IN STEREO

I know that Al-Makhrour area is known for trees, for the green area that the Jewish-Israelis covet, that they try to confiscate. I know that Al-Rweisat is a high mountainous area, and an amazing area. Every high area, the Jewish-Israelis try to occupy or confiscate to make settlements there. Al-Walaja village is basically a border village. In ‘48, during the wars… Of course, I wasn’t here and don’t know. But I know the history that in ‘67, the village, the old Al-Walaja [people] were displaced. They were displaced from the old village to this village. Now, in order to connect the old Al-Walaja to the new Al-Walaja, we don’t forget the old Al-Walaja. There’s a railway between us, the separator between the old Walaja and the new. From that time to today, we don’t dare to go to those areas, that’s it. Fear, terror – basically the Jewish-Israelis prevent us. It’s forbidden. They didn’t make a railway; they made a wall. There isn’t… You can’t. – Um Ala’a

Of course, [I was] born in the new Al-Walaja. The one in which we are, because there’s the old Walaja. It’s on the mountain opposite to us. From the old Walaja, there are people who went to camps, to cities for a period of time, and of course came back here. Now, the population of Al-Walaja was approximately 35,000. Of them, there are around 3000 [here]. I mean, from our family, there’s no one here but us and my uncle. No one. When people started to come back, they were living a truly hard life. Little by little, the features and shape of a village started to appear. This is like, as they say, ‘out from under the rubble’. The lands we’re in, as you see, aren’t suitable for anything. So people don’t have a source of livelihood. Of course, the old Walaja has 19 water springs; here we have two that barely have water. [Um Fadi: Two worn out springs, worn out.] So there was a water source and land resource and people lived well. And now we can’t find a place to plant tomatoes. – Abu Fadi