The Children Of Hebron

In recent years I have found that I have been increasingly more concerned personally and professionally about the welfare of children.

In my trips to Durban and Palestine, this was particularly pertinent, hence the skydive in July this year.

I was inspired in Palestine to write some poetry as I found that it condensed my thoughts really well about what I was seeing.  As I share my blog posts you will see some of these pieces as they explain what I saw better than what I could write now.  I felt raw at the time and the poetry brings back that feeling for me.

In Hebron, West Bank,  I walked through the market area a long covered street through the middle of the town.  I say it was covered because when I looked up there was a net and on that net was a load of rubbish.

What was happening here was that in the apartments at the top of the buildings, Palestinian families had been evicted from their homes and were replaced by Israeli settlers.  The settlers seem to all be orthodox Zionist Jews who believe that this land is theirs.  I don't have a problem with their religion or beliefs, but I have a problem with the way that they treat the Palestinians.

Back to that netting.... The reason for the netting being there is so that the rubbish being thrown out of the windows of the now settler owned apartments, can be caught and not allowed to fall on the people below in the market.

If I throw rubbish at someone here in the UK, I am pretty sure that they wouldn't like it and might even get the Police involved.  In Hebron, this behaviour (and other strategies for trying to push out the Palestinians) is protected by the Israeli Defense Force.  It would seem that Palestinians have no rights.
For me, I am saddened that there are kids living in this mess.  All around them is conflict, hate, distrust.  What kind of life is that for a child?  Lots of the kids I came across where selling trinkets on the market to make money for their families.

Please share this blog if you like the poetry, not for my benefit but because I hope that it will help others to understand more about the issues facing Palestinians and this of course means their children too.

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