this blackest darkest nightmare/ Nov 2/ 2002, Jenin.

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday November 21, 2002 13:02 by As do many many other ghosts

Mary Kelly Recent Report from Jenin

Yesterday I was walking with Caoimhe in the camp's centre where the April massacre took place. The flattened area is about 3 times the size of Trafalgar Square.

We noticed a soldier standing on guard outside a house and quickly realised
when we heard all the banging and crashing noise coming from within that
a whole troop of soldiers was inside doing a "house search". Someone told
us that there was an old lady inside who was ill. Both Caoimhe and I tried
to ask a few of the soldiers (who were taking up exaggerated commando sniper
postures) if we could see that the woman was ok? We got a torrent of foul
abuse from the soldiers and guns pointed at us and at the children nearby
who wanted to see what was happening.

After an hour, the soldiers came out making 2 Palestinian men run in front
of them as human shields. They left the house in a smashed-up, revolting,
degraded mess, and many terrified people who live in the 3 apartments of
that house.
The soldiers spray painted a number on the house wall, ear marking it for
either further harassment or demolition.
2 old women were in very bad shape, one of them collapsed having heavy chest
pains from the fright of having her house invaded. The soldiers are doing
this every day. We have reports of them stealing peoples savings, looting
and being very abusive.

At night we divide up into various houses that are feared will be blown
up. The families are lucky to get 15 minutes notice from the army. It is
really terrifying to hear the tanks go BOOM as they explode a house, and
then wonder what family has just been made homeless.
On the streets at night when a tank is approaching all you can see are 2
tiny t red headlights. When it comes close it is always a shock to see the
huge metal powerful artillery and terrifying when the soldiers take pleasure
at pointing the turret at anyone who moves, especially the children. The
tanks and APC's belch out the foulest of black smoke which adds to the massive
dust and pollution level in the camp. At the moment there is an epidemic
of tonsillitis and bacterial chest infection, no surprise!

Yesterday I accompanied a young woman and her son to the Jordanian hospital,
as she was too scared to pass the tanks hovering nearby. It is very good
to see the Jordanians here giving real practical support. The hospital is
very small and only has an operating theatre, but outside in the yard they
have 8 huge tents where they treat the patients.
I spoke to one of the Doctors in Spanish, as he trained for 10 years in
Cuba. He says the training there was fantastic. It was great to hear him
call the Israeli "higue putas", and the US "the biggest terrorists in the
world."
He said Jordanians are brothers to the Palestinians, in fact about 70% of
the population there is Palestinian. It took them months to get permission
to come in here and work after the April invasion. Its very hard for them
to just wait in the hospital for casualties while the tanks and snipers
are terrorising the town and camp.

One house where I spent the night recently told me their story, mostly in
mime as my Arabic is abysmal.
Their father and brother are away, on the wanted list. Their brother was
killed by a tank in April. Another brother ran to try and drag him to safety.
He showed me the scars of bullet wounds in in head and neck. He is 16 and
also in danger of being arrested. The mother is a very strong woman. As
I could not really communicate I offered her massage to take the lid off
all the stress and tension they live in constantly , aside from their own
family bereavement. I also learned that one of her best woman friends who
was bringing the fighters food ( In April)
was shot in the head. She lay bleeding to death in her house for 3 days.
The soldiers beat and tied up her son and husband who had to watch her die
and then they did not allow the body to be removed for 5 days after she
died! I know this womans daughter now. Her house was firebombed by an F16.
Luckily she had a premonition a short time before and insisted that her
kids and husband leave the house immediately.

I saw photos of charred and mutilated bodies. The most chilling was seeing
a young girls detached hair plait.
Caoimhe was present during the time of trying to rescue trapped people in
the bulldozed rubble. I hope someday she will have time to write ahd share
the awful details.
I am stunned that these people manange to keep going after all this, and
are still suffering more collective punishment while the world watches.

I contacted an Israeli group, active against house demolitions that I had
read about in New Internationalist and asked if they would come here and
do active protest.
I was disappointed at their negative reply.
An Israeli activist who does walk his talk is Arik Asherman who is a Rabbi
and works with a human rights group. He was very responsive and will be
coming to Jenin within days with human support and supplies. He is a man
of his word, very dynamic and very confrontational. I have seen him in action
when I was helping with the olive harvest and he took on some very violent
settlers who were attacking the Palestinians harvesting their crops. He
and a small handfull of other Israeli activists are the only hope for change
in this blackest darkest nightmare

Love Mary