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My dad gave me land and I built on it. Now my sons were going to school. When they left in the morning, the home was standing. They came back and found the house demolished. They were shocked; there was no way to come back home. They’d gone up with bulldozers; they demolished the wall onto the street. We became like an exiled area. We couldn’t get out – there was no street to take. It was raining; the street was very messy. I was pregnant when they demolished this home. They came in March and it was foggy, very thick. They came early in the morning. They made like a wall [of] soldiers. They [blocked] the door of the house; it was forbidden to open the door. And they terrified us. I mean, unbelievable. You see, look how they destroyed our psychological state. They destroyed us.

So I continued renting for a long time. [But] I built again, taking the risk. This land is from my dad. I mean, where else can I go? I can’t pay rent for houses. I lived in this house without windows or doors or anything. I mean, there was nothing in the house. But the important [thing] is that that I have a house. “How were you able to get up; how were you able to rebuild?” [you] didn’t ask me. “How, after you had seen your home demolished, how did you build again? How were you able to give birth after what happened to you? How were you able to educate your children in a bad economic situation?” you didn’t ask me. [When] a person sees their home being demolished before their eyes, it’s a catastrophe. How can they see again? I don’t know. – Um Ala’a