HOME | IMC UK | Editorial Guidelines | Mission Statement | About Us | Contact | Help | Support Us

Oxford Indymedia

Palestinian Prisoners' Hunger Strike

Jenny (posted by eileen) | 01.09.2004 19:26 | Oxford

Ramallah, 1st September 2004 - report on visit by Oxford PSC / Oxford
Ramallah Friendship Association delegation (Niki , K, Jenny)


Palestinian Prisoners' Hunger Strike


Yesterday we visited my friend Basim Sbeih, who works for the
Palestinian Prisoners’ Society,in Bethlehem. It was a roller-coaster of emotions, seeing
his childhood places, Solomon’s Pools on a pine-covered hillside – 3
enormous ancient pools, now empty, where he used to swim as a child – and
beside them a hotel abandoned before construction was complete, bullet holes
on its tower, dog turds on the marble terraces, wires sticking out of the
walls. More than 200 workers have lost their jobs, “One of the disadvantages of
our intifada” Basim said. At his parents’ home in Khader village, we saw
from the roof the settler road 20 metres away, cutting them off from the green hill where Basim loved to walk. Roadblocks prevent the villagers from using the settler road. For settlers it’s five minutes to Jerusalem, for
Palestinians in this village there’s no chance to go unless they have a
special permit; for us it was half an hour or more through the checkpoint.
When the Wall comes into the village, Basim’s parents will have to pass a
gate only open twice a day, to reach their fields.

Today we moved from Jerusalem to Ramallah. The Baladna Centre, where a year
ago I met mothers of prisoners on their weekly vigil, is now the local
centre of support for prisoners on hunger strike. Out of 8000 Palestinians
in Israeli jails, between 3000 and 4000 are striking. Figures vary – we
have spoken with NGOs in Jerusalem and Ramallah – they say it’s hard to say because
they cannot have direct access to prisoners, only via lawyers, and these are
not being allowed in at the moment in many jails. Basim Sbeih said the
prisoners have 20 demands, beginning with an end to the stripping of
prisoners. They want health care, medicine, even surgery, for the 800
prisoners who are injured and ill. Families to be allowed to visit. Basim
knows one prisoner in jail for 20 years who has not seen his sons in all
that time. They want to be allowed to phone their families at times of
emergency, for example a father dying. Those in ‘administrative detention’
are held separately, without trial.

Inside the Baladna, there were about 20 beds for men fasting in support of
the prisoners. Some have fasted for a week, others a few days. I spoke to a
group who called me over; they had all been prisoners and were fasting for
their friends in jail, some for as long as 25 years, who were closer to
them than family. The one who spoke English had been in for 12 years, the
next man for 17 years, the next 13 years, the next 14 years. Why? “We asked
for a flag, a nation, identity. We want our children to live freely, like
children in other countries.”

By the 4th of September, the Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike will have
continued for 20 days. Co-ordinated by a coalition of organisations, the
hunger strike is news in every town in Palestine, with tents for supporters
to conduct their fasts. One person has died so far, not a prisoner but a
mother who was on hunger strike in sympathy – we don’t have the details yet.
The prisoners and their supporters are very keen that people in other
countries should know about their action and press their governments for
support. Their demands are for rights that all prisoners should have under
humanitarian law, and their action is non-violent – as Gandhi’s grandson
said when he spoke at the rally here last week.

Jenny, Ramallah, 1.9.04


Jenny (posted by eileen)

Comments

Display the following comment

  1. Update please — richarddirecttv
Publish your news
-->

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

Oxford Topics

Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech