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From Monday, August 6, to Wednesday, August 8, Peter and Bill traveled
once again to Tuba in the South Hebron Hills. The final leg of the
journey was the 2 hour trek over footpaths from At Tuwani to Tuba. The
reception in Tuba with the first family we stayed with was as if we were
returning family members. |
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We were immediately given a breakfast of fresh scrambled eggs, tomatoes
and fresh homemade bread along with very sweet hot tea. |
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Then we gave them photos of themselves which we had taken during
previous trips to Tuba and they were delighted with them. Even though we
know very little Arabic and they know very little English, we spent time
practicing Arabic words and phrases to communicate. Peter entertained
the younger members of the family with his magic tricks and imitations
of various animal sounds.
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Our main task in Tuba was to be ready to quickly go to any place where
soldiers or settlers were intimidating or abusing the shepherds to do
what we could to intervene and film the incidents. There are not enough
internationals to be permanently placed in Tuba. Hafez, coordinator of
the Regional Committee of the South Hebron Hills, created the strategy
of having internationals stay in the village instead of going out with
shepherds as they graze their flocks. In this way, settlers do not know
if internationals are present or not on any given day, and are hopefully
thus deterred from attacking Tuba shepherds.
The shepherds informed us that there had been some sort of an encounter
with the settlers of the neighboring Israeli settlement of Ma’on or the
Havat Ma’on outpost the day before, but it seems there was no physical
contact. |
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About 15 children from Tuba were still
attending the children’s summer day camp in At Tuwani. They had to pass
by the settlement with military escort because settlers would otherwise
intimidate and physically attack them. At 1 PM we received the call from
Christian Peacemaker
Teams (CPT) in At Tuwani that the children should soon be past
the settlement and our task was to see that they arrived safely back in
Tuba. (see our first August report) |
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As the day progressed, the second eldest
son brought in the flock of sheep and goats for water and food. At this
hottest part of the day everyone rested. After a few hours, the flocks
were taken out to pasture again and the family returned to their many
chores. Since the father had gone to Yatta, the nearest city, the eldest
son was in charge of making sure that all chores were completed. |
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He built a small stone wall that afternoon with the help of his younger
brothers and Bill. We were really impressed at how sturdy and strong it
turned out to be. That evening, the sheep and goats returned and supper
was served. As it got dark, the village generator was turned on
providing light as they washed dishes, listened to a radio, and
conversed with us until the generator was turned off at 10 PM. Then
mats were spread out and most of us slept under the stars. |
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The next morning at 7 AM we observed as
the children from Tuba going to the summer camp proceeded safely toward
the settlement and the awaiting military escort and we informed CPT to
be on the lookout for them arriving on the At Tuwani side.
Later, we moved from our tent home to a family that lives in a cave. The
father was ill with a headache and we regretted that we had forgotten to
bring aspirin. At 1 PM we again observed the children safely returning
to Tuba from the summer camp.
When the day’s chores were done and the father felt better, the family
enjoyed a time of warmth and relaxation together before the generator
was turned off and we all went to sleep under the stars.
The shepherds of Tuba, like most Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza,
live in constant threat of attack from soldiers and settlers, have a
lack of adequate resources, and live in fear of being expelled from
their land and homes. They cannot get permits to build homes, and are
reduced to living in tents and caves. Under these circumstances, we are
impressed with how self-sufficient these people are. They use the many
stone and rocks around them to make corrals, chicken coops, outhouses,
etc. for the animals and themselves. They cook most of their food from
items grown locally or at least within 25 miles of their home.
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The third morning, we left Tuba after observing the children safely
going to the At Tuwani summer day camp. As we came through At Tuwani, we
stopped to see the children’s summer camp in session. Since part of our
mission in Tuba was to watch out for the safety of the Tuba children
going to this camp, we wanted to celebrate with the young people its
success. |
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The children were playing soccer with great enthusiasm and energy! |
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In our first August report, we mentioned
that the Israeli High Court had ordered the Israeli Military to, within
2 weeks, tear down the 3 foot high wall which it had installed that
extends 25 miles along settler road 317. This wall keeps the shepherds
flocks from crossing the road, preventing them from grazing on the
shepherds’ own land. When we came to At Tuwani on Monday, August 6 we
observed that the wall was still in tact even though the 2 weeks had
passed. As we left At Tuwani on Wednesday August 8, we observed that the
wall had been removed.
Hafez again urged MPT to consider a regular accompaniment of the
shepherds in the South Hebron Hills communities. We promised that
MPT would seriously consider his request.
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