Fatima Shehada Ja’fari
Posted on | December 2, 2008 | No Comments
Political activist, women’s organizer, and former political detainee
No institution has given Palestinian women anything. Women have to grab their rights from men. I was the only woman invited to the anniversary celebration of the Fatah movement. I asked the men, “Was the revolution launched by men only? No, it was launched by men and women. Women have always struggled. Have any of you brought your wives, sisters, or mothers to the struggle? You only get us involved when you want us involved. Then you put us aside. You vote for women because you have to, not because you choose to.”
Palestinian mothers and girls must rely on themselves, must respect the trust given to them, and, most importantly, must preserve their honor. Women can give to their communities if they earn people’s trust. I tell women, “Never despair because despair kills. Take your rights by force and never surrender.”
You were in an Israeli prison, as were your brothers, husband, and oldest son. Why?
People criticized me. A woman said to me when I was released in 1981, “What have you achieved? Your brother was killed and you were detained. What for?” I said, “You do not deserve an answer because you would not understand. I did not want to be detained to gain benefits. I was detained because I have something inside of me, in my blood. I have to struggle for my homeland.”
I started patriotic activities after I was released. I took part in marches, visits, demonstrations, everything. With two friends, I formed women committees through Gaza and the West Bank. I also founded a kindergarten.
People from Nablus to Hebron know my struggle and me. I have never let down a person asking for help because I know what it means to undergo hardships in life, including having family who were martyred, detained, or wounded.
Tell us about the impact that prison had on your family.
I used to visit my husband, my brother, and another Iraqi guy who was detained with them. I was responsible for their pocket money, clothing, everything, as well as supporting my four children. I used to knit until one or 2 o’clock in the morning in order to earn enough for all the people I was responsible for. My husband lost his hearing in the prison.
Before I was detained in 1988, I was a fugitive for 7 months before I was detained. My son was in prison at the time, and he heard that some people had confessed about me. I went into hiding when he told me. However, I wanted to see my son again so, I went to Ramallah court so that I could look at him from a distance. Someone had informed the Israeli authorities about my presence and I was detained. I spent three months in detention and had to pay a heavy fine.
Tell us about the death of your brother and the process of recovering his body from the secret Numbers Cemetery.
I was eight months pregnant during the American consulate sit-in strike. My friends said to me, “Go home, you look tired.” I had a feeling something was going to happen but I did not know what it was. The next day, I heard on the news that the Israelis had moved 26 prisoners from the Shata and Ramla prisons and two detainees were killed, Firas al Halawa and Ali Shehada al Jabari. My experience with prisons led me to believe that the Ja’fari was mistaken for Jabari. I was nearly mad. It turned out that I was right, it was my brother.
It was Ramadan. We waited 15 days for the body, but the Israelis told us that due to the chaotic situation in the refugee camp, the body was buried in Jericho. We were trying to learn more about where exactly he was buried, and we found out that this particular burial ground is reserved for those who die in operations and whose fate the Israeli want to keep from their families. A bulldozer digs the graves and they assign the people buried there secret numbers. It was the French who discovered the cemetery. It is known as “The Numbers Cemetery.
We recovered Ali’s body but my brother Muhammad is also buried there, and we haven’t been able to get his body back yet.
Is peace possible with the Israelis?
People say, “You lost three brothers. Do you seek revenge?” I say, “I do not want revenge, I want peace. I want my children and grandchildren to have peace.”
A Jewish mother said, “My son was killed. Now I am a peace activist.” I said, “You lost one, I lost three. You cry for one, I cry for three.” I asked, “Can you influence your state? Some of you want peace but if your government wanted peace, it wouldn’t have spread settlements and wouldn’t have built the Wall.”
Because of the checkpoints, we are deprived of praying in Jerusalem. I spent one and a half hour at a checkpoint on my way to Jerusalem during a holy night in Ramadan. I cried so much because they wouldn’t let me pray in al Aqsa Mosque. Nowadays, it is easier to go to America than Jerusalem.
Israel wants to grab more land. Israel keeps delaying in order to buy time to build more settlements. If Israel wants peace, it should remove the Wall and go back to the 1967 borders. We can talk, but if they continue as they have, peace will be impossible.
What would you say to Israeli mothers who lost their children?
I say to both Israeli and Palestinian mothers, “May God help you.” They must both influence their governments, exert pressure on them to accept peace. I cry for Israeli women who lost children in suicide attacks. I am a mother, I feel for other mothers.
Ja’fari, a refugee at Al-Deheisha camp near Bethlehem, has been politically active since age 20. She was imprisoned twice. One brother died in a hunger strike at Nafha prison, and three others were killed. Her husband and oldest son have been imprisoned. Ja’fari co-founded the Association of Women Committees for Social Work in 1981, for gender equality in a democratic Palestine. She distributes products made by women in Al-Deheisha camp.
