27th September 2007 < back to News & Events
Palestine: A Different Perspective

This was the first of the public forums given in the Ferguson Lecture Theatre this term, organised by John Birchall. Dr. Kamilia El Farra is an eminent local surgeon, mother of one of our U5 students, Zena Hassanien. She has another daughter Nora, both of whom were present to assist their mother with her talk. There was a lively question and answer session following the talk.

Way back in 1917, when the Balfour Declaration was made, the homeland in Palestine was agreed to in principle, but only on the condition that the Palestinians were treated fairly and equally. How things have changed! That principle was clearly totally ignored, and now the Palestinians live in what amounts to a prison – Gaza is surrounded by a large fence, with two entry points, strictly controlled by the Israelis. Even the Palestinian Football Youth team was denied permission recently from the Israelis to leave Palestine to play in a global competition – although the Israeli team was – this is apparently typical of the cruel and capricious control exerted by the occupiers of Palestine. The tension under which everyone in the area lives is phenomenal, with everyone constantly looking over their shoulders.

Kamilia remembers growing up in Gaza when there was freedom, no terrorism, free use of beaches without women having to cover up - a very pleasant place it was. But now the living conditions in Gaza are appalling – the water is unfit for any animal or human to drink; ambulances are forced to stop at checkpoints for several hours, so that people cannot be helped in an emergency.

The Israelis receive billions of dollars of support from the US, plus a great deal of money from Germany as well. This has enabled the Israelis to become strong as it can buy weapons – it has at least 200 nuclear warheads. 

The global Media do not help much, in their portrayal of Hamas as extreme terrorists. The US media is especially bad, as it always sides with Israel, with reporters threatened with job losses if they do otherwise! In fact, Kamilia claims that it is the US backed Fatah movement which is corrupt and untrustworthy; the terrorism of Hamas is greatly exaggerated and in fact they take much better care of the Palestinian people than Fatah does. However, the Quartet (represented by Tony Blair) are determined to get rid of Hamas and will not negotiate with them.

There was hope expressed from one member of the audience that a change of US President (Hilary Clinton?) might improve matters, but Kamilia is sceptical of that hope, claiming that the Jewish lobby in the US is just too strong. Sadly, the United Nations seems to be ineffective – Israel ignores all their Resolutions and the US tends to use its veto in all discussions in support of Israel.

Our sincere thanks go to Dr. El Farra for coming to talk to us, for presenting the Palestinian perspective and for giving us so very much to think about. 

Zena had started the proceedings by reading out a poignant poem, Eye to Eye, written by Gihad Ali, a young Palestinian who lives in the US:

Look into my eyes
And tell me what you see.
You don't see a damn thing,
'cause you can't possibly relate to me. 

You're blinded by our differences.
My life makes no sense to you.
I'm the persecuted Palestinian.
You're the American red, white and blue. 

Each day you wake in tranquillity,
No fears to cross your eyes.
Each day I wake in gratitude,
Thanking God He let me rise. 

You worry about your education
And the bills you have to pay.
I worry about my vulnerable life
And if I'll survive another day. 

Your biggest fear is getting ticketed
As you cruise your Cadillac.
My fear is that the tank that just left
Will turn around and come back. 

American, do you realize,
That the taxes that you pay
Feed the forces that traumatize
My every living day? 

The bulldozers and the tanks,
The gases and the guns,
The bombs that fall outside my door,
All due to American funds. 

Yet do you know the truth
Of where your money goes?
Do you let your media deceive your mind?
Is this a truth that no one knows? 

You blame me for defending myself
Against the ways of Zionists.
I'm terrorized in my own land
And I'm the terrorist? 

You think you know all about terrorism
But you don't know it the way I do,
So let me define the term for you,
And teach you what you thought you knew. 

I've known terrorism for quite some time,
Fifty-five years and more.
It's the fruitless garden uprooted in my yard.
It's the bulldozer in front of my door. 

Terrorism breathes the air I breathe.
It's the checkpoint on my way to school.
It's the curfew that jails me in my own home,
And the penalties of breaking that curfew rule. 

Terrorism is the robbery of my land,
And the torture of my mother,
The imprisonment of my innocent father,
The bullet in my baby brother. 

So American, don't tell me you know about
The things I feel and see.
I'm terrorized in my own land
And the blame is put on me. 

But I will not rest, I shall never settle
For the injustice my people endure.
Palestine is our land and there we'll remain
Until the day our homeland is secure. 

And if that time shall never come,
Then we will never see a day of peace.
I will not be thrown from my own home,
Nor will my fight for justice cease. 

And if I am killed, it will be in Falasteen.
It's written on my every breath.
So in your own patriotic words,
Give me liberty or give me death.
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