Mother of Shireen Issawi calls out to the world

A long time ago, they occupied our land, killed our grand-parents and parents, our women and children. They robbed us, while all the world was silently watching their massacres. They demolished our cities and villages and they distorted our landmarks. They destroyed our houses and made some of us homeless. They uprooted our native trees and they seized our land to build their settlements. Now we have no more land on which to build our houses and even if we build they demolish them. All our lands were issued for them. The settlement process is like an octopus that creeps on all of our lands. They vanquished and tortured us but they will never beat our determination because we are the right owners and because we are defending a just cause.

We will stay on our land if they want us to or not. We just want to live in peace and be safe just like the other peoples of the world. We want to preserve our dignity. We hate murder and bloodshed. We are a people who love life. It is they who kill us without a reason. It is they who arrest us on trumped-up charges.

Oh world, we want peace in a country of peace…

I will tell you my story. Me, my husband, my six sons and my two daughters were living and sharing love. Raising and educating our children was all we aimed for. However, the occupation forces deprived us of the least of our rights. They arrested my son Ra’fat when he was only fourteen years old, a child who understood nothing about politics. They, also, arrested my son Medhat when he was only thirteen years old. They judged and jailed them for one year but a few months after they got out of prison, they jailed them again for one year and 6 months. A short time after their getting out; they imprisoned Medhat one more time but he escaped and become wanted…and so I was always scared and worried about him until he was arrested again with his brother Firas. Medhat was sentenced to 8 years and Firas to 5 years. After releasing them, they arrested Medhat for the fourth time and sentenced him to 5 years. Then he got out and he got arrested for the fifth time and sentenced to 4 years and in sixth time he was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months then released and now he is jailed again. This means he had spent more than 20 years of his life in jail…isn’t that unfair? Isn’t it unjust that he should loose his life moving from one prison to another and for no real reason. Besides they arrested my son Samer 3 times and he spent 14 years in jail.

They arrested my son Fady when he was only 14 years old and six months. Four months after getting out of jail he was martyred. Just one day after the Al-Haram massacre, there was a peaceful demonstration in al QUDSS protesting against killing people while they were praying. The army faced this demonstration with bullets. My son Fady was just 17 years old when he was martyred and we were preparing some sweets to celebrate his birthday, in the evening, in 16 Ramadan.

Medhat and Firass were in jail and the Occupation Forces refused to release them to bid their brother farewell. Then they arrested Shady who spent 8 years in jail and he is now imprisoned at home after paying a 30.000 shekels bail and he also has to pay half a million shekel for building-violation. He doesn’t work as he is studying at university.

Shireen studied human rights and she became a lawyer and devoted her life to prisoners. She defends them and visits them in the prison. The occupation forces didn’t like that and so they imprisoned her too for one year with 6 months home arrest. They also deprived her of work for 3 years and after that they extended the ban for two more years. Now they have arrested her one more time with her brothers Medhat and Shady. Shady was released after spending one month without even sentencing him. And then they asked him to pay a fine with an amount of 50.000 shekels or he would go back to jail.

To a civilized world, to persons with clear conscience, to human rights institution and to lawyers syndicate, I am a Palestinian mother whose family was scattered by the occupation…I didn’t get to enjoy living with my children in their childhood nor in their youth. For 25 years we have not met as a complete family. I spend my life in front of prisons now I have collapsed physically and psychologically. I am suffering from chronic diseases like diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis and depression.

I ask you to raise this issue of the Israeli occupation’s brutality against me and my children with the United Nations. Please help me…the total years spent by my children in jail until now is 58 years. For what reason is all of that?”

This statement was originally released in Arabic; its translator is unknown to us. Here follows the original text.

رسالة ام سامر العيساوي الى الاحرار في العالم والضمائر الحية وكل من لديه قيم الانسانية ,,,, رســالة تــبكي الحـجر.

من قديم الزمان احتلوا ارضنا وقتلوا اجدادنا وآبائنا ونسائنا واطفالنا وسلبوا ونهبوا , والعالم يشاهد المجازر دون ان يحرك ساكنا . هدموا مدننا وقرانا وشوهوا معالمها هدموا منازلنا والبعض منا يعيش بالعراء اقتلعوا اشجارنا التي منها نعتاش استولوا عليها لاقامة المستعمرات ولم يبقى لنا ارض نبني عليها مساكننا حتى وان قمنا ببنائها فهم يهدموها ، كل اراضينا صدرت واصبح الاستيطان كالاخطبوط يزحف على كل اراضينا اذاقونا كل انواع العذاب والقهر ولكنهم لم ينالوا من عزيمتنا فنحن اصحاب حق واصحاب قضية عادله نحن باقون على ارضنا شاء من شاء وابى من ابى . نحن نريد ان نعيش بسلام وامان كباقي شعوب العالم نريد ان نعيش بكرامتنا نحن نكره القتل والدماء نحن شعب يحب الحياه ، هم من يقتلونا دون مبرر هم من يعتقلونا بتهم ملفقه ….. يا عالم نريد السلام في بلد السلام …… سآروي لكم قصتي ، انا وزوجي وابنائي السته وابنتان كنا نعيش والحب يجمعنا همنا الاول ان نربي ابناءنا ونعلمهم ولكن الاحتلال حرمنا من ابسط حقوقنا اعتقلوا ابني رآفت وهو في الرابعه عشر من عمره طفلا لا يفهم بالسياسه شيئا واعتقلوا ابني مدحت وهو بالثالثه عشر وحاكموهم وقضوا بالسجن كل منهم سنه وخرجوا ولم يمضي اشهر حتى اعادوا اعتقالهم وحوكموا كل منهم سنه ونصف وبعد ان خرجوا بفتره قصيره عادوا ليعتقلوا مدحت ولكنه هرب واصبح مطاردا وعشت في قلق وخوف عليه حتى اعتقلوه وشقيقه فراس حكموه ثمانية سنوات وفراس خمس سنوات وبعد ان انهوا حكمهم عادوا ليعتقلوا مدحت للمره الرابعه وحكموه خمس سنوات وخرج ثم اعادوا اعتقاله للمره الخامسه وحكموه اربع سنوات والمره السادسه حكموه سنتين ونصف وخرج وهاهم اعادوا اعتقاله يعني قضى من عمره اكثر من عشرين سنه داخل السجن اليس هذا حرام ان يضيع عمره وهو يتنقل من سجن الى اخر ولآسباب لا اساس لها من الصحه واعتقلوا ابني سامر ثلاث مرات ومجموع ما امضى بالسجن اربعة عشر عام ثم فادي كان بالرابعه عشر والنصف وبعد ان خرج من السجن باربعة اشهر استشهد كان لم يمضي يوما على مجزره الحرم وحدثت مظاهرات سلمية في القدس احتجاجا على مقتل المصلين قابلهم الجيش الاسرائيلي باطلاق الرصاص الحي عليهم فاستشهد ابني فادي وهو في السابعه عشر من عمره وفي عيد ميلاده كنا محضرين له الحلويات لنحتفل بعيد ميلاده بالمساء في السادس عشر من رمضان كان مدحت وفراس في السجن ولم يوافقوا على اخراجهم لوداع اخوهم ثم اعتقلوا شادي امضى ثمانية سنوات وهو الان في سجن بيتي بعد الافراج عنه من السجن بكفالة مقدارها 30.000 شيكل وعليه مخالفة بناء نصف مليون شيكل وهو لا يعمل وانما يتعلم بالجامعه وشيرين تعلمت الحقوق واصبحت محامية وهبت حياتها من اجل الاسرى ترافع عنهم وتزورهم بالسجن فلم يعجبهم الحال فسجنوها سنه فعلي وستة شهور سجن بيتي واوقفوها عن العمل ثلاثة سنوات وبعد ان انتهت المده جددوا لها سنتان وهاهم اعتقلوها مره اخرى هي وشقيقها مدحت وشادي خرج شادي من السجن بعد ان امضى شهر في السجن دون محاكمه ليطالبوه بغرامه خمسون الف شيكل والا سيعود الى السجن … ايها العالم المتحضر يا اصحاب الضمائر الحيه ويا مؤسسات حقوق الانسان ويا نقابة المحامين انا ام فلسطينه شتت الاحتلال اسرتي ولم اعش معهم طفولتهم وشبابهم من خمسه وعشرين سنه لم نجتمع كعائله امضيت حياتي على عتبات السجون حتى انهارت صحتي ونفسيتي اصبحت اعاني من امراض مزمنه كالسكري والتهاب المفاصل وهشاشة العظام والاكتئاب انا الان اطالب برفع قضيتي ضد الاحتلال على وحشيته تجاهي وابنائي الى هيئة الامم المتحده رجائي ساعدوني …… ان مجموع ما قضاه اولادي داخل السجن ٥٨سنه ونصف فبآي حق هذا.