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New
interview series: Conversations along the
Wall near Rachel’s Tomb
By Sytske van Bruggen
Violette Lama: "We are a strong nation. That
will never change!"
"Do you know any nation that
has been occupied for the last 500 years?"
Violette starts her story. Violette, who
used to be a social worker for blind people
in the Bethlehem area, is a small, clever
woman in her fifties. Nothing around her
escapes to her attention. We are sitting in
a cosy living room. Because of the sun, the
curtains are closed. Violette brings us tea.
Then she continues her story.
"The Ottomans, the British,
the Jordanians – they were all here. But it
has never been as bad as with the
Israeli's."
Soldiers close to her
house
Violette opens the curtains
and gestures through the window to two
buildings, 200 meter from her house. "Do you
see these hotels? Israeli soldiers settled
there during the second Intifada. They were
looking at us every moment of the day.
Nobody dared to come at our place. Even taxi
drivers refused to come to our house. They
did not want to go further than to the
corner of the street." And that was not
without reason. "Male cab drivers often had
problems with soldiers, like all men here."
Violette has one daughter.
With a very happy and proud smile, she tells
how she prayed to God for years that He
would give her a child. At the age of 39,
she finally became pregnant. "I called my
daughter Hiba. That means 'Gift of God'."
Now, 19 years later, it is
clear how grateful Violette is that she has
a child. She adores her. How was it to have
the Israelis so close to her house, with her
beloved daughter at home?
"Actually, we were not that
afraid. We did not have boys at our house.
Our family was living here, together with my
sister-in-law. Therefore the Israelis left
us more or less in peace. If there would
have been young men as well, it would have
been much different. Then they would have
invaded the house, threatened us or even
took them to prison. But because we were
living here only with women and my husband,
it was safe.
Funeral of her brother
There was only one day that
she really was afraid. "Five years ago, my
brother died in Jerusalem. We wanted to give
him a place in the family grave in
Bethlehem, but that was not allowed. So he
had to be buried in Jerusalem. Of course, we
wanted to be present at his funeral. An
acquaintance of us arranged a one-day
permission for five members of our family.
But we had to cross the soldiers’ area to
get at the checkpoint.
Running with a big white
flag, we tried to cross the area. But then
soldiers armed with guns ready to shoot ran
to us. They threatened us with their guns
while asking why we were there. Even though
we had our permits, they were very
difficult. Finally, they let us pass. We
were so sad because of the death of my
brother – and now we had to go through this
as well. This was a terrible day."
Separation wall finished…
Since the separation wall is
finished, the soldiers have left the
buildings that are close to her house. Now
people dare to come again at their place.
But their life has changed to the worse. "My
husband is an handcraft artist. He makes
beautiful wood carvings. But since the wall
is here, there are hardly tourists coming
anymore. Pilgrims are coming with buses from
Jerusalem to Bethlehem and return with the
same bus, without stopping. They don't pass
our shop. And single families don't dare to
come on their own anymore."
She didn't see her beloved
Jerusalem since five years. "We used to go
every Sunday out in Israel. We went for
shopping to Jerusalem; it's just a few
minutes from here! Or we went to the
mountains, or whatever. Now we're forbidden
to enter Israel. I stay all the time in the
Bethlehem area. I'm even afraid to travel in
the West Bank. There are so many checkpoints
everywhere. I am afraid that they will ask
me unpleasant questions. And I just don't
want to be confronted with Israelis anyway."
Violette tells about an
American friend of her. "She asked me: 'How
can the people of Palestine still laugh?'
But we believe in our God! And we are a
strong nation. That will never change!"
The interview was conducte
Sytske
van Bruggen is a volunteer at AEI-Open
Windows and YMCA, and free lance journalist. |
