The Blanket

The Blanket - A Journal of Protest & Dissent
Rafah Today: The Tent
Mohammed Omer • 1.11.03

When visitors of the Rafah refugee Camp saw the camp, they thought that it was struck with an earthquake, but when they took their tour in the area after the partial withdrawal of the IDF which had been under attack those past three weeks, they discovered that it was the Israeli Army which demolished houses, demolished trees, demolished agricultural houses, demolished water stations, demolished electricity stations, cut the phone lines, killed about 17 people and over 124 injured, most of them were seriously.

It seems international officials hadn't heard about Rafah … they haven't heard about those children who were seeking water day and night at a time that the Israeli bulldozers and tanks had been demolishing their water stations ...

Peter Henson, UNRWA spokesman, was the only person who visited the area and took a tour between the rubble of the houses after the withdrawal from Yebana Refugee Camp. When he saw these crimes he described them by saying: 'We have very very significant damage to the refugee camp.'

Many people are still unaccounted for, and it is not known whether they were demolished together with their houses or were arrested by Israeli soldiers ... Feeling the plight of the people is something easy while walking in the camps which has all turned into rubble. I interviewed an old woman sitting in one of the tents at sunset and she had her hand on her face. Her name is Um Ali Redwan, a 65 year old woman who has 33 members to her house which had consisted of three floors. When I asked her about what was wrong, she answered me by saying: 'thinking! Thinking of this time when I was yesterday with my family living in our house and now I am sitting in this tent which is not protecting me from the cold weather .. This time we lost everything. Children lost their clothes, I lost all my furniture, and all things turned to rubble. In the meantime, everyone is watching us. My sons and their children have all become homeless, and me and my old husband who is ill also...' The tears began to fall down her cheeks and she said: 'The occupation didn’t respect this white hair... Israeli bulldozer drivers did not respect my old age and my old man's age. How I will be after this?'

"Tent". This word became really famous now, spoken about by all the children in Rafah Refugee Camp. The people go to the moon nowadays while the families in Rafah are still sleeping on the ground even sometimes without beds, just under this white sheet that is called a tent. They had been living in their homes, but Israeli bulldozers did not leave anyone in the Rafah Refugee Camp. They were partially withdrawing from the area leaving a large numbers of homeless families, and many paralyzed and innocent children ...



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Index: Current Articles



8 December 2003

 

Other Articles From This Issue:

 

Electing to Disagree
Brendan O'Neill

 

The GFA Revisited

Gerry Ruddy

 

The Problem With the Kurds
Pedram Moallemian

 

Even Northern Ireland Has Global Responsibilties
Anthony McIntyre

 

Rafah Today: The Tent
Mohammed Omer

 

4 December 2003

 

Act of Conscience to Spark an Act of Congress
Matthew Kavanah

 

No Surprise, No Change

Eamon Sweeney

 

The Global Justice Movement's Take on Sustainable Development
Dr Peter Doran

 

Canvassing for the Socialists
Anthony McIntyre

 

Address to PUP Conference
Davy Carlin

 

The Current Situation
Gerry Ruddy

 

 

 

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