Hekmat Bessiso Naji
Posted on | November 7, 2008 | No Comments
Project Assistant with Medico International for health services
The world hides its ears and eyes from the miserable life of the refugees in the camps in Gaza and the West Bank. The issue is not just living here, but who’s responsible for this and when will this change. For refugees, all our lives have been under a question mark.
At the Qalandia checkpoint near Al-Amari camp, I saw young men throw stones at a military Humvee, and Israelis shoot tear gas back.
These youth mostly come from camps because to them death and life are similar: they are not able to build dreams for their future. They live with social problems and devastating poverty in a tiny space in Al-Amari with 8000 people or more. They want a chance, work, university, and a place to live. They feel the brunt of the occupation more than city people who have more comfortable lives.
What kinds of issues do you deal with in the refugee camps?
In cities and villages, there are many organizations to provide services. However, these organizations never come to camps. I think they’re searching for easier ways to work, but they’re not working for those that need them the most. In the camp, there’s a huge need for educational scholarships because the people are poor and good students should have the chance to go to the university and continue their education.
The youth need organizations to bring their initiatives to light and support them. I know talented young writers, painters, and dancers—the talent all of these people is confined to the camp. The leaders of these organizations don’t understand the needs of the refugees, and the city looks to the camp as a second world.
The women in the camp are bearing huge responsibilities; they need help too. They need to support their families, care for their homes, be educated, follow all technology and know about what’s new. And they’re living in the camp. They’re poor. There’s no money to take classes or be in the motion of the city. Any step you want to take, you find yourself in the city with its steep prices.
We hear of mothers who prepare their sons to fight and maybe to die. Is it true?
This is hard to answer because a woman answers this question for the media to show herself as a Palestinian, not as a mother or a human. She keeps her pain inside, and says, “I’m happy my son killed Israelis and has been killed.” But it’s not true. She spends her life crying and feeling she lost her precious child. When I talk to such a woman, she tells me her pain that he went from life this way.
My mother-in-law has ten children, one killed by Israeli military in 1994. My husband has seven brothers in Israeli prisons. He and one brother were just freed. They had the most family imprisoned at the same time. Now he is the General Director for Social Services of Ramallah District for the families of prisoners.
Why so many members of one family in prison?
They fight the occupation and are active in the resistance. The danger to the Israelis is not stones or guns, but ideas and examples. The brothers are leaders and educate youth about their culture. This is the main issue.
Everyday I wake up thinking there is only one way out—to work hard for my children and community, to work with the youth to give them faith to believe in themselves when they say they hate their lives and themselves. I try to provide an example while highlighting I’m not from the moon—I face a lot of the same troubles they face.
Love helps you accept things. If I didn’t love my children, I would not be able to accept these terrible responsibilities. If I didn’t love my homeland, I would not be able to accept these challenges. If I didn’t love my husband, I would not be able to accept our changes as a man and woman. If I didn’t love my work, I could not face everyday solving problems with the people.
Love is strong within Palestinians. They love their children, their mothers, their fathers, and their homeland. Ours is a real love here, not just a word. The people are really working hard for the people they love and the issues they love. They even pay the price of their lives for the homeland they love.
Do you have Israeli friends?
My husband is also a Hebrew translator, and we receive visits by many Israelis: some journalists and some friends. We welcome them in our home and host them and do our best to help them support their programs. They are Jewish and accept our rights as Palestinians in this land. Many of their children have refused to serve in the army.
What would you say to leaders of the two governments?
“You will pass from this life and the new generation will not speak well of you.” The leaders are foolish, they think of short-term gains, not the future. What about the next generation? What will be left to them?
Naji lives at Al-Amari refugee camp where she is a freelance consultant for programs for women and children. With Medico International, she works to increase services of health clinics through the Ramallah district. Formerly a resident of Gaza, Naji has worked with many organizations, including American Friends Service Committee, founded by Quakers. Naji teaches communication, leadership, strategic planning, and nonviolence.
