chance to put my arms around Ahmed again,
-
138:21 - 138:24it was as if we hadnít seen one another in years...
-
138:24 - 138:28...after a long journey from somewhere far off.
-
138:28 - 138:32Unfortunately,
our journey at the end of the night had no new dawn in sight, -
138:32 - 138:41except the one set alight by the hatred
of those ordering the generals and troops into action for this massacre. -
138:41 - 138:45My friend showed me
where an Israeli tank had stood for two days, -
138:45 - 138:47right in front of his garden.
-
138:47 - 138:54During all that time his entire family
had remained huddled underneath a stairwell, -
138:54 - 138:59terrified that a shell shot
by a howitzer might wipe them out at any minute. -
138:59 - 139:04Only last night,
Ahmed went against the orders of his apprehensive father... -
139:04 - 139:11...and, dragging himself across the floor,
dared to look out the window at the hellish scenario all around. -
139:11 - 139:14He saw the tank moving about 30 metres away,
-
139:14 - 139:20smashing into the shutters of a supermarket
and opening a hole in it. -
139:20 - 139:23He then watched soldiers emerge from the armoured vehicle...
-
139:23 - 139:27...who cheerfully wandered in to "do some shopping".
-
139:27 - 139:31"They filled the tank
to the point that they were struggling to get back in." -
139:31 - 139:37He then described the jubilant laughs, the mocking songs,
-
139:37 - 139:40providing a soundtrack to the explosions all night long:
-
139:40 - 139:46"Ali, Mohammed, this is a message to your Allah Akbar!"
-
139:46 - 139:52The resistance, which for some days
had stoically succeeded in limiting the advance of the Israeli tanks, -
139:52 - 139:55fizzled out within a couple of hours.
-
139:55 - 139:59Kalashnikovs can only tickle plated tank armour,
-
139:59 - 140:03while the shells of howitzers
can blow up a house from wall to wall. -
140:03 - 140:07The residential neighbourhood of Abraj Towers,
-
140:07 - 140:14mainly inhabited by the families of the teaching staff
from Al-Aqsa University and in large part sympathetic with Fatah, -
140:14 - 140:19certainly does not host any "Hamas terrorists".
-
140:19 - 140:25The same way that Iím aware of this,
Iím certain that itís also common knowledge in Tel Aviv. -
140:25 - 140:32It didnít seem to matter, though,
as the neighbourhood was reduced to a pile of rubble all the same. -
140:32 - 140:38Next to the crumbled buildings stands the Al-Quds Hospital,
set on fire only yesterday. -
140:38 - 140:42My ISM companions have assisted the hospital staff...
-
140:42 - 140:49in evacuating the 300 wounded there
to Gaza Cityís other hospital, Al-Shifa. -
140:49 - 140:54It took them many hours,
especially since moving seriously-injured patients... -
140:54 - 140:59...required the use of specialist ambulances
that the Palestinians donít have. -
140:59 - 141:05We waited for the last evacuees with Dr Dagfinn Bjorklind
from the Norwegian NGO Norwac... -
141:05 - 141:11and asked some questions
of the nurses whoíd survived the Al-Quds fire. -
141:11 - 141:18These were blood-curdling stories,
backed up by my companionsí own eye-witness accounts. -
141:18 - 141:24About 200 metres from the hospital lay about 30 bodies,
-
141:24 - 141:27among them many women and children,
many of whom were still alive. -
141:27 - 141:32They couldnít be rescued as the snipers
on the roofs shot at anything that moved. -
141:32 - 141:37Those bleeding bodies in the street were what was left of civilians
whoíd escaped from their own homes... -
141:37 - 141:40...when theyíd caught fire after being shelled.
-
141:40 - 141:45The Israeli snipers hadnít hesitated to shoot them, one by one,
-
141:45 - 141:51including the children,
once they were framed by the viewfinders on their guns. -
141:51 - 141:55Iíll confess that my motto "stay human"...
-
141:55 - 142:02...has been direly tested in the last few days,
but has survived intact nevertheless. -
142:02 - 142:09It pulled through,
just as the pride for and attachment to oneís native land, -
142:09 - 142:15expressed as identity and the right to self-rule,
has enabled Gazaís people to carry on. -
142:15 - 142:20From the university professors
to the people you meet in the street, doctors and nurses, -
142:20 - 142:23reporters, fishermen, farmers,
-
142:23 - 142:30men, women and teenagers,
those whoíve lost everything and those who had nothing to lose, -
142:30 - 142:34all will use their last breath to say ëinshaíAllahí, for the sake...
-
142:34 - 142:40...of the sincere conviction that their roots run so deep...
-
142:40 - 142:44...that no enemy bulldozer can tear them out.
-
142:44 - 142:52While I write, a TV screen not far off is showing images
from the inside of the Al-Shifa Hospital. -
142:52 - 142:57Men in tears cover their faces
as if to contain a flood of desperation. -
142:57 - 143:04At Shijaíiya, east of Gaza City,
a shot from a tank just killed seven and wounded 25. -
143:04 - 143:10The casualties were all at a funeral commemorating a family member
whoíd been killed the previous day. -
143:10 - 143:17Yesterday the Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak
apologized to the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, -
143:17 - 143:20for the artillery fire against the UN Agency...
-
143:20 - 143:22...for Palestinian Refugees in Gaza City,
-
143:22 - 143:28which had been built with the Italian governmentís money.
(Berlusconi, where are you?) -
143:28 - 143:31"It was a grave error", Barak said.
-
143:31 - 143:38There wasnít the trace of an apology to the families
of the 357 Palestinian children killed up till now. -
143:38 - 143:41Clearly, that was no error.
-
143:41 - 143:48I listened a Red Cross paramedic tell me
the story of their arrival on the scene of a massacre at Zeitoun. -
143:48 - 143:52A visibly malnourished child
crouched in front of his motherís corpse, -
143:52 - 143:54already in an advanced state of decay.
-
143:54 - 144:00He had taken care of that body for four days,
as if she were still alive. -
144:00 - 144:02He had dried the blood from her face...
-
144:02 - 144:05...and dragging himself through the rubble
of what had been their home, -
144:05 - 144:11bringing her water, bread and tomatoes,
which heíd carefully placed next to her head. -
144:11 - 144:14He thought she was only sleeping.
-
144:14 - 144:19The Israeli snipers had prevented the Red Cross
from rushing in to bring aid, -
144:19 - 144:25and they only managed to reach the scene of the massacre
several days later. -
144:25 - 144:58Stay human.
-
144:58 - 145:0117th January 2009
-
145:01 - 145:04Love under the Bombs
-
145:04 - 145:10Making love under the bombs.
I remember a friend from Nablous once telling me... -
145:10 - 145:16...how difficult it was during the occupation
to reserve a moment of intimacy with his wife. -
145:16 - 145:22One evening, while they lay in a tender embrace,
a bullet lodged itself into their headboard... -
145:22 - 145:25...inches away from their heads.
-
145:25 - 145:31In Gaza these days canoodling under the bombs
is out of the question, -
145:31 - 145:38and the conjugal future of young Palestinian couples
is shaping up to be quite a challenge. -
145:38 - 145:43Many have lost their homes
and are forced to live huddled together in the UNRWA schools, -
145:43 - 145:49or crammed inside a tiny apartment
with as many as 20 people. -
145:49 - 145:55"Tonight is Saturday and the young couples in Tel Aviv
go out and have fun in the clubs or on the beach. -
145:55 - 146:00Meanwhile, out here,
we canít even make love in our own beds", -
146:00 - 146:03says Wissam,
who got married in November. -
146:03 - 146:07"We do have strobe lights though",
-
146:07 - 146:14he says, pointing to a succession of flashes to the south,
the evidence of bombing in full swing. -
146:14 - 146:23Young men like Wissam, himself aged nineteen, become fathers
very early on in life and are already grandfathers by middle age, -
146:23 - 146:33being aware that ñ as they are in Palestine ñ
this is the only form of survival available to them. -
146:33 - 146:40While thereís talk on the outside of a ceasefire,
accepted by Hamas but, as usual, rejected by Israel, -
146:40 - 146:44in the last two days
thereís been an escalation of bombings... -
146:44 - 146:47...with a subsequent boost in civilian deaths
-
146:47 - 146:5060 only yesterday.
-
146:50 - 146:55About 10 were killed
outside a mosque at the time of prayer. -
146:55 - 146:59What worries Palestinians
the most is the call for a ceasefire... -
146:59 - 147:04...without reopening the border crossing points
at the same time. -
147:04 - 147:08Even before materials
for reconstruction are let in, -
147:08 - 147:10food supplies are urgently needed,
-
147:10 - 147:15and those whoíve been seriously injured
need to get out. -
147:15 - 147:18Hospitals are overwhelmed
from the overcrowding. -
147:18 - 147:24In the entire Strip,
they have a capacity of only 1,500 beds. -
147:24 - 147:30But the number of the wounded
presently hovers at around 5,320 -
147:30 - 147:38In addition, Palestinian public opinion mistrusts Egypt,
the chosen intermediary for the talks, -
147:38 - 147:43whose leadership
is notoriously obsequious to Israel. -
147:43 - 147:46"Why not have a European country mediate?
-
147:46 - 147:49The role of Germany, a truly neutral country,
-
147:49 - 147:54was decisive in the resolution of the conflict
between Israel and Hezbollah", -
147:54 - 147:59says a heavy-hearted Hamza,
a university professor. -
147:59 - 148:03This morning another UN school in Beit Lahiya,
-
148:03 - 148:08in the northern Gaza Strip,
was heavily hit by Israeli tanks. -
148:08 - 148:17There were 14 injured and two little brothers,
Bilal and Mohammed Al-Ashqar, aged five and seven, were killed. -
148:17 - 148:21Their mother survived, but lost both her legs.
-
148:21 - 148:24Along with 42,000 others,
-
148:24 - 148:31they had sought shelter in the school
after Israel had ordered them to evacuate their homes. -
148:31 - 148:35They believed theyíd be safe there,
just like the 43 refugees -
148:35 - 148:42exterminated on the 6th January
in the UNRWA school massacre in Jabilia. -
148:42 - 148:45"These two children were without a doubt innocent,
-
148:45 - 148:50just as there isnít the shadow of a doubt
that theyíre now dead", -
148:50 - 148:55said John Ging,
the Director of UNRWAís Field Operations in Gaza, -
148:55 - 149:04who tirelessly, albeit in vein,
continues to report the war crimes committed by the Israeli Army. -
149:04 - 149:13But the Israeli generals are still busy preparing the "mission
accomplished" speech they intend to deliver to the world. -
149:13 - 149:17I went back to whatís left
of Tal El-Hawa Hospital, -
149:17 - 149:23the part still standing after the building
was set on fire by the Israelis. -
149:23 - 149:30It has now started operating as a first aid unit
and logistical base for ambulances again. -
149:30 - 149:39They continue to extract casualties trapped for days
under the rubble, found around its seriously-damaged buildings. -
149:39 - 149:45Al-Shifa Hospital hosts a child called Suhaib Suliman,
-
149:45 - 149:51the only survivor in a family of 25,
all of whom are dead. -
149:51 - 149:56A young girl,
Hadil Samony, lost 11 relatives. -
149:56 - 150:02Sheíll have no one to take care of her
after being discharged from hospital. -
150:02 - 150:07Excuse me, but can someone please explain
what kind of mission this is? -
150:07 - 150:12Itís straight from collective punishment
to mass slaughter. -
150:12 - 150:20On his blog, a frustrated Arab
called Raja Chemayel sums it all up as follows: -
150:20 - 150:25"Take a strip of land
about 40 km long and only five km wide. -
150:25 - 150:27Call it Gaza.
-
150:27 - 150:31Then cram in 1.4 million inhabitants.
-
150:31 - 150:37After that surround it by the sea to the west,
Egypt with Mubarak in the south, Israel in the north, -
150:37 - 150:41and dub it "The land of terrorists".
-
150:41 - 150:48After that,
declare war against it and invade it with 232 tanks, -
150:48 - 150:51687 armoured vehicles,
-
150:51 - 150:5543 airports for fighter jets,
-
150:55 - 150:57105 war helicopters,
-
150:57 - 151:01221 units of ground artillery,
-
151:01 - 151:06349 mortars,
three spy satellites, -
151:06 - 151:1264 informers,
12 spies and 8,000 assault troops. -
151:12 - 151:16Then call all of this "Israel defending itself".
-
151:16 - 151:21After that,
stop for a minute and state that -
151:21 - 151:24you will "avoid hitting the civilian population"
-
151:24 - 151:28and call yourself
the only democracy in action. -
151:28 - 151:33Whichever way you look at it,
only a miracle could prevent you hitting those civilians, -
151:33 - 151:41or it could quite simply be a lie.
But once again, just call it "Israel defending itself". -
151:41 - 151:43Now comes the question:
-
151:43 - 151:47what would happen
if the invader turned out to be a liar? -
151:47 - 151:51What would happen to those unarmed civilians?
-
151:51 - 151:56With such firepower,
how could even Mother Theresa, or Mickey Mouse, -
151:56 - 152:02avoid hitting all those civilians,
considering the ... situation? -
152:02 - 152:04Call it whatever you like,
-
152:04 - 152:09but Israel knew damn well
those unarmed people were out there. -
152:09 - 152:12It was Israel itself that had put them there.
-
152:12 - 152:18So, go ahead and call it genocide.
Itís much more credible". -
152:18 - 152:21Aside from a couple
of brutally-assassinated leaders, -
152:21 - 152:25Hamas hasnít suffered from this attack,
-
152:25 - 152:28and certainly hasnít lost its popularity.
-
152:28 - 152:31If anything,
theyíve gained some more. -
152:31 - 152:37Once in a while it would be wise to remember
that Hamas arenít a bunch of terrorists, nor a political party, -
152:37 - 152:39but a movement,
-
152:39 - 152:45and as such theyíre impossible
to neutralize with storms of cluster bombs. -
152:45 - 152:51When I ask Palestinians for their opinions
on the real agenda behind this brutal massacre, -
152:51 - 152:56many say it has everything to do
with the Israeli elections in February. -
152:56 - 152:58"They made successful propaganda,
one vote at a time. -
152:58 - 153:04Itís always been like this
on the eve of all elections". -
153:04 - 153:09Just a month ago, Benjamin Netanyahu
was forecast to be the sure winner, -
153:09 - 153:18but heís now expected to lose in competing
against the bloodthirsty vision of Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni. -
153:18 - 153:28Avigdor Lieberman is the leader of Yisrael Beitenu, a growing
political force, that had won 11 seats after the 2006 elections, -
153:28 - 153:31but the polls show that they are gaining
in popularity even with statements like the following, -
153:31 - 153:36"Gaza ought to be erased from the map
with a nuclear bomb, -
153:36 - 153:41the way the Americans
did with Hiroshima and Nagasaki." -
153:41 - 153:46Yesterday Israeli writer Abraham Yehoshua
stated to Haaretz: -
153:46 - 153:51"We kill their children today
to save many more tomorrow." -
153:51 - 153:56Iím afraid that now,
his "Journey to the End of the Millennium" -
153:56 - 154:00has ended up on board a tank
in front of a hospital in flames. -
154:00 - 154:04Voltaire invited us to respect all opinions.
-
154:04 - 154:07I would suggest
stopping the sowing of seeds of hatred, -
154:07 - 154:13sprinkling them with blood
and feeding them with terminal resentment. -
154:13 - 154:49Stay human.
-
154:49 - 154:5319th January 2009
-
154:53 - 154:55The Living and the Dead
-
154:55 - 154:59In Gaza,
only the dead have seen the end of war. -
154:59 - 155:05For the living, no ceasefire can make up
for the daily battle of a constant quest for survival. -
155:05 - 155:08They have no running water,
gas, electricity, -
155:08 - 155:12and no bread and milk
with which to feed their children. -
155:12 - 155:15Thousands of people
have lost their homes. -
155:15 - 155:19Humanitarian aid seeps
through the passes in drips and drabs, -
155:19 - 155:21and you get the feeling that the benevolence...
-
155:21 - 155:24...of the killersí accomplices is only temporary.
-
155:24 - 155:29Tomorrow, Ban Ki-Moon,
the UNís Secretary General, will travel to Gaza, -
155:29 - 155:38and weíre pretty sure that John Ging, Director of NRWAís
Field Operations in Gaza, will have many stories to tell him... -
155:38 - 155:40...after Israel bombed two UN schools,
-
155:40 - 155:43assassinated four of their workers,
-
155:43 - 155:48and bombed and destroyed
the UNRWA Centre in Gaza City, -
155:48 - 155:53reducing tonnes of medicine
and food supplies destined for the civilian population... -
155:53 - 155:57...to ashes in the process.
-
155:57 - 156:03Gazaís mountains of rubble
continue to spit out corpses back on to the surface. -
156:03 - 156:11Yesterday in Jabalia, Tal El-Hawa in Gaza City
and Zeitoun, the Red Crescent paramedics, -
156:11 - 156:14with some help from the ISM volunteers,
-
156:14 - 156:17have pulled out
a total of 95 corpses from the ruins, -
156:17 - 156:22many of which
are in an advanced state of decay. -
156:22 - 156:24Walking through the streets of the city
-
156:24 - 156:31and no longer feeling constantly terrified by the thought
of a bomb surgically aimed to decapitate me, -
156:31 - 156:36I still tremble
at the sight of stray dogs gathering in a circle, -
156:36 - 156:39imagining what could reveal itself before my eyes...
-
156:39 - 156:42...as constituting their meal.
-
156:42 - 156:47Relieved-looking men go back to hanging out
in their mosques and cafÈs, -
156:47 - 156:52but their attitude of feigned normalcy
is easy to detect. -
156:52 - 156:55Many of them
have lost a relative or have nowhere to live. -
156:55 - 157:01They pretend to go back to their everyday routine
to boost their wives and childrenís morale, -
157:01 - 157:06somehow,
even this catastrophe must be dealt with. -
157:06 - 157:12This morning we drove in some ambulances
to the most devastated neighborhoods in the city, -
157:12 - 157:15Tal el-Hawa and Zeitoun.
-
157:15 - 157:21Questionnaire in hand, we went door-to-door compiling
a survey of the extent of the damage suffered by the buildings, -
157:21 - 157:25and wrote down
the familiesí most urgent requirements: -
157:25 - 157:29medicine for the elderly and sick,
and rice, oil and flour, -
157:29 - 157:34basically the essentials,
to feed themselves with. -
157:34 - 157:38All that weíve been able to give them
so far are meters of nylon, -
157:38 - 157:43to be used in lieu of their shattered windowpanes
to block out the cold. -
157:43 - 157:47ISM colleagues in Rafah informed me...
-
157:47 - 157:51...that the municipality
has handed out a few thousand dollars, -
157:51 - 157:56mere pennies, to the families whoíve had their houses
completely razed to the ground by the bombs, -
157:56 - 158:03the very same that according to Israel,
had been dropped only to destroy the tunnels. -
158:03 - 158:05After the end of the conflict with Lebanon,
-
158:05 - 158:11Hezbollah had donated millions of dollars in cheques
to support homeless Lebanese citizens. -
158:11 - 158:14In Gaza,
embargoed and under siege, -
158:14 - 158:18Hamas is hardly able to support its people...
-
158:18 - 158:22...with what "would barely be enough
to rebuild a barn for livestock", -
158:22 - 158:25says Khaled, a Rafah farmer.
-
158:25 - 158:32As the truce is unilateral,
Israel unilaterally decides not to respect it. -
158:32 - 158:37Khan Yunos, a Palestinian boy was killed yesterday,
and another was injured. -
158:37 - 158:40East of Gaza City,
-
158:40 - 158:45helicopters have showered a residential area
with white phosphorous. -
158:45 - 158:47The same happened in Jabalia.
-
158:47 - 158:53In Khan Younis today,
the warships shot their cannons against an open plain, -
158:53 - 158:56thankfully without harming anyone.
-
158:56 - 159:01But, as I write,
news of advancing tanks has reached me. -
159:01 - 159:06Weíre not aware of any Palestinian rockets
having been fired in the last 24 hours. -
159:06 - 159:12International journalists
are clamoring for news all along the Strip. -
159:12 - 159:18They only managed to get in today. Israel granted them
a pass only now that the massacre is winding down. -
159:18 - 159:24Standing by the blackened skeleton
of what remains of Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City, -
159:24 - 159:28an astonished BBC reporter
asked me how the army... -
159:28 - 159:33...could possibly have mistaken the building
for a terroristsí den. -
159:33 - 159:34I said:
-
159:34 - 159:39"For the very same reason
that children running away from burning buildings... -
159:39 - 159:42...are put in the sights of snipers on the roofs,
-
159:42 - 159:45who then donít hesitate to kill them,
-
159:45 - 159:49spreading their grey matter
all over the road." -
159:49 - 159:52The journalist furrowed his brow further.
-
159:52 - 159:58The enormous difference between us eyewitnesses
and firsthand victims of the massacre, -
159:58 - 160:04and those who heard about it through our stories,
is now further highlighted. -
160:04 - 160:07From Rome
Iím told that the EU intends... -
160:07 - 160:10...to freeze the funds assigned
for the reconstruction of Gaza... -
160:10 - 160:16...while itís still being governed by Hamas.
-
160:16 - 160:19He hinted.
-
160:19 - 160:27The European Commissioner for External Relations,
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, has made her point clear on this score: -
160:27 - 160:33"The aid for the reconstruction of the Strip",
stated the European diplomat, -
160:33 - 160:38"will only arrive if Palestinian President Abu Mazen...
-
160:38 - 160:44...will once again re-establish his authority
over the territory". -
160:44 - 160:50For Gazaís Palestinians this is an explicit invitation
from the outside to engage in civil war, -
160:50 - 160:52or in a coup díÈtat.
-
160:52 - 160:56Itís equivalent
to legitimizing the massacre of 410 children, -
160:56 - 161:00who died
because their parents support democracy... -
161:00 - 161:05...and freely elected Hamas.
-
161:05 - 161:11"The EU is diligently echoing the criminal policy
of collective punishment imposed by Israel. -
161:11 - 161:14Why not entrust the funds to the UN?
-
161:14 - 161:17Or some governmental organization?"
-
161:17 - 161:21"The Unites States
are free to elect a warmonger like Bush, -
161:21 - 161:26Israel can choose leaders with bloodied hands
like Sharon or Netanyahu, -
161:26 - 161:29but we, the people of Gaza,
-
161:29 - 161:31arenít free to chose Hamas?",
-
161:31 - 161:34suggested Mohamed,
a human rights activist, -
161:34 - 161:38who never voted
for the Islamic movement himself. -
161:38 - 161:41I had no arguments to contradict him.
-
161:41 - 161:45Living Palestinians learn from their dead;
-
161:45 - 161:50they learn to live while dying,
right from the youngest age. -
161:50 - 161:55Truce after truce,
the general perception here is that of a macabre pause... -
161:55 - 162:00...during which to count the dead
between one massacre and another, -
162:00 - 162:02and peace has never felt so elusive.
-
162:02 - 162:08Scouring Gaza City on board an ambulance
with the siren switched off for once, -
162:08 - 162:10the war is still everywhere,
-
162:10 - 162:16among the ruins of a city pillaged of smiles
and now populated only by frightened gazes, -
162:16 - 162:22eyes that insist upon scanning the sky
for the planes still flying endlessly overhead. -
162:22 - 162:26Inside a home
we visited with some paramedics, -
162:26 - 162:31I noticed some pastel drawings on the floor.
-
162:31 - 162:37It was clearly a childís hand that had abandoned them
after evacuating the house in a mad rush. -
162:37 - 162:39I picked one of them up,
-
162:39 - 162:44tanks, helicopters and a body in pieces.
-
162:44 - 162:50In the middle of the drawing a child
with a stone had succeeded in reaching the sunís height -
162:50 - 162:53and was damaging one of the flying death machines.
-
162:53 - 162:56Itís been said that in a childís drawing,
-
162:56 - 163:01the sun represents their desire to be,
to exist. -
163:01 - 163:07The sun I saw
was crying tears of blood coloured in red pastel. -
163:07 - 163:15Is a unilateral ceasefire enough
to heal such traumas? -
163:15 - 163:42Stay human.
-
163:42 - 163:4520th January 2009
-
163:45 - 163:47Traces of Death
-
163:47 - 163:50"When the details of Gazaís massive destruction become known,
-
163:50 - 163:54my only reason to travel to Amsterdam...
-
163:54 - 163:58will be to appear before The Hagueís International Court".
-
163:58 - 164:01These words were ascribed
by the Haaretz newspaper... -
164:01 - 164:05...to an Israeli minister,
who prefers to remain anonymous. -
164:05 - 164:09All around the world,
indignant humanitarian organizations and citizens... -
164:09 - 164:14...wish to see the Israeli Army
and its government dragged in the courtroom, -
164:14 - 164:23hoping theyíll be found guilty of the war crimes
their hands were bloodied with during the 22-day massacre in Gaza. -
164:23 - 164:30In their public appearances,
the military and government leaderships donít seem too phased. -
164:30 - 164:34They claim to have solid proof
that the sites they bombed... -
164:34 - 164:39...were all support bases used by Hamas terrorists.
-
164:39 - 164:41Let me get this straight:
-
164:41 - 164:46weíre talking about
over 20,000 houses damaged by the shelling, -
164:46 - 164:49including 1,300 human casualties.
-
164:49 - 164:51To check out these alleged,
-
164:51 - 164:55crucial strategic hide-outs of Islamic terrorism,
-
164:55 - 165:02I headed to one of the most heavily bombed areas,
Jabal Al-Dardour in the northern Strip. -
165:02 - 165:05Dozens of buildings had been razed to the ground.
-
165:05 - 165:11The mammoth-sized, armour-plated bulldozers
are custom-built by Caterpillar (boycott it!) -
165:11 - 165:13to raze Palestinian houses to the ground,
-
165:13 - 165:19and are used to lend the army tanks a hand
in their destructive effort. -
165:19 - 165:25Out there I saw men and women rummaging through the rubble,
looking for things, such as an article of clothing, -
165:25 - 165:32a few dust-coated school bags
or portrait photos of families in cracked frames. -
165:32 - 165:34Iíve never caught sight of any destroyed arsenals,
-
165:34 - 165:42only buildings with their ceilings torn clear off their walls, where you can
catch sight of what was once a living-room, the remains of a bedroom, -
165:42 - 165:45or a kitchen reduced to cinders.
-
165:45 - 165:48Abu Omar, a molecular biologist,
-
165:48 - 165:52has invited me to come
and see whatís left of his apartment. -
165:52 - 165:55His neighbour, Osama,
a paediatrician, -
165:55 - 166:00also showed me his house,
reduced to a colander. -
166:00 - 166:02The propulsive power of the missiles...
-
166:02 - 166:08...splashed some debris
from the near-by orange orchard onto the building. -
166:08 - 166:14The juice of oranges,
mixed with the clotted blood splattered all over the floor, -
166:14 - 166:19looked like a naÔf painterís canvas.
-
166:19 - 166:22An elderly man,
his head wrapped in a kafiyeh, -
166:22 - 166:28approaches us to ask Natalie,
our Lebanese companion with the ISM, where sheís from. -
166:28 - 166:31Waving his walking stick in the air,
-
166:31 - 166:34as if to draw a wide arc
over the devastated landscape before us, -
166:34 - 166:36he says,
-
166:36 - 166:40"Beirut and Gaza, same painting, same artist."
-
166:40 - 166:44Even Osamaís pigeon coop
hasnít been spared by the shelling. -
166:44 - 166:50His birds lie on the ground,
as if defeated by a sky too heavy for their wings, -
166:50 - 166:52as heavy as "cast lead".
-
166:52 - 166:54"They tried to defeat the Palestinian air force,
-
166:54 - 166:59or perhaps they thought these birds
might be dispatch carriers for Hamas", -
166:59 - 167:04I told the paediatrician,
causing him to smile sadly. -
167:04 - 167:07As we travelled in our broken-down taxi,
-
167:07 - 167:12we crossed routes
with the UNís Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon. -
167:12 - 167:19A long line of brand-new SUVs,
all tinted windows and UN logos, -
167:19 - 167:23darted through Gaza as
if the earth shook beneath their tires. -
167:23 - 167:28As it happens,
this was actually the case until a few days ago. -
167:28 - 167:32Wandering around the impossible puzzle
of Jabal Al-Dardourís ruins, -
167:32 - 167:38I heard someone call my name.
When I looked over my shoulder, I saw Abu Ashrafa. -
167:38 - 167:44Iíd attended his sonís funeral
when he was killed by a bomb last November, -
167:44 - 167:50a month in which, according to Israel and the Western media,
a ceasefire had been called. -
167:50 - 167:57Abu Ashrafa had just lost another relative,
and his house has been razed down to its foundations. -
167:57 - 168:04"They havenít left us a single head of livestock,
a rock, or an olive tree standing ñ theyíre not human", -
168:04 - 168:08he said, leading me to his olive orchard.
-
168:08 - 168:14Many trees ñ the centenary ones ñ
have been torn down by Israeli bulldozers. -
168:14 - 168:24Itís as if they were trying to make up for not being able
to erase lives that are impossible to uproot from their origins, -
168:24 - 168:31their identity and their burning desire for justice,
surviving all destruction. -
168:31 - 168:33Not far away a middle-aged man approached me,
-
168:33 - 168:37asking if I thought all Palestinians
were Hamas guerrilla fighters. -
168:37 - 168:42From a window
in his damaged home flapped a yellow Fatah banner. -
168:42 - 168:45"Our Kalashnikov is our faith and honour,
-
168:45 - 168:51we will stand up for our land tooth and nail
in the same way you would defend your daughter from being raped", -
168:51 - 168:53this Fatah supporter told me.
-
168:53 - 168:57If Israelís objective was to isolate
and rid the Strip of Hamas... -
168:57 - 169:02...by dividing further a people
already split by internal diatribes, -
169:02 - 169:06then Israel has achieved
the exact opposite of what it intended. -
169:06 - 169:10The bombing
has in part given Gaza back its national identity. -
169:10 - 169:12The litmus test of this new situation...
-
169:12 - 169:16...is represented by the muqawama,
the Palestinian resistance, -
169:16 - 169:20heroic in its attempt
to stop the Israeli Army from advancing. -
169:20 - 169:26The flowing beards of the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam
Brigadesí Islamists, Hamasí fighting wing, -
169:26 - 169:34have fought side-by-side with the scampish, goatee-sporting Marxist
guerrilla fighters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, -
169:34 - 169:37and alongside Fatahís Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
-
169:37 - 169:42Only time will tell
if this newfound unity among the militias -
169:42 - 169:48is a reflection
of unity within civic and political society. -
169:48 - 169:54Leaving behind us the lunar atmosphere
of Jabal Al-Dardour, denuded of its buildings, -
169:54 - 170:00we paused before a frowning child
sitting atop a small pile of rubble, -
170:00 - 170:03or what was left of his houseís courtyard.
-
170:03 - 170:06We asked him what was going through his mind.
-
170:06 - 170:11In his simple words he seemed
to be saying that Hamas and its resistance... -
170:11 - 170:14...were responsible for this catastrophe.
-
170:14 - 170:19So Fida, our ISM companion
took him aside in a motherly manner... -
170:19 - 170:22...and briefly told him of their history.
-
170:22 - 170:26She spoke of soldiers marching into Rafah in 2004...
-
170:26 - 170:30...and razing entire neighbourhoods to the ground,
-
170:30 - 170:34exactly as had happened here and now.
-
170:34 - 170:42Back then, there was no Hamas, and Fatahís leader, Yasser Arafat,
was the designated terrorist, the number one enemy... -
170:42 - 170:46...to dethrone and wipe away from Palestine.
-
170:46 - 170:55But rather than targeting Fatahís headquarters, even then
the Israeli troops struck indiscriminately and killed dozens of civilians, -
170:55 - 170:59razing Fidaís house in the process as well.
-
170:59 - 171:01Travelling back towards Gaza City,
-
171:01 - 171:10the car in which we drove plunged into a hole
in the concrete created by the tanksí creaking wheels. -
171:10 - 171:12The taxi driver turned around and said:
-
171:12 - 171:17"Death was here and left its footprints."
-
171:17 - 171:23I wonder how long itíll take
for the scars of this land to heal. -
171:23 - 172:08Stay human.
-
172:08 - 172:1322nd January 2009
-
172:13 - 172:16What her tears have seen
-
172:16 - 172:25I crossed the threshold of my house in Almina,
facing Gaza Cityís port, after several daysí absence. -
172:25 - 172:30Everything was exactly as I had left it,
-
172:30 - 172:36the gas tank was still anorexic
(feeding it is too expensive) -
172:36 - 172:41and the power had been cut off
by a perfect strangerís pliers. -
172:41 - 172:46The pleasant panorama
that had once been outside my window has changed... -
172:46 - 172:52...and no longer raises my spirits
from the miseries of living under siege. -
172:52 - 173:03To the contrary, it now rubs salt in the wound,
a trauma that wonít heal with its reminders of a massacre. -
173:03 - 173:11Twenty metres from my front door,
where the fire station once stood, a huge crater now gapes... -
173:11 - 173:19...wide for children to mess around in,
as if to exorcize its horror for their parents. -
173:19 - 173:29The afternoon call to prayer no longer has the same comforting
quality of the muezzinís chant that I had grown accustomed to. -
173:29 - 173:38I wonder where heís gone to, and if he managed to survive
at the top of one of the few minarets still left intact. -
173:38 - 173:46The last time Iíd listened to him, this anonymous muezzin
had had to interrupt his solemnly chanted call to prayer... -
173:46 - 173:50...because of a chesty cough.
-
173:50 - 173:53Itís an affliction Iím familiar with myself,
-
173:53 - 173:59as the gases of the bombing in Gaza
have spared no one. -
173:59 - 174:04I found a note at the foot of the French window
looking onto my small balcony, -
174:04 - 174:09as if it had been put there
by a friend. -
174:09 - 174:16The street and garden were littered with these same leaflets.
They had been dropped from Israeli airplanes... -
174:16 - 174:24...warning the Palestinians to stay alert,
and be aware that the walls had ears and eyes. -
174:24 - 174:32"At the slightest threatening action against Israel
weíll be back to invade the Gaza Strip again. -
174:32 - 174:38What youíve seen these days
is nothing compared with what awaits you." -
174:38 - 174:45Some kids in the streets had picked up the leaflets
and folded them into paper airplanes, -
174:45 - 174:51seemingly sending the message back to its destination.
-
174:51 - 174:56Over the phone,
Ahmed told me about a new kidsí game. -
174:56 - 175:05Until a few days ago, they amused themselves by relighting the
fires, simply kicking the fragments of white phosphorous bombs -
175:05 - 175:09scattered all over the Strip.
-
175:09 - 175:16The debris left by these bombs
has very long-lasting flammable properties. -
175:16 - 175:27Even when picked up several days after their detonation,
they can still catch fire if shaken about. -
175:27 - 175:34The Al-Quds Hospital paramedics
speak of how they have given up trying to put out the fires... -
175:34 - 175:37...provoked by these illegal bombs,
-
175:37 - 175:42their flames seemed to feed off the water
being thrown at them. -
175:42 - 175:49"The consequences of all the shit
thatís been thrown at us in these last three weeks... -
175:49 - 175:55...will surface again in the near future,
with new cancer cases and deformed babies", -
175:55 - 176:01Munir, a doctor
at Al-Shifa Hospital told me. -
176:01 - 176:11Even Gazaís neighbours seem to be worrying about this massive
use of weapons forbidden by all international conventions. -
176:11 - 176:18In Sderot, and likewise in Ashkelon,
Israeli citizens have formally asked their government... -
176:18 - 176:24...for clarification regarding the weapons
that have been used to torment us. -
176:24 - 176:30Itís obvious that impoverished uranium
and white phosphorous... -
176:30 - 176:36...scattered in such a criminal manner
all over the tiny patch of land that is Gaza... -
176:36 - 176:46...wonít discriminate between Jews and Muslims
when it comes to provoking generic illnesses. -
176:46 - 176:49The truce ought to have started by now,
-
176:49 - 176:55but today I was awoken in my bed
by the deafening rumble of cannon shots from the warships, -
176:55 - 176:58exactly like a few days ago.
-
176:58 - 177:06Some brave Palestinian fishermen had ventured from the port
equipped with fishing nets on their tiny boats. -
177:06 - 177:10The Israeli Navy pushed them back.
-
177:10 - 177:14Nowadays, the only edible fish found in Gaza...
-
177:14 - 177:19...are the Egyptian cans of tuna
that came through the tunnels months ago. -
177:19 - 177:29East of Gaza City two children were blown up
when playing with an unexploded device. -
177:29 - 177:35The witnesses we heard spoke of active mines
in front of the ruins of Tal El-Hawaís houses. -
177:35 - 177:41some bomb disposal experts
sent over by Hamas defused them and, -
177:41 - 177:46judging by the care
with which they loaded them onto an off-road vehicle, -
177:46 - 177:59I think the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades might return that
message of death straight back to its lawful owners sometime soon. -
177:59 - 178:08Looking from Naeemaís roof, the Israeli-Palestinian border
has never seemed so easy to pick out. -
178:08 - 178:13On one side lie the green hills,
being constantly watered by the Israeli kibbutzim. -
178:13 - 178:20On the other you see the parching thirst
of a land robbed of its water springs and herds. -
178:20 - 178:24Naeema wished to tell me all about her last few days,
-
178:24 - 178:30a tactile,
aural and olfactory account of the massacre, -
178:30 - 178:35considering that young Naeema is blind.
-
178:35 - 178:44The soldiers threateningly ordered her fellow villagers to evacuate
their homes only a few minutes before storming the place. -
178:44 - 178:51The men loaded the younger children onto their shoulders
and ran away, along with their women. -
178:51 - 178:57Naeema chose to stay
so as not to slow down their escape. -
178:57 - 179:03She took refuge in her own home,
believing herself to be safe, -
179:03 - 179:08and welcomed her neighbours,
who had nowhere else to go: -
179:08 - 179:15three women, an elderly lady
and a paralyzed old man. -
179:15 - 179:21Then the tanks and bulldozers came,
spreading death and destruction, -
179:21 - 179:29devouring acre by acre,
until they stopped in front of Naeemaís house. -
179:29 - 179:35Standing on a small hill,
the building she inhabits is the tallest in the village, -
179:35 - 179:41and the Israeli soldiers,
who found that it was strategically positioned, -
179:41 - 179:46let themselves in
and occupied it for two weeks. -
179:46 - 179:51"They came in and pointed their weapons at us,
-
179:51 - 179:56pushing us into a small room,
where they locked us up for 11 days", Naeema said. -
179:56 - 180:02"During that entire time
they only brought us water to drink twice, -
180:02 - 180:07and food came in the form
of leftovers from the soldiersí rations. -
180:07 - 180:15hey never let us go to the bathroom,
so we had to relieve ourselves one corner of the room. -
180:15 - 180:20hey wouldnít let us talk among ourselves,
and would come in and beat us at night, -
180:20 - 180:26when, huddled in a circle,
we tried to gather some strength from prayer. -
180:26 - 180:32Sometimes theyíd come over and, intimidating us
by pressing their weapons against our napes, -
180:32 - 180:36they demanded that we confess
our alleged support for Hamas, -
180:36 - 180:40insulting us when we wouldnít comply."
-
180:40 - 180:43At the end of the eleventh day of imprisonment,
-
180:43 - 180:50the international Red Cross finally arrived
and released the six prisoners from their jailers. -
180:50 - 180:55"They didnít allow us to pick anything up,
not even my sunglasses", -
180:55 - 181:03Naeema related, bringing her story to a close, adding
that when she and her neighbours returned to their homes, -
181:03 - 181:08they discovered the thievery carried out by the soldiers.
-
181:08 - 181:15They had taken all their gold trinkets and hidden savings,
after having destroyed their few possessions: -
181:15 - 181:23two TV sets, a radio, a fridge,
and the solar panels on the roofs. -
181:23 - 181:29I saw tears in this womanís eyes,
hidden by her dark glasses. -
181:29 - 181:33They seemed the most vivid
I had ever seen. -
181:33 - 181:37In actual fact, what Naeema "saw"...
-
181:37 - 181:43...is a lot more that any young woman her age
will ever get a chance to see, -
181:43 - 181:53if she had the misfortune of being born
in this tortured strip of land. -
181:53 -Stay human.
- Title:
- Stay Human - The Reading Movie (2013)
- Description:
-
Stay Human - The Reading Movie (2013)
22 days of bombing. More than 1200 civilians killed, 400 children. This movie features the complete reading of Vittorio Arrigoni's daily diary, the witness of a massacre in progress during the military operation called Cast Lead, unleashed by the Israeli government against the Gaza Strip's civilians between the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009.
_______________________________________________Film by Fulvio Renzi
Directed by Luca Incorvaia
Full reading of the book "Gaza - Stay Human" written by Vittorio ArrigoniWith: Alberto Arce | Huwaida Arraf | Massimo Arrigoni | Mohamed Bakri | Ronnie Barkan | Egidia Beretta Arrigoni | Hilarion Capucci | Noam Chomsky | Maria Elena Delia | Norman Finkelstein | Don Andrea Gallo | Stéphane Hessel | Mairead Corrigan Maguire | Luisa Morgantini | Akiva Orr | Moni Ovadia | Ilan Pappé | Roger Waters | Rabbi David Weiss
Co-produced with over 1700 people's support
Shooted in Italy, North America, Israel, Palestine, England, Ireland, France, Germany, Czech Republic
Between April 2011 and October 2012Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Music by Fulvio Renzi
With: Paki Zennaro | Vincenzo Zitello | Gilad Atzmon | Fakhraddin Gafarov | Marco Messina | Emanuele Wiltsch Barberio | David Boato | Adriano Clera | Romina Salvadori | Gionata Mirai | Yuriko Mikamiwww.stayhuman.tv
www.thereadingmovie.tv
www.restiamoumani.com - Video Language:
- Italian
- Duration:
- 03:02:33
Amara Bot edited English subtitles for Stay Human - The Reading Movie (2013) | ||
Amara Bot edited English subtitles for Stay Human - The Reading Movie (2013) | ||
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