IN STEREO

Before, you know, at every [land] there was a small house. We were there from March until it rained at the beginning of October. We lived there then came here to Beit Jala. We slept there under the trees, every day, everywhere. We didn’t need to buy anything from the market. Our parents and grandparents were following the sweet trees: the apple, the apricot, the fig... You know, my father planted 360 fig trees. They asked him why [and] he said, “If my sons eat one tree every day, it will last for a year – they will not be hungry again.” My grandfather gave my father [land] in Al-Makhrour. But now it is not easy to reach it. Israel took thirty dunums from us. 30,000 square metres for this Route 60. Now we are not allowed to use this road to enter Makhrour. [It’s] only for the Jewish-Israelis. These donors came: Caritas, Bethlehem University, World Vision. These three organisations made the road to help us.

If they hadn’t made it, we wouldn’t be able to reach it. We’d have to go walking. So everybody left their land. This is our problem. One week ago, they came and said, “This land is for us.” 4000 square metres. Everybody is saying now they’re afraid. They said soon there will be a railway coming from there. Soon there will be an airport there. Because of that, everybody is afraid. It’s not easy to repair the land. You know, if you want to hire a tractor, he’s afraid! If the Israelis catch him, they will take it and keep it for one month. And he will pay penalties. [Israel] don’t care. Planted or not planted, if they need it, they say it is for military reasons. They are not asking. If you build one metre above the ground, they demolish it. If you don’t demolish it yourself, they will demolish it – and they will charge you thousands. So you have to demolish it yourself. – Abu Yousef