"I'm 50 years old. I was born here. I opened my eyes in this house. My laughter, my sadness, my joy, and all my friends and loved ones are in this neighbourhood. He is quiet for a moment and the silence is filled by the cooing of pigeons in the coops he and his brother take care of on their shared roof."
"Smoke, smoke, smoke, Rajabi says anxiously, a cigarette in his hand. That is all we can do. A street sweeper for Jerusalem's municipality, Rajabi has stopped going to work, afraid his family might be thrown out of their home while he's out. His children and those of the other families facing imminent eviction have stopped going to school as well. Everyone is terrified about what might happen if they leave their homes for even a moment."
At the turn of the new year, the Israeli Supreme Court denied final appeals by 150 Palestinians across 28 families in Batn al-Hawa, Silwan. Approximately 700 residents across 84 families now face imminent forced displacement as eviction orders stand and settlers are slated to move into homes. Families have stopped going to work and school out of fear of being removed while absent. Residents describe deep emotional pain, the loss of lifelong memories, and the threat of communal erasure as they watch from rooftops near Al-Aqsa Mosque and await enforced removal.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]