Visit to the south of Mount Hebron, Thursday, August 4
Article: Idit Porat, with addition of Eileil and Eyal
Summer, hot, the sun is burning, there is nowhere to run. After days of strenuous physical work, the mind and body evaporate. Nevertheless, I decide to take advantage of my free day and join Eileil and Eyal for a visit to the south of Mount Hebron. We haven't been in a long time and a lot has changed. Part of the area was declared a closed military area and we wondered if we could even enter. We meet in Meitarim, Eileil join into to my car, we drive together, it makes us happy, there's a lot to talk about.
In one of the first settlements, they stop at a tent, and unload from the van a huge TV screen that someone donated, let's set up a movie theater in a surrealist camp, past and present, tradition and future, misery and renewal are mixed up in this microcosm.
We leave my car and continue to enter from Massafar Yata. The road is open for the time being, and we arrive at the house of one of the families. The woman there welcomes us with a smile and a hug, and we sit with her and her husband. The place is lovely, the wind is caressing and pleasant in the ventilated room. They call a friend who lives in a Jewish settlement in the area, and the two women, the Arab and the Jewish, send greetings to each other. They already know each other from the past (you can read about their meeting here and here). We part ways and from there continue further inside, into the area that is declared "closed zone". The road is not easy, but Eyal navigates like a native of the place.
Eyal and Eileil tell about the "cafe" of a boy from the area, which will probably be seen soon, a simple place that the same boy founded himself and started selling coffee to passers-by (you can read here about a cafe in the middle of the desert). Already from a distance they recognize the place, but oh! Instead of the simple plastic sheet that was there and the tire inside which sat the thermos of coffee, there is now an Israeli flag and another flag of a military unit, which are displayed proudly, next to a temporary fence and a simple metal gate that closes the road.
We stop in front of the checkpoint and Eileil with her characteristic greetings and pleasantries gets out of the car, greets the soldiers and gently asks - maybe we can pass after all? The soldier who commands the unit there is patient, kind, pleasant, he also asks us questions, asks for identity cards and promises to ask for permission. We ask if we can visit a small village that we know nearby in the area until permission is received. We receive his permission and promise not to continue past the nearest houses as he asked. After visiting the nearest houses, we will return and see if there is permission to continue. There is something exciting in the trust created between us and the soldiers, and we are traveling on a bumpy road, and reach an area where there was a lot of rubble.
From all sides we see the remains of embossing, fences, corrugated tin, laid in piles around, around. We enter one of the families that lives in the cave, and there we are of course offered coffee and tea. This time the man of the house prepares and serves... while his wife sits and talks to us, Tislam! Eyal leads the fluent conversation in Arabic, with a lot of empathy, humor and grace.
From there we continue to another family, where we meet many children, of various ages. They lead us to the cave where they live. It is cool in the cave, pleasant compared to the heat outside. There we play with the children in a variety of small toys that Eyal brings out and the joy of the meeting is palpable. For a moment you can forget that we are sitting in these moments inside a closed military area, with people having a hard time, whose continued life in their home is in doubt. People who have nowhere to go if they are forced to leave, to leave the area, which was recently declared a military area, even though entire families live there...
We say goodbye and return to the checkpoint with the soldiers. There are three UN vehicles in front of us. They are standing and waiting. The smooth-walking soldier, who previously handled the permit for us, came to tell us that five minutes after we left, we received a transit permit, but now he can't let us through because he has to handle the UN vehicles first.
Waiting... hot... We feel in complete absurdity; looking at these cute soldiers boys who were stuck with a weapon in their hand and placed in this "hole”, in this heat, in order to prevent passage to an area inhabited by simple people, shepherds, who live here for a long time. In fact, the whole area here has become a kind of one big "prison" - a beautiful mountainous area, but closed from all sides, by deep excavations that were made here not long ago, by fences and barriers.
We look at the soldiers who sit here for many days in this heat, the parental instinct awakens and we regret not bringing small gifts to the soldiers. We hope that they will indeed let us pass, now that the UN vehicles are here. Finally, after a long wait, there is approval. The vehicles in front of us enter and so do we after them.
We arrive in Jinba, to the "balcony" - an improvised structure that overlooks the landscape. There we are greeted by a kind old woman, she sits all day on the balcony, watching the view. What is she to do? She pours us sweet tea and we join her, we too watch the seemingly quiet desert landscape, which has been carved by new roads. Cut through the mountain like scars. Watching the new Army base that has risen, and has become part of the landscape here. On the heavy vehicles that continue to work as they create the deep excavations that prevent passage. During the conversation with the woman we ask her - how kind of food get here now when all the roads are closed? The answer we get leaves us in silence for a moment. Indeed, no food arrives. They make do with what is available - there is flour, olive oil, tea, sugar. They get along. Eyal rushes to the car - it seems to him that there are some food cans left there from some trip. He brings the remaining boxes and gives them to the old woman. It takes all of us a moment to understand what we just heard - yes, we are currently sitting in a closed area, an area that is under a sort of siege - there is no supply of fresh food, they manage with the dry food that is still available, and who knows what will happen next. As we move on to another family in the area this understanding regarding the food shortage permeates.
We jump into the cave of another family, the parents are not there, as well as most of the family members. Everyone is in Yata, because one of the girls is getting married tomorrow. We sit with a bunch of cute boys aged 16 to 19 and talk about the situation. They also say that they have at home only basic dry ingredients, and there is no regular supply of food. At some point Eyal takes out his pack of balloons that are usually intended for little children and hands them out to the boys. A moment of giggles and - indeed! Everyone is inflating! Including Eyal, the eternal child. At a certain point, a surreal image is obtained, so funny: four boys and a man with white hair, sitting with inflated balloons of different colors, inside a cave and giggling. Well tell me - what is it if not peace?
When we are on our way back we say out loud - in two weeks we are trying to get here again, to the besieged Jinba. Then we will bring with us mainly food supplies, also dry things that will last - rice, legumes, canned goods, and also fresh fruits and vegetables, maybe some gifts for the children.
For those who want to support this initiative - you can send us products or money for them and we will buy them. We hope that in two weeks we will be able to pass. The experience this time showed us that when you ask in a pleasant way and wait patiently, it is also possible to pass. And if not? Surely the soldiers will allow us to leave the groceries at the checkpoint for the residents. And who knows? Maybe the siege will open and it will be possible to travel the desert roads again to visit the people who live there?
> to support food for the people of Jinba please contact me: eyalshani@gmail.com <
Amen.
Idit, Eileil and Eyal