Striving for a peaceful Palestine

Another bomb, another rocket attack, another incursion — hatred, distrust and grievances piled up generation after generation. It’s easy to become hardened to the seemingly endless stream of TV images of the casualties of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The numbers killed since 1920 tell their own grim story: 90,700 Arab/Palestinian deaths and 24,500 Jewish deaths. These numbers do not reflect the suffering of the countless thousands wounded.
So when a conflict becomes like a sad tapestry — hanging in its gory colors but so familiar as to become overlooked amidst the relentless images of 24-hour news — it comes as a jolt to come face to face with someone who is living day-to-day with the harsh realities.
Talking to Al-Quds University graduate Tamara Halasi in a coffee shop in London was to see through her eyes the cost of the conflict and the harsh price being paid by the victims of a failed peace process.
Halasi comes from Jabel Al-Mukaber, a small neighborhood in the southern part of East Jerusalem. She studied and worked in Abu Dis, a Palestinian town in the Jerusalem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority, bordering Jerusalem. In 2004, Israel began constructing the Israeli West Bank Barrier. The route of the barrier or ‘separation wall’ between Abu Dis and Jerusalem (East of the Green line) has made it difficult for Abu Dis’s residents to access services in Jerusalem without a permit. The wall runs right through the town, disrupting access to schools, hospitals and work and separating families. Israel says that the route of the barrier is determined by security, not political considerations.
Al-Quds University has been badly impacted by the wall, which crosses its campus; there is a campus on the West Bank and a campus in East Jerusalem. For Halasi, who graduated this summer from the Faculty of Engineering, it has come as a great setback to discover that the Israeli authorities do not recognize her degree. “After studying for five years at Al-Quds University — I can’t work in East Jerusalem because the Israeli government doesn’t recognize my certification,” she said.
She is a talented student. Her graduation project, the Ultra Thermo Press, qualified for entry in the Made in the Arab World Competition.
She wants to work in the health sector in East Jerusalem. She is now aiming to study for a Masters degree in Medical Engineering at a European University. This qualification will be recognized by Israel and will enable her to commence her career in East Jerusalem. The situation has taken a heavy emotional and financial toll.
“I feel terrible because I have lost my dream. To be an effective person you should have a job to improve yourself and lead an independent life. I want to play a part in improving the medical system in Palestine. Now it’s very difficult for me because after five years’ study I can’t work or help my family,” she said.
Halasi’s father is unemployed. He formerly worked as a waiter at an Israeli hotel but because of the Intifada (the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation) he lost his job. “All Palestinian workers were thrown out and were replaced with Vietnamese and Chinese workers.”
Her mother works as a temporary teaching assistant at a school for disabled students. Halasi is the eldest of five children, three girls and two boys. Her sisters are at university but a brother has just abandoned his studies to make it financially possible for his sisters to continue. Halasi was able to afford university because she had a scholarship, which covered her tuition fees. She covered her living expenses through a part-time job in a shop.
Being in London doesn’t evoke the usual responses you might hear from a young visitor. Asked about her impressions of the city Halasi doesn’t talk about sightseeing or shopping — she talks about “feeling safe.”
“In England I have felt safe for the first time in my life. I don’t have to worry and to plan my whole life around checkpoints,” she said. She described how when she was a student she would often be late for lectures after being held up at checkpoints. Her mother was always fretting about her safety. She would call her throughout the day to check up on her. Halasi found it distressing being searched by Israeli male soldiers — she would always request a woman to check her but often women were not available.
She remains resilient and determined to achieve her goals but some memories are deeply painful.
“We lost our olive trees, which were an important resource for us, when the Israeli government took our land to build a settlement. My grandfather built a small camp on his land but the Israeli soldiers came and arrested him. He died of a heart attack,” she said.