Sunday 31st March 2002

This morning, Easter Sunday, we internationals joined in a huge march of locals. The spirit was fantastic. I could not understand the chants but they felt powerful. We then collected in the square for speeches by local organisers and the burning of Israeli flag and a volley of shots. The people are beautiful; handsome brave men, very pretty young women, loads of children in the demo. Tonight we will spend in the nearby refugee camps and act as human shields, as they expect Bethlehem to be taken and the camps will be the first to suffer attack. Yesterday Claire and others stayed with families in Aida refugee camp. They were treated wonderfully by people who in their troubles and worries still gave them a warm and friendly welcome with beautiful food and the best places to sleep. The children are so intelligent, resilient and thirsty for knowledge. Claire got in contact with Jamil, a member of Aida council that does a lot to help children overcome the trauma of war.

At today's meeting we learned that the Israeli soldiers are in the ROOM next to Arafat, who has a few of his close people plus CAOIMHE! [an Irish friend]. What a brave, determined young woman. They have hardly any batteries for the cell phones so I won't waste it trying to talk direct to her, but I have sent messages in to her to let her know we are all supporting her. There are loads of Italians standing in front of the tanks outside Arafat's prison. This US guy in our affinity group suggested that it would be far more powerful to have all the US activists do that WITH the US flag waving!! What a great idea! I have to say I have met the most brilliant people here, amongst them many from the US. Many belong to "Witness for Peace", a group that has been to Colombia many times and an Attorney who has been to all sorts of places under siege. Also a Palestinian from New York, a 79 year old woman from Brooklyn, a Japanese woman, a guy from Vietnam and many from the UK. We heard that 300 Swiss activists were refused entry.

When I heard the music here my legs turned to jelly. It says everything; sorrow, despair, the deaths of loved ones, injustice, and the beat of war.

There is a fantastic TV station running on a shoestring. Some of us will be giving blood donations to the hospitals.

The Palestinian men have begged me, what are they to do? What does my country think of what is happening to them? Does no one out there care? A US guy put it very simply, the US must stop supporting this war. THAT IS WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN. Yesterday, the soldiers used percussion grenades on the protestors. They nearly deafen you with the noise. Another one of my jobs in our group is to negotiate with the Israeli soldiers. The aggression of the young Israeli soldiers as I entered the airport shocked me. This is the first time I have signed a form on a demo saying I do not hold the organisers responsible for injury to myself or death. . A big hug to you all.

I'm scared for all the wonderful Palestinian people here who are so brave and so cheerful, and so patient with us and our doubts.

Love from us here, Mary.

Wednesday, April 10, 2002 10:11 PM

Dear All

Greetings from Nablus under occupation. It was very difficult and dangerous to get into this area; the IDF [Israeli Defence Forces] do not want anyone to know what is happening here. Surprisingly, we are all still alive! We could not get through the checkpoint, so travelled over the mountains by foot to get here. It was so beautiful, meeting a huge herd of goats and the country people, but I was so scared I really could not appreciate it. There were helicopters and drone planes flying overhead and I had my first encounter with the dreaded settlers, from a distance, thankfully. They are armed and very angry people. We got to a little village and an Arab family took us in. They are so hospitable, like Colombians. The Grandfather of the family had been arrested, he told us of the brutal treatment he received from the IDF, stripped naked, kept on his knees, no food or water for 2 days. His son was still being held. We were exhausted and so relieved to be with friends.

Next day, we walked for 2 hours and got to Nablus, a city of 180,000 people; We walked into a deserted city, bullet holes in everything, this is the Holey land, we joked! Of course we were soon spotted by soldiers, I was sure we would be deported, but we got though and arrived at Rafidia Hospital, where we had made contact with a doctor from the Red Crescent. All of the Hospital staff have been there for 8 days on standby. About 50 young students who are Red Crescent volunteers are also there, up all night waiting to be called out. The invasion happened here 10 days ago, the same day as Bethlehem was hit.

There are F16 fighter jets flying overhead, and Apache helicopters, made by the US. The main offensive is in the Old City where the Mosque is. The streets there are so narrow, no car can get through, but the bulldozers have bashed their way in. There are still some resistance fighters holding out there. Some of the bravest volunteers managed to get in there and rescue some of the injured. They were trapped in there for many days. The soldiers came in and searched very roughly both the injured and the dead. Tomorrow I will be going with a team who are trying to get back in there. I saw a video that one boy made of the scene in there. One man had his brains blown out.

I just did an interview for Pacifica, a very radical station in California and I described all of this to them. Seven ambulances have been shot at. I saw an interview with the head of the Red Cross. He said that the last time he had seen something like this was in Nazi Germany, when the Jews were tattooed on their arms and marked for death. He also said that ambulances are sacred and should always have a right of passage, but now they are a target for the IDF. We heard that one Commander calls his battalion the Auschwitz Brigade and said " We shall learn from the Nazis!" One of our group from the US managed to talk to a soldier today who believes that Arafat wants to throw them all into the sea! It is a breakthrough and I hope to get to talk to them; They are so jumpy and shoot at anything, they are scared and pumped up with propaganda. I went out today to collect a young boy of 11 who had been shot by a soldier. He was so brave, wounded in his arm. His father is an ambulance driver. Today the morgue in the Hospital is full of bodies, and they had to get a dairy lorry with a huge fridge in to put more of the bodies in. Many have not been identified yet. I spent hours visiting the wounded in the Hospital with a translator.

One young guy had his leg amputated. All the rest were bullet wounds. They all said to me 'Why does the world stand by and let this happen to us ? Why does no one care? Why do leaders talk and talk and never do anything? Why is Ireland and all the other countries so afraid of America?' I said I was very ashamed of my country's silence, but that The Palestinians are the strongest and bravest people I have ever met and that no one can crush their incredible spirit, and it is a great honour for me to be here with them at this moment. I slept in the Blood laboratory last night. The doctor there was so admiring of Ireland and films he has seen about great Irish Revolutionaries, whom he said are one of the toughest in the World. Many of the hospital staff have said this to me. But where is their voice now? The people have incredible dignity and unity. Even the town councillors are at the hospital ready to help. A French Journalist was shot in the chest yesterday and treated at the hospital. A huge fuss was made by all the journalists, but I was so disgusted to hear that after receiving emergency treatment he then transferred to an Israeli hospital, even though he was shot by THEM!

The IDF are not allowing rotting bodies to be collected from the streets. They shoot at people who try to bring home the dead but do not shoot at the cats and dogs who have started to eat them! Speaking to people here, I am learning again that Sept 11 is being used as an excuse to attack the Arab world.

Why are the Israeli attacks not called Terrorism? Why are suicide bombers called immoral, and tanks killing civilians is moral? Why is Arafat being asked to give more, when all their land and rights are taken? Sharon creates the suicide bombers. I hope that people start boycotting Israeli goods like they did South African produce during apartheid. I just want to say again; the people here ae so peaceful and intelligent and do not look up to foreigners, a great relief.

Thank you for caring,

Mary

May 8th 2002

Internationals are being put under huge pressure since yesterday, their consulates as well as the EU security advisors are putting a lot of pressure on them to leave the church and surrender to Israelis; to be put under Israeli police custody. Their position within the church is the same as any of the others; the Palestinian Authority is responsible for them and they will take their direction from President Arafat.

They ask for a deal similar to that of the internationals in Ramallah. They have to be set free. No names of any internationals should be taken, no custody, no deportation and no interdiction by the Israelis against their return here. They are doing humanitarian work, like those in the church, and in no way could they be considered a source of trouble or criminals. They have committed no violence against anyone.

They are under continuous pressure, and humiliating conditions. They are starving, and no food is allowed to them and to all the others besieged in the church. They drink from the stagnant water of the well in the church, and their sufferings are multiplied by the continuous pressure their consulates and EU security adviser are exercising on them.

They call upon all of you to react. Upon all internationals in the area to multiply efforts to deliver them food and medicines, and to help them stand against these illegal and unjustified pressures. It is a shame for anyone who believes in freedom and humanity to accept and exercise such pressure.