Waiting in Umm al-Khair

The heartbreaking details of people waiting for their homes to be destroyed by the Israeli authorities is told again and again by the people of the Bedouin village of Umm al-Khair. Umm al-Khair is a Palestinian village located in the Hebron Governorate of the southern West Bank. The people eloquently describe the waiting as something akin to pregnancy. They are waiting for the birth of something, perhaps early one morning, with the realization that it will bring about the cruel destruction of their homes and their way of life. The villagers search the apparently fertile world around them—nearby settlers who enjoy modern life, the new military closed zones, the hum of drones above them near their rural homes, they search for answers. They may wonder why muted responses come from the international community as Israel continues demolitions that contravene explicit provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention. They may wonder how the world goes on, as if unaware of or forgetting real human beings in Umm al-Khair. Who will shelter them from an empire whose army has conquered the land where they live and before whose power they are otherwise powerless? Who will protect them from a power that tramples on their basic human rights and cruelly forces them from their homes? Who will save them from a force that destroys their livelihood? Who will halt the aggression? ‘Id al-Hajalin, a resident of Umm al-Khair ask, “Why do they want to destroy my house? Where can I go? Can I go to America? I have nothing, and they want to take that nothing from me. Can you help me? Where am I supposed to go?^”[1] Demolitions of homes and other structures that compel the people of Umm al-Khair to leave their homes may amount to the forcible transfer of residents of an occupied territory, which is a war crime. It is 5:15 am in Umm al-Khair. I hear the rumble of a large vehicle coming up the road. No, the domolition is not scheduled for today. Umm al-Khair is featured in the 2016 book "The Way to the Spring: Life and Death in Palestine" by Ben Ehrenreich.[2]

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[1] David Dean Shulman, 'On Being Unfree:Fences, Roadblocks and the Iron Cage of Palestine,' Manoa Vol, 20, No. 2, 2008, pp. 13-32

[2] Review: 'The Way to the Spring,' by Ben Ehrenreich, by Steve Weinberg, June 10, 2016, Star Tribune

NOTES FROM UM AL KHAIR (West Hebron Hills, Palestine)

We traveled to Um Al Khair by taxi from Hebron. We traveled to Yata where we were expecting an awaiting car. My team member had made the arrangements so I trusted that the trip would be routine. Nothing is routine in Palestine. Because neither my team member nor I speak Arabic, we got into a car we thought to be the one waiting for us. The price to our destination was 15 shekels. Two other individuals piled into this small vehicle. In the best Arabic we new, we told the driver we wanted to go to Um Al Khair. The driver had a conversation with the two other passengers about the town of Ar-Tuwani, a place known to us, but a bit further up Route 317. We believed that the two passengers had helped the driver locate out destination, and as they both reached the point where they got out of the taxi, we felt confident that we were on the way. We were wrong. Our driver did not know the way to Um Al Khair, and we could not tell him. We phoned out contact in Um Al Khair who spoke to the driver in Arabic. At this point, the driver was no longer interested in taking us to Um Al Khair. He asked us for 50 shekels. Our contact in Um Al Khair instructed us to pay him the 50 shekels and exit the car. We both reached for 50 shekels at once, and the driver responded that he wanted 50 shekels a piece. We were not going for that!  He drove away leaving us on an unfamiliar road. For all intent and purposes, we were lost. Several locals driving by signaled to us, an elderly white woman and a black man. But because we could not speak the language we were distrustful. We finally got another call through to our host in Um Al Khair who sent a car to pick us up. Lesson learned: Learn the language.