WASHINGTON, 22 June 2003 — Brian Avery, a 25-year-old American citizen from Albuquerque, New Mexico, came home this week. A non-violent volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), Avery was shot in the face by a large caliber machine gun from an Israeli armored personnel carrier. At the time, his hands were in the air to indicate he was carrying no weapons.
Many did not expect Avery to survive his severe injuries. Determined, he proved them wrong. And, after 2-1/2 months in hospital in Israel, he returned on June 14 to his parents’ home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Avery has undergone three reconstructive surgeries on his seriously damaged face. He has ongoing eye problems and his mouth is wired shut. This did not deter him, however, from speaking — through clenched teeth — to Arab News.
Avery’s tragedy is one of three attacks by the Israeli military against non-violent ISM workers that took place during the Iraq war.
American Rachel Corrie was killed on March 16 by an Israeli military bulldozer in Gaza while trying to prevent the destruction of the home of a Palestinian physician. Tom Hurndall, of Britain, was shot through the head on April 11 in Gaza, and has not regained consciousness. He is expected to remain in a coma as long as he lives.
The ISM says the Israeli government has never satisfactorily explained any of these three incidents.
The tragedies of these three people were overshadowed by the intensity of the Iraqi war, and could be forgotten. A resolution that calls for an American investigation into Corrie’s death is currently in the House Committee on International Relations. Those involved with the resolution say it is being stonewalled by Congressman Tom Lantos, D-Ca., an ardent supporter of Israel, and without more Congressional support, it will likely die on the House floor.
As for Avery, all those Arab News interviewed for this story described him as a hero and exceptional young man.
(Brian) “realized he might die, and was determined to survive. He’s done that and I think he will be an advocate for Palestinians who are under occupation. He’s very committed to making sure that this is a story not just about him, but also about Palestinian civilians who are constantly targeted by Israeli violence,” said Michael Brown, executive director for Partners for Peace, a Washington-based human rights organization.
Avery said he was interested in the Israeli-Palestinian situation for quite some time, and “did a lot of research” before deciding to work as a volunteer in the Occupied Territories.
He first stayed 2-1/2 months in Nablus, where he said he documented human rights violations by the Israeli soldiers. This involved observing checkpoints around Nablus. “If we saw a situation where we thought human rights were being violated, we would try to intervene and negotiate with the soldiers to expedite the waiting process.
“What usually happened is that soldiers set up checkpoints in Nablus and the surrounding villages to check Palestinians’ IDs, which means waiting for hours — it’s a form of collective punishment.”
Avery said when they witnessed aggressive actions by the Israeli soldiers, “we would call human rights groups, to have them contact the Israeli military.
“We would talk to the people there, get their stories, and generally try to provide a comforting presence, because it was a very arbitrary punishment by the soldiers due to the simple reason that as Palestinians, they are victims of a systematic form of racism,” said Avery. “We often found over 100 people waiting at one of these checkpoints for hours on end. We would try to speed the process along.”
Asked if he thought he was targeted when shot, Avery said: “It couldn’t have been personal, I had been in Jenin for about five days before the shooting. I think it was a clear case of a soldier showing no regard for international monitors or citizens.”
Avery said they were in a Jenin apartment when they heard machine-gun fire in the area, and went out to investigate “to see if there were any young children in the area that might be in danger.”
Before going outside, he said the volunteers all put on reflective vests, even though it was not yet dusk, to ensure it was clear they were non-military personnel.
“So we walked out in the street and then heard some military vehicles approaching.”
Avery said the group stood off to the side, so it was clear they were not trying to block the vehicles. “As they came into view we could see they were armored vehicles, so we held our arms out to the side, so they could see we were posing no threats and had no weapons, even though we were the only people in the area.
“As we stood there, they opened fire on us. The others moved faster than I did, and I was the only person hit.
“I was shot in the face with a very large caliber machine gun,” said Avery. “It went in on the right side of my face, between the eye and top of the nose, and came out on the left cheek. It destroyed everything in its pathway and I lost a lot of bone and teeth on the left side of my face. So far, I’ve had two operations for bone replacement in the nose and around the eyes. I still have one more operation to replace the bones in the left cheek and upper jaw.
“When the bullet entered, it fractured all the bones on the left side of the face. All the jaw is now held together by quite a bit of wire in my mouth, and the doctors say they must replace the cheekbone and jaw. Then I’ll have surgery for tooth implantations, because I also lost many of my teeth.”
Avery said the bullet also caused his retina to hemorrhage, and damaged the optic nerve, so he also needs eye surgery. “I can’t see clearly out of the left eye, my vision is very blurry and distorted.”
Then he is scheduled to receive additional reconstructive surgery on the skin and muscles in his left cheek.
After being hit, Avery said the military vehicle “went on by as though nothing had happened.” Grateful he was with the group, he said they tried to administer first aid and called an ambulance.
Initially, he went nearby to the hospital in Jenin, where he said “there wasn’t a whole lot they could do but stop the bleeding and put a bandage in my face, and put me in a stable condition so they could arrange for me to go somewhere else. After Jenin, I went to Afula, from there, I was taken by helicopter to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.”
Asked if he felt uncomfortable being cared for by Israelis, Avery said the medical staff took very good care of him.
“The level of care I got was excellent; they were very friendly and helpful. I had a lot of Israeli activists that came to help out, so it was never an issue. In a hospital environment, I think the staff tends to divorce themselves from politics as much as they can and focus on medical care.”
He said he received “a lot of support” from both Israeli and Palestinian activists in the peace community.
“A lot of these Israelis strongly disapproved of the actions of their military and condemned them.”
Asked how he feels about his situation now that he’s home, Avery said he’s “obviously” in a lot of pain.
“But I can’t change what happened, so the best I can do is to focus that energy and anger on positive things and try to focus on a good recovery, educate people on what happened, and try to make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else — American or Palestinian.”
Avery said he found life in the Palestinian refugee camps “very harsh and difficult.”
The Palestinians are “under constant occupation, and endure constant threats of violence by the Israeli military. And there was a lot of poverty. A lot of the area is under sanctions and siege because of the forced checkpoints and border crossings. It’s very difficult for people to get to work, go to school or even see their families. So a lot of society and the economy is at a standstill.
“As a result, there is a huge amount of anger and resentment and real hatred in these occupied cities — especially in the towns.”
This has left many Palestinians convinced that they have no choice but to fight against occupation, said Avery. “For a lot of these older people who have grown up in this situation and have seen nothing else, they see no other option but to fight against occupation, which means military actions or even suicide missions.”
When asked if he had ever met a suicide bomber, Avery said no. “I never met anybody personally, but I met quite a few families who had members who did suicide missions.”
Avery said the suicide bombers came from “very warm and wonderful families who had no idea of what their son or daughter was doing, and were very much in regret for what that member of the family did. These were families who did not approve of the suicides. They just want to live in peace and enjoy life. All they really want is an end of the occupation.”
Meanwhile, 40 congressional leaders, including Representatives Melvin Watt and Sue Myrick of North Carolina, have co-sponsored the resolution by Congressman Brian Baird, D-Washington, that calls for an investigation into Corrie’s death.
“Congressman David Price, the local representative in Congress, has been a positive influence,” said Mary-Lou Leiser Smith, coordinator, Coalition for Peace with Justice in Chapel Hill, N.C. “Senator Jeff Bingaman, from New Mexico, has also been a great help. Both offices have been working through the diplomatic circles to ensure that the Israeli government will continue to finance Brian’s medical care.”
“Senator Bingaman wrote to the ambassador of Israel in Washington, asking that the Israeli government provide complete and comprehensive medical care to Brian Avery,” said Jude McCartin, spokeswoman for the senator. She said the letter was sent on June 4, and they have yet to receive a response.
McCartin said Sen. Bingaman’s interest in Avery “is a constituent matter,” as Avery attended the University of New Mexico and lived there before traveling to the Occupied Territories.
“The Congressional resolution calling for a further investigation of Rachel Corrie will die in the House International Committee largely due to the objections by Rep. Tom Lantos, if it does not have stronger support from other members outside of that committee,” said Michael Brown of Partners for Peace. “The general House members will have to build up support, or the House Committee will sit on it and do nothing. Lantos is blocking the bill.”
Brown said several peace organizations have tried many times “to get the State Department to go on record as being critical of the actions by the Israeli government against non-violent demonstrators. We think that non-violent resistance is entirely legitimate, and that our government should speak out and criticize the Israeli military actions that are killing and maiming American citizens.”
Brian, meanwhile, is working on getting his life back together. “Despite all he went through, he never once complained to me. That’s a very rare young man,” said Julie, Avery’s mother.
