By Paul Larudee
The young wife of Amer Nabulsi (not his real name) had a special way of coping with his death. Shedecorated their room with pictures of children and young couples, valentine hearts, teddybears, and other irrepressibly cute images. Some were happy, a few sad, and others in love.Some were cut from magazines; others were posters, cards or stickers. To these images sheadded her own words and symbols.
I sleep in their room, so her artwork surrounds me every morning andevening. Much of it is in Arabic, which I don?t read very well, but thetears and broken hearts drawn with marking pens speak clearly enough, as do the few Englishwords, ?I love you and miss you.?
The reason I sleep here is that she has fled the house, along with most of the family. Out of atotal of ten family members, only Amer?s parents are here, along with me and other members ofthe International Solidarity Movement from the U.S., Ireland, Italy, the U.K. and othercountries. Israeli authorities have threatened to demolish the house, despite the fact thatit is a war crime to do so. The Fourth Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signatory, outlawscollective punishment of entire families or communities. We want to try to prevent this fromhappening, or at least put up nonviolent resistance.
No one knows for sure why Amer chose to become a istishhad (one who martyrs him/herself). ByPalestinian standards, he had every reason not to. He had a job, a home, a car, a loving wife anddaughter. While not wealthy, he did not have to worry about becoming needy.
Furthermore, his mother and father consider suicide bombings to be immoral. They are deeplydevout muslims, but are among the vast majority who believe that any form of suicide is againstIslam. They spend much of their time reading the Koran and praying. In spite of this, or perhapsbecause of it, they are quite liberal by local standards, and highly tolerant. Their youngestdaughter wears jeans and wouldn?t be seen in the hijab, or traditional head covering, and herrelation with her fiancי is anything but traditional, with her parents? blessing. Amer’sfather cannot talk for long about him without tears welling up in his eyes and his face beingtransformed by grief.
What led Amer to put on a vest of Semtex and cause his flesh to be scattered by its explosiveforce? Part of the reason might be the anger that he must have felt when his father sufferedbrain damage from a beating administered by Israeli forces. Mr. Nabulsi?s left side was leftpartly paralyzed and he now speaks with difficulty, as if he had had a stroke. Still, that wasseven years ago. More recently, a friend was killed in a
car that was destroyed by Israeli gunfire. His family also reports that he
was strongly moved by both the news and personal reports of the Israeli invasion of Ramallah inearly March, 2002, and especially the siege of the presidential compound.
However, such experiences are common to most Palestinians, and do not necessarily make themsuicide bombers. What was the difference in Amer?s case? I can only speculate, but it may havebeen the strong sense of moral right and wrong, of justice and injustice, that his parentsinstilled in him. It permeates the family, and can be seen as they drop by for meals andconversation with their parents, in which I am invited toshare. The small children get plenty of love and patience, but noindulgence. Even the slightest disciplinary action comes with a moraldictum, however brief.
It may be that Amer simply grew impatient with the injustice he saw around him. Perhaps it wasthe daily humiliation at the ubiquitous checkpoints, where Palestinians pass only with thepermission of the soldiers on duty. Perhaps it was the increasing sight of Israelisettlements, built on confiscated Palestinian land, on the hilltops surrounding the city.Perhaps it was the arbitrary arrest and/or assassination of thousands of ?suspects? byIsraeli security forces, the use of torture, now considered legal in Israel, and theunlimited detention without charges. Perhaps it was the refusal to allow him and 3.3 millionothers in Gaza and the West Bank to worship in Jerusalem, the holiest city in the country to allreligions. Perhaps it was the diversion of water resources, the deaths of ambulance patientsat checkpoints, the bulldozing of olive and fruitorchards, or the construction of settler roads, which Palestinians arepermitted neither to use nor cross.
I have been with the family for two weeks now, and it is time to go,although our group will continue to maintain a presence at this and other homes, as thesituation warrants. When the Israeli occupation forces choose to commit war crimes, theyprefer to do so away from the eyes of international observers. I would have stayed even if thefamily had been a misanthropic group of wild-eyed fanatics, because a war crime is a war crime.However, they are kind, generous, and courageous, and we have bonded during my stay. We kisseach other on the cheeks and exchange contact information. They invite me to come to theirdaughter?s wedding. I promise to call.
Suicide attacks against innocent noncombatants are also a war crime, and Amer?s family isright to condemn them. However, I do not see wild-eyed religious fanaticism as the reason forthe attacks. I see instead a
resilient people without other means of resistance, pushed to desperation by the increasingpressures of ethnic cleansing, while their cries for help are ignored. Is there a proud peopleanywhere that might not be driven to such measures to defend themselves?