‘They cannot take away my smile!’These were the astonishing words uttered by Aziz, a Bedouin man, who graciously shared his story with myself and eleven other international delegates. Our interfaith delegation, on behalf of Christian Peacemaker Teams, had stopped by the Bedouin village of Al Faqueet to learn about their history and the challenges they faced on a daily basis.
What we heard and saw was nothing short of horrifying. Despite having lived on the land for centuries – and with documentation to prove this – their village had been deemed ‘illegal’ by the Israeli government. As a result, it had been demolished 101 times in the past six years. That’s roughly one demolition every three weeks. An entire village of men, women, and children, building temporary wooden shelters or tents, only to have them razed over and over again. In spite of this, Aziz and the other villagers spoke of their great love for the land and their determination to peacefully resist the injustice they were facing.
Unfortunately, this was not an uncommon story as we travelled throughout Israel-Palestine. Later that day, we were to visit the Bedouin village of Umm al-Hiran in the Negev desert. Due to an Israeli settlement being built close by, they too faced the ugly prospect of demolitions. Just a week later, as I sat in my comfortable room in Sydney, I would watch heartbreaking footage of local villagers being arrested as they sought to halt part of their village being bulldozed.