Woman against the Wall
Sheerin Alaraj (35) meets me in her village of Al-Walaja situated in the North-West of the Bethlehem district. The village is inside what Israelis call ‘Gush Etzion’ - The Etzion Block. This is an area of Israeli settlements established on Palestinian land, and surrounding Palestinian villages. Until 1948, Al-Walaja sat on both sides of what was to become the armistice line between Israel and Jordan, and which is commonly called the Green Line. During the war in 1948 most of the inhabitants of the village fled the area, while some settled down in the “new” Al-Walaja, which is entirely in the West Bank.
Sheerin Alaraj receives me at home and offers tea and oranges from this year’s harvest. She has been interested in politics and involved in political issues her whole life, and even as an adolescent she was a member of the Fatah Youth. So it was only natural for her to be active in the local committee against the Israeli separation Wall in 2003 when the plan for constructing the Wall was put forward.
“We received the first signals that something was going on already during the Barak government,” Sheerin says, “Before the Intifada started in September 2000, the then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said that Israelis and Palestinians would have to make a choice either to ‘marry or divorce’. Even back then, it was clear for us that a separation between the Israelis and us would be enforced in the near future.”
In 2003, residents of Al-Walaja received the initial maps that outlined the plan to split the village into two parts. The people residing in the village sent a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court, which eventually ruled against the plan. In the year 2000, a substantial piece of land in Al-Walaja was taken over by the Israeli military. Part of the land was sold, Sheerin says, by “collaborators”, and the other part was confiscated by the state of Israel for “security considerations” as the owners of the land could not provide the necessary documents that proved their ownership of the land.
Sheerin notes that many Palestinians cannot substantiate their ownership of land through the provision of the relevant documents. Many of them are also refugees living outside Palestine and no longer have access to such documents. She believes that the state of Israel exploits this lack of proper documentation to justify land confiscation.
Resistance since 2003
Since Israel unilaterally decided to build the separation barrier in 2003, Sheerin has been one of the first advocates working against the Wall. The preliminary plans show that the village would be surrounded by a wall with only one opening for the villagers to use in order to get in and out of the village and the villagers would not be allowed to receive visitors from neighbouring villages.
“We are not sure whether this plan will go forward, but the real problem lies in the fact that we are simply not informed,” Sheerin says dejectedly. “Since the end of September 2007, construction on the Wall has been halted here in Al-Walaja. Some people believe it is due to the potential changes to the route of the Wall, others believe that it is because of economic problems in Israel, while some are convinced that it is because Israel intends to attack Iran.”
One issue that stands out for Sheerin and others in Al-Walaja is the lack of support from the Church. She is disappointed with the Vatican’s lack of intervention in the confiscation of land around the Monastery where Cremisan wine is produced; lands that are adjacent to Al-Walaja. “As far as we know, neither the Monastery nor the Vatican has done enough to try to change the current situation. The Monastery could have filed a lawsuit, but since nothing has been done, the people in Al-Walaja have lost a large area that was used for recreational purposes, in addition to the olive trees that have been uprooted and destroyed in the process of constructing the route of the Wall.”
Women in the resistance movement
Today Sheerin is one of the very few active women in the resistance movement. With a MA in Peace and Development Studies from the University of Gothenborg, and a MA in Human Rights from the University of Essex, Sheerin is keen to find funding for a PhD to research the role of women in conflict. “Women are central figures in society, and there is not enough research yet on what women can contribute to conflict resolution.”
She explains that until a couple of years ago, many women in Al-Walaja were actively involved in the local resistance, but the difficulties on the ground have caused women to relinquish active struggle. “One of the consequences of the boycott that happened after Hamas assumed power was a sharp increase in the poverty levels in Al-Walaja, and in other villages in Palestine. Many families are currently suffering from the deteriorating economic situation, many have accumulated huge debts, and it is the women who suffer the most because they are responsible for managing their households. Of course this has a negative influence on the involvement of women in the resistance, and more than 75 % of the women in Al-Walaja suffer from some form of depression caused by the difficult situation.”
From Palestine to Darfur
Sheerin will soon go to Darfur in Sudan, where she will be working for six months as a human rights officer for the United Nations. She is anxious about the situation she will leave behind: “I thought extensively about what might happen in Al-Walaja while I am away. Many people are asking me not to go to Sudan because they need me back home in Al-Walaja, but I have a strong desire to be exposed to other countries with ongoing conflict as some are even in a much worse condition than Palestine. I believe that they will be six informative months in Darfour.” She smiles, and adds, “Maybe upon my return from Darfour, I will appreciate the quality of life we have here in Palestine.”
