My First House Demolition

[Iqbal Tamimi]

Submitted by Liza Behrendt on June 15, 2009

Last week, ICAHD followed as two Palestinian homes were demolished in the heart of Jerusalem's Old City: one located on Via Dolorosa, between the Stations of the Cross and the Dome of the Rock, and one in the central Arab Souk. Here are some photos and reflections.

Other members of ICAHD have witnessed dozens, if not hundreds of these demolitions, but because it was my first, I was hit hard emotionally. On Via Dolorosa, a neighbor allowed us onto their roof, above a church, to view the second-floor demolition across the way. We could see the family watching, and at one point could hear them screaming at the authorities.

The actual demolition was cynically ironic: the first stage of the demolition was performed by the family themselves, to avoid excess fines (yes, the families are billed thousands of dollars to pay for the demolition). This is apparently a common way for families to avoid debt in these cases. Then, the second stage (removing the walls and roof) was carried out by a construction crew, or “destruction crew”, comprised of mainly Palestinians. When demolitions occur in more spacious areas, the bulldozers are usually driven by Palestinian workers. Israelis in the municipality who issue the demolition orders never have to interact with the families themselves, sending Palestinian wrecking crews and small groups of Israeli soldiers.

The most troubling part for me was ICAHD’s inability to stop the demolition. We watched, took photographs, and gathered as much information as we could about the families. With all of our political advocacy and attempts at affecting demolition policies, there is nothing that we can do to stop an actual demolition. Depending on the layout of the demolition site, we sometimes try to block bulldozers with our bodies, but that inevitably ends with either surrender or arrest, and then the demolition is completed.

Also, this was one of the few demolitions that we were able to witness, because a friend of ICAHD happened to live in the area of the Old City. Usually we are not alerted, and the demolitions occur with no one watching. Now, I feel sick to my stomach whenever I walk past the demolition site in the Old City, and I can only imagine how sick I would feel if I was aware of all the demolition sites around me. Most Palestinians in East Jerusalem family, neighbors, or friends whose houses have been demolished, while I’ve only experienced the shock of watching two anonymous families lose their home.

Family members watch as a wrecking crew removes the walls of their home on Via Dolorosa.
http://studentscrossingboundaries.com/sites/studentscrossingboundaries.com/files/pictures/hdalley.jpg
A police officer stops us on our way up to the house.

ICAHD activists document the process from a nearby rooftop, but are helpless to stop the actual demolition.

Neighbor children watching

A soldier escorts a mother and child through the demolition site.

Onlookers in the Arab Souk.
http://studentscrossingboundaries.com/sites/studentscrossingboundaries.com/files/pictures/hd2.jpg
Finally, the roof comes down.

For a quick review: zoning laws in East Jerusalem (the supposed “Arab” section of the city) only allow construction on around 13% of open land. The municipality has zoned the rest for housing in settlements, “open green space,” or remains unplanned and unavailable for development. To build on their own property (within the aforementioned 13%), Palestinians must apply for building permits, just as in any city. However, the process usually takes years, costs thousands of dollars, and almost always ends in denial without explanation. Given the high population density within existing structures, families are often given no choice but to build illegally. House demolitions in East Jerusalem, then, break individual families and work to push Palestinians into the West Bank, where they lose the privileges of permanent residency.

I highly recommend a look at a new report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_planning_crisis_east_jerusalem...

http://studentscrossingboundaries.com/journal/my-first-house-demolition

[Fakhri Dweik]

Worry Too Much

Buddy Miller



it's the demolition derby

it's the sport of the hunt
proud tribe in full war-dance
it's the slow smile that the bully gives the runt
it's the force of inertia
it's the lack of constraint
it's the children out playing in the rock garden
all dolled-up in black hats and war paint

sometimes it feels like bars of steel
i cannot bend with my hands
oh - i worry too much
somebody told me that i worry too much

it's these sandpaper eyes
it's the way they rub the luster from what is seen
it's the way we tell ourselves that all these things are normal
till we can't remember what we mean
it's the flicker of our flames
it's the friction born of living
it's the way we beat a hot retreat
and heave our smoking guns into the river

sometimes it feels like bars of steel
i cannot bend with my hands
oh - i worry too much
somebody told me that i worry too much

it's the quick-step march of history
the vanity of nations
it's the way there'll be no muffled drums
to mark the passage of my generation
it's the children of my children
it's the lambs born in innocence
it's wondering if the good i know
will last to be seen by the eyes of the little ones

.

 

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