58. Photo Essay - Family of 11 left homeless after their Home is demolished
Family of 11 left homeless after their Home is demolished
Ecumenical Accompaniers Hannah Rought-Brooks of the United Kingdom and Eva Halling of Sweden were part of a group of Israeli and international activists who joined with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) December 1st to protest the demolition of a family home near Beit Hanina on the northern outskirts of Jerusalem. They prepared this photo essay:
Four years ago Nadja Shabani and her husband bought a piece of land on Tel el Ful, a hill looking down over Beit Hanina, to build a home for the family. They moved into the house a year and a half ago but since then they have been struggling with the Jerusalem Municipality authorities and through the courts to try and obtain a permit in order to stay in their home. On the morning of December 1st, with all their avenues of appeal exhausted, the bulldozers began moving in to carry out a demolition order granted by the Courts.
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) quickly organised activists, both Israeli and international, to try to prevent the demolition, to support the family, and to protest against the policy of house demolitions.
Despite desperate negotiations and a refusal by some of the activists to move from the house, the final two Israeli activists were eventually dragged out by Israeli Border Police. Another Jewish American volunteer for ICAHD was pulled down from the roof and carried away by six Border Police officers. The bulldozers then moved in and with nothing left to stop them, the flimsy structure of the house was smashed in less than three minutes.
ICAHD protests against the demolitions of Palestinian homes. In this case, the home was demolished because of a lack of permit. Statistically, Palestinians have little chance of securing building permits legally.
HomeDemolition03041201
Ecumenical Accompanier Hannah Rought-Brooks (left) speaking with an activist outside the house.
HomeDemolition02041201
ICAHD director Jeff Halper (left) waits with the family while activists put up a banner outside the house.
HomeDemolition08041201
The grandmother of the family in the house: "I am not leaving. Now I can be outside, but at night where am I going to go?"
HomeDemolition17041201
The grandmother of the family sitting on a bed outside after her home was demolished.
HomeDemolition09041201
An ICAHD activist is dragged from the roof of the house and up the hill by six Israeli Border Police officers.
HomeDemolition05041201
Ecumenical Accompanier Eva Halling (left) waits with other activists for the police to enter the house.
HomeDemolition18041201
Nadja Shabani comforts two of her children by the side of the demolished home.
HomeDemolition16041201
One of the sons in the Shabani family cries outside the remnants of his family's home.
