August/September 2005

http://alawda.newjerseysolidarity.org

Films from Balata Camp: Visions of Struggle and Steadfastness

On Wednesday, July 20th, at the New Brunswick Public Library New Jersey Solidarity – Activists for the Liberation of Palestine showed films produced in Balata Camp, Palestine. Balata Camp is one of the hardest hit of the refugee camps in the West Bank. Tear gas, gunshots, and military searches are what they experience every day. These films were made by young Palestinians from the Balata Film Collective.

The first film shown was “The Sun Doesn't Shine in the Camp.” At the beginning of the film a Palestinian from the camp showed a view of the camp and a mountain in the distance. He said that there were 30,000 residents of the camp, coming from Haifa, Jaffa, and Tel Aviv. The camp is crowded and unhealthy.

The film introduces viewers to life in Balata Camp.

Dala Salami told about the collective destruction of homes. A young man named Hamabdel Lei told about his own house being destroyed and how he helped rebuild it. The destruction left several martyrs.

Wafa Abu-Arab, a teacher from the committee for the disabled, described unemployment conditions.

When the invasion border police impose curfew it keeps everyone under house arrest. Schools in Balata are forced to close. The children bravely claim not to be afraid of soldiers, but they know they must keep constantly alert. One young boy told tales of throwing 10 stones in one day. The film shows the courageous yet futile efforts of teenagers throwing stones at an Israeli tank.

In one attack by Israeli soldiers, 16 year old Noor was martyred while visiting friends. In that attack five Palestinians were martyred and three others were wounded.

After being provided with a brief glimpse at life in Balata camp, the viewer is asked spread awareness about the struggle in Palestine.

The film “Women in Death Castles” was about women Palestinian political prisoners from Balata Camp. There are 7400 Palestinian political prisoners of whom at least 100 are women. There are also children under 16 who are political prisoners. Of the 100 women only 20 of them were sentenced. The other 80 didn't even have a trial.

In the film, former women political prisoners shared stories of the horror of detention. They had been raped, and were subject to psychological torture from the moment of arrest. They thought the worst thing that happened was that their honor was threatened.

One woman demonstrated how her hands and legs were cuffed while gas was sprayed into her face.

The film also addressed the subject of children left behind when women are imprisoned. A daughter of a current prisoner asked, “how can a mother be taken from her children?” She said that her aunt tried to take her mother's place, but she still wasn't the same as her mother.

Political prisoners are hunted from everywhere in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Each prisoner is under threat of becoming a martyr.

In the film “The Grass Doesn't Grow in the Camps” a group of journalist girls who were interviewed the wife of a political prisoner who detained for 20 years. He did not see or meet his son until many years after his birth when he too was imprisoned.

The film covers the release of the political prisoner after 20 years. It shows the celebration held by the family and the village to welcome home its brother.

The Balata films can be viewed online at http://www.balatacamp.net.