IN STEREO

We also have land in another location, in Cremisan. The wall crossed the land there, uprooted about five olive trees, and most of the land is behind the wall. There are four olive trees left there. In that area, there are no roads to reach the land, so when we go there, it’s like an adventure. But not an easy one. So me, my brother, my sisters, my wife – [my] family – when we go there, we reach the land very exhausted, so we have to take a rest. We can’t go there to take care of the land. We just go in the olive season, for collecting the olives. [For] the one olive tree that’s left behind the wall, they announce when they are going to open the gate. They open it just for five to seven days, and it’s not enough. If the olive [trees] on my had land had stayed and were not uprooted, we always took about two weeks.

One tree takes about two days to finish. They open it for a specific period, from eight o’clock until three o’clock. So if you are late in the morning, you will not be allowed to enter. And if something happens to you, you’ll stay there until they come to open it [again]. This year, the olive season was bad. We entered [and] saw in the trees it was not a good season. So I spoke with the solider: “We want just about one hour to finish collecting the olives.” I asked him to come back to open the gate. He said, “No. If you enter and the gate is closed, you must stay until three o’clock.” And when you are there, you re under surveillance. The cameras are just above. So even there in your land, you don’t have any privacy. – Issa A.