One of my dear friends is Palestinian-American, living here in the UAE. She told me a story about her brother recently that I wanted to share (with her permission of course). Her brother, who is also Palestinian-American (with an American passport, as well) flew from America to Palestine to go home to visit his family. My friend told me that it is business as usual for anyone going into the country to be interrogated at immigration by the Israeli border control. Another friend who has visited Israel said that she was interrogated for 2 hours when she visited, and that they kept asking her where she was "really from" (she was also coming from the US). So my friend's family had sent a taxi to pick him up from the airport and the taxi called the family after waiting 2, then 5, then 7 hours, with no word or appearance from the brother in Palestine. The family ultimately decided to let the taxi leave after hearing nothing for this long, and started contacting the American Embassy to try to find out what had happened to their brother.
Eventually, 10 hours after his landing time, a member of the family was able to find out from the embassy that he would be sent back to the US but they did not know when, or why, or where he was now. My friend told us this story at this point and she guessed that they would send him back through France, since that is how he flew in, and that he'd be able to contact the family there.
He left the US last Sunday and finally arrived back in the US yesterday (Thursday). My friend shared with me the rest of the story. During his TWELVE hour interrogation, they took away his phone or ability to contact anyone (including his family who was worried sick) and they put him in airport jail. Can you guess who was in airport jail with him? I bet you can't. An 8 year old and 12 year old child. CHILDREN IN AIRPORT JAIL. So not only do they take rights away from and deny a man access to his home country, they also imprison children, for probably no reason. Probably because the children couldn't answer questions fast enough. Or maybe the 8 year was plotting a teardown of the Israeli government? Yeah, that must be it.
So my friends brother is back in the US now. He travelled for a week, though never reached a destination. If you have ever travelled internationally, you know how absolutely exhausted you are. How irritated you feel. How if anyone accidentally bumps into you in the airport, you want to take their friggin head off. So now imagine the stress of being held from going into your own country after travelling for 20 hours. Because another government decided that your country was actually their country. Imagine keeping calm when your civil rights have been taken away and you are being questioned by the army of a military that has been performing a systematic genocide of your people in your country for years. Imagine, that the USA, who is rolling in bed with Israel, cannot even help you. When the embassy of "the most powerful country in the world" is powerless. Imagine, having your country renamed and being told that you are never allowed to go back there. Even though you were born there and your family is there.
Now you know how it feels to be Palestinian.
Now, tell me why I should support Israel again?
*I know this is only one side of the story. I know there are many Palestinians who may not feel like this, and that there are many Israelis who are probably wonderful people who disagree with their government. I am referring to the corrupt governmental system that degrades people and takes away their rights. When I heard this story I was shocked and outraged. When I told my fiancee, another Arab, he said, without shock, "Yeah, that's what they do. If I went there, they would do it to me too."
Eventually, 10 hours after his landing time, a member of the family was able to find out from the embassy that he would be sent back to the US but they did not know when, or why, or where he was now. My friend told us this story at this point and she guessed that they would send him back through France, since that is how he flew in, and that he'd be able to contact the family there.
He left the US last Sunday and finally arrived back in the US yesterday (Thursday). My friend shared with me the rest of the story. During his TWELVE hour interrogation, they took away his phone or ability to contact anyone (including his family who was worried sick) and they put him in airport jail. Can you guess who was in airport jail with him? I bet you can't. An 8 year old and 12 year old child. CHILDREN IN AIRPORT JAIL. So not only do they take rights away from and deny a man access to his home country, they also imprison children, for probably no reason. Probably because the children couldn't answer questions fast enough. Or maybe the 8 year was plotting a teardown of the Israeli government? Yeah, that must be it.
So my friends brother is back in the US now. He travelled for a week, though never reached a destination. If you have ever travelled internationally, you know how absolutely exhausted you are. How irritated you feel. How if anyone accidentally bumps into you in the airport, you want to take their friggin head off. So now imagine the stress of being held from going into your own country after travelling for 20 hours. Because another government decided that your country was actually their country. Imagine keeping calm when your civil rights have been taken away and you are being questioned by the army of a military that has been performing a systematic genocide of your people in your country for years. Imagine, that the USA, who is rolling in bed with Israel, cannot even help you. When the embassy of "the most powerful country in the world" is powerless. Imagine, having your country renamed and being told that you are never allowed to go back there. Even though you were born there and your family is there.
Now you know how it feels to be Palestinian.
Now, tell me why I should support Israel again?
*I know this is only one side of the story. I know there are many Palestinians who may not feel like this, and that there are many Israelis who are probably wonderful people who disagree with their government. I am referring to the corrupt governmental system that degrades people and takes away their rights. When I heard this story I was shocked and outraged. When I told my fiancee, another Arab, he said, without shock, "Yeah, that's what they do. If I went there, they would do it to me too."
I'm trying to imagine and I can't even come close. You've presented this so eloquently, families kept apart because of corrupt government. So hard for a Canadian to get her brain around and so friggin' sad that it happens everywhere. What a world.
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