Battir

After hearing about Battir and how beautiful it is, I was very excited to visit it. The day had come, and I went for a walk from Bet Jalla to Battir. I started out my day very excited to go on the walk because of what I heard from my friends. However, when I was driving from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, my excitement vanished in the wilderness. When I reached the end of the first tunnel, on the way, and going to the mouth of the second tunnel I was shocked by what I saw. There were three soldier jeeps down the hill, a couple of bulldozers and people demonstrating on top of the hill. I stopped the car to see what was going on. One of the soldiers came up to me and started screaming to move my car somewhere else and to go away. I had no other choice but to listen. So I went back into my car, parked it a little further and went back to ask the people. The people told me that the Israelis had decided to cut down someone’s olive trees to build the segregating wall. I stood for a second and wondered about how the Israelis could do such a thing. This was very cruel to the person who owns the olive trees and to nature itself. My answer to the question was that Israel does not care about either. They only care about doing what is on their mind. They think that they can do whatever they want and whenever they want to. And I’m sorry to say, they do.

Moving on with my trip, I reached the checkpoint. The exit to Bet Jalla was to my left. However, I could not make a left. I had to drive for another kilometer or something, take a left, make a U-turn, and take a left again to go back on the road I was coming from but from the opposite direction. Going through that process, I thought to myself: we are not able to go through the main checkpoint to Bet Jalla; we have to go around, and drive another kilometer or so, and go through all that process I went through just to get to Bet Jalla. The Israelis are torturing us and treating us miserably little by little. I think they just want us dead.

I finally made it to Bet Jalla and parked my car next to the District Coordination Office checkpoint. I waited until all my friends and professors gathered around. They finally arrived and we started our walk. We started walking down hill looking at different plants. We also looked at some of the old houses and caves that Palestinians used to live in long time ago. These houses were destroyed, and left empty. We made it all the way down hill safely, without anyone being injured. We took a five-minute break, so we could all gather up again. During the break, Samir, who works in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, talked about the landscape. He told us about how man had created terraces to plant and to cultivate the land. However, the land has been untouched and by time without being cultivated had been naturally transformed. One could see the terraces these a days, but not as clearly as one would have seen the terraces hundreds years ago. There were parts of the landscape that were still planted. People cultivated it, but not a lot. We kept on walking and learning about the different trees and flowers.

We finally reached Battir after walking for a very long time. I was tired, hungry, and thirsty. Battir was a whole different landscape from what we saw from before. It was green, and full of life. Birds flew and sang high in the sky. There was a sound of a donkey and a horse in the background. It was all very wonderful. I wished that moment could never end. The sound of the birds grew higher and higher, the view became clearer and clearer. I felt that I became younger with that beautiful, wonderful and happy moment. I forgot about my hunger, thirst, and pain. I just stood and looked at the beautiful landscape, wishing that I had a house on top of the hill. Unfortunately, we had to keep on walking. On the way we met some kids from the school in Battir. They were very nice to us and happy to see us.

The railway, at the bottom of the hill, made Battir even a more special place. However, it would have been perfect only if that railway did not serve as anything else but a railway. That railway served as the borders of the people living in Battir. They are prohibited from crossing the railway. If they do cross it, their lives are in danger. This is when my happiness was distracted. I started thinking about how the kids in Battir are able to see the train and the railway, but cannot ride on the train or cross the railway. It must feel painful as if one is handicapped. I felt sorry for the innocent kids and people of Battir. I wanted to explore the landscape behind the railway so bad, but I could not. I did not want to risk my life.

We continued our walk, and we walked up the hill to meet some people who are living in Battir. They were very happy to see us. They welcomed us with pleasure. They were very kind to invite us for lunch. We all went inside of their store, which they make pieces of arts made from clay, and had a wonderful lunch. We all ate, drank, and sat on the balcony enjoying every second of our time. Then, the owner of the store came up and spoke to us. He told us about the history of Battir and how they are living now.

He told us that Battir is an ancient village that Israel kicked the people out from in 1948. The people were afraid and left the village. However, one man went at night, turned on all the lights, and asked the Israeli government to let the people stay in their village. I do not know how exactly the man did it, but it worked. The Israeli government made an agreement that if the people are living in their homes and cultivating their lands, they could stay in Battir. Since that day, the people living in Battir have been planting and cultivating their lands. Now their border is the railway. However, the Israelis are planning on building and continuing the wall into Battir, which I think will serve instead of the railway. However, if they are going to build the wall, they are going to destroy the landscape, lands owned by people, and possibly houses. The Israelis are also planning to expand the settlements of Har Gilo. The expansion of the settlement will surround Battir and other villages so they cannot expand.

At the end of our walk and visit, we decided to help the people of Battir by planting some olive trees in their lands. We were all excited to help them. Each one of us grabbed a tool, dug up the ground, and planted a tree. The people of Battir were very pleased with our work and they really appreciated it. At the end, they helped us find taxis, so that we can go home. We all went home tired but very happy. It was a day that I will never forget.

After reaching home, I could not stop thinking about Battir. I could not stop thinking about how beautiful it was, about the situation that Battir is in and about the people living in it. So in order not to forget every detail of my experience I wrote it down in my journal.