Tuesday, January 06, 2009

NOTES 1-6-2009

FREEDOM & RETURN: A Rights Based Solution to building a just and lasting peace in the Middle East ... Not just the return (al-awda) of the refugees, but also a return to the rule of law and respect for human rights: For more than five decades Palestinian refugees and internally displaced have struggled for a solution to their plight based on UN resolutions and international law, including the right to voluntarily return to their homes and lands of origin from which they were displaced/expelled during wars in 1948 and 1967 and due to other Israeli policies of forced eviction, deportation, etc....

Mainstream media work... Help free Palestine with positive thoughts and efforts: As always (for good stories, and honest stories that help explain the very real plight of the Palestinians) PLEASE go to the link to read the story in full- to help let the newspaper know the story is popular- and to help bring in ad revenue for those newspapers who dare publish Palestinian perspectives... & feel free to write the newspaper a comment, note or formal letter
BACKGROUND
I HAVE A DREAM
The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto You...

WHEREAS recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world....Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948

"I remember that our right of return to our original villages and homes is eternal, and nothing can change it...""I remember the rusty keys of our houses in Beit Nateef, keys for doors that exist no more, but keys that have their doors in our hearts and our imagination… keys for doors that were real and have exited, for real houses that were build and have exited, in which real people lived in and brought up children. These rusty keys are still with me. I remember that we were brought up with this eternal belief that the right is the right, and nothing can justify ignoring it. I remember that our right of return to our original villages and homes is eternal, and nothing can change it, neither realities on the ground nor political agreement, because it is not only a collective right, but is as well individual right… it is my right Mr. the president, and the right of my children and grand children and all those who come after wherever they are born..." AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY FROM ABDELFATTAH ABUSROUR Director of Al-Rowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Center

Exile, Exclusion and Isolation: the Palestine Refugee Experience by Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner-General United Nations Relief and Works Agency To Mark World Refugee Day: 20th June 2008




Sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights!

2008 is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 60th anniversary. It's time for a global conversation about human rights and the values that unite us as one human family. But it can also be a time when each of us chooses to take human rights into our daily lives, by joining a powerful people network.

I wish to take responsibility for upholding the goals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in my daily life and in my community. I will do my best to speak out to protect the freedom and rights of others in my community.

I affirm the following principle: “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.”

I believe Every Human Has Rights. Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood....

The Palestinian Summer Celebration 2009

Image14 June 2009 – 16 August 2009
June 14th – July 12th 2009 (first month)
July 13th – August 16th 2009 (second month)

Come and celebrate Palestine! The Palestinian Summer Celebration is a unique annual program that gives people from all over the world the chance to encounter the life, culture, and politics of Palestine. Learn Arabic and study Palestinian history at Bethlehem University, spend time with local families and volunteer with a community organization.

& please note
Another Tourism is Possible

Palestine & Palestinians guideboook
The Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) is a Palestinian NGO specializing in tours and pilgrimages that include critical examinations of the history, culture, and politics of the Holy Land: Palestine is a unique country from all perspectives; history, religions, cultures etc. What made this country so famous from old times until our day is its rich history related to the old human presence in this area as well as it is the home of the 3 monotheistic world religions; Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Not only that, but also because of the never ending wars that this country experienced and still experiences. We in Palestine and in the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG) would like to invite you all to come here, learn about history, religions, conflicts, culture, traditions etc. In this place, one can have a life experience that can never be found elsewhere....Check out our one-day tours!.....NEW: A Code of Conduct
An Introduction to Nonviolence in Palestine

Though largely ignored or misrepresented by the western media, Palestinians have used the tools of nonviolent resistance to struggle for their freedom since their land was first occupied during the Ottoman Empire.

During the British Mandate to Palestine which lasted from 1917-1948, Palestinians used nonviolence in the form of a six-month general strike and boycott of Jewish enterprises and products starting in April 1936. They made demands on the British Mandate administration, principally:
• An end to Jewish immigration
• An end to transfers of land to Jewish owners
• A new "general representative government"

During the first Intifada (an Arabic word that means “uprising” or literally “a shaking off”), Palestinians organized a massive civil-based resistance to land confiscation, economic strangulation and human rights violations. Palestinians held strikes and refused to pay taxes imposed by the Israeli army. They gathered together and danced Dabkeh (traditional Palestinian dances) even when public gatherings were illegal. Men, women, and young people all participated in the resistance. Many Palestinians still look back on the days of the first Intifada with pride. Today, the nonviolent resistance continues using many of the same tactics to confront the changing realities of ever-accelerating military occupation.

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Outlandish: Look into My Eyes


Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are one of the largest and longest-standing displaced populations in the world today. Approximately three-quarters of the Palestinian people are displaced.


Displacement and Expulsion


Photo:ICRC.

The majority of Palestinian refugees and IDPs were displaced during armed conflict and the first Israeli-Arab war in Palestine. More than 750,000 Palestinians were displaced or expelled between late 1947 and the first half of 1949. Of the roughly 150,000 Palestinians who remained in that part of Palestine that became the state of Israel on 15 May 1948 several tens of thousands were internally displaced.

Approximately 400,000 Palestinians were displaced, half for a second time, during the 1967 Israeli-Arab war. A smaller number of Palestinians were internally displaced during the war, including Palestinians expelled from the Old City of Jerusalem. Subsequent displacement and expulsion of refugees has continued in 1967 occupied Palestine and in various countries of exile. Today it is estimated that three-quarters of the Palestinian people are displaced. More than half are displaced outside the borders of their historic homeland.


Denationalization and Dispossession


The majority of Palestinian refugees are from villages, towns and cities inside 1948 Palestine/Israel. They were denationalized under Israel's 1952 Nationality Law and prevented from returning to their homes of origin. Internally displaced Palestinians became citizens of Israel but were also prevented from returning to their homes. The government of Israel expropriated land and properties belonging to these refugees and IDPs to be held in perpetuity for Jewish use.

The remaining Palestinian refugees and IDPs are from 1967 occupied Palestine. A small number of refugees were permitted to return from Jordan in September 1967 under a process facilitated by the Red Cross. All others were prevented from returning to their homes of origin. Israel considers Palestinians in 1967 occupied Palestine as resident aliens. Israel has expropriated or controls for Jewish use approximately two-thirds of Palestinian owned land in these territories. Before 1948 Palestinians owned more than ninety percent of the land in Palestine. Today they own or have access to only ten percent.


Refugee Rights, Participation and Durable Solutions


More than five decades after their initial displacement/expulsion from their homeland, Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons remain in forced exile. All refugees and displaced persons have the right to return to their homes and repossess their properties. These rights are affirmed in international law. UN General Assembly Resolution 194(III) and Security Council Resolution 237 reaffirmed these rights for Palestinian refugees and IDPs. Refugee participation in the search for durable solutions strengthens democratic principles and structures, lends greater legitimacy to an agreement, and contributes to its long-term durability.

Israel refuses to allow the refugees displaced in 1948 to return due to their ethnic, national and religious origins. Military occupation of the West Bank, eastern Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip prevents the return of refugees displaced in 1967 and after. The international community has not exerted sufficient political will to advance durable solutions for Palestinian refugees and IDPs that are consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions. Refugee rights have therefore been absent from the recent Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking process that began in Madrid in the early 1990s and continues until today. Refugees and IDPs themselves have also been excluded from the search for durable solutions.

Related BADIL Publications:
Survey of Palestinian Refugees
Refugee Camps Online

For comprehensive information on Palestinian refugees and IDPs, see the annual Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced PersonÓ 2006-2007 published by BADIL.

>> Children of Shatila
>> Ibdaa Cultural Center (Dheisheh)
>> Jenin Refugee Camp
>> Nahr al-Bared Refugee Camp



posted by annie at 7:04 AM

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