IN STEREO
A long time ago, in our grandparents’ times, this Al-Makhrour area was forests. Then families came. Every family took a part. And the ancestors started to rehabilitate the land, the grandparents of our parents, and the grandparents of our grandparents. I learned the work from my grandfather, may he rest in peace. He taught me to do all the work on the land. In pruning time, I work; in ploughing time, I work; in weeding time, I work; in spraying time, I work. I don’t leave anything. Look, agriculture nowadays doesn’t make a living, only a hobby. I coordinate between my [professional] work and land work. I mean, [for] these few seedlings, I’ve put [in] 25,000 litres of water. I buy it. Every 1000 litres here [costs] 500 shekels [~US$145]. On the mains supply, 1000 litres I think is [only] 280 shekels. I keep irrigating until the end of September.
No one does this. The grapevine I planted, today it’s been a year exactly. Look how many grapes there are on it. When I planted the seedlings, everyone who used to pass told me that not a [single] tree will grow. “It’s OK, are you paying anything from your pockets?” I installed sprinklers for it, and I really took care of it. When people saw the trees! Now, this land, where we are, was not inherited. If I can – if there’s money available [and] there’s good land to buy – I buy it. I love the land, like one who loves a beautiful girl. Land is passion! I have another [land] inherited from my grandfather, may he rest in peace. The tunnel to Jerusalem, which is behind us, is in the middle of the land there. This tunnel’s entrance is in my land. This divided the land into two pieces. Now there’s another tunnel coming. – Abu Laith