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ONCE
THE LAND WAS BEAUTIFUL
Interview by Jane Toby
Sada,
Dheisheh
Refugee Camp near Bethlehem
Salaam
Aleikum.
My name is Sada. Sada means
happiness. My father said “If my wife will
bring a girl, I will call her Happiness.”
I am 120 years old. I live in
Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. When
it rains, the house is full of water.
I was born in Turkey. My father
used to fight with the Turkish army. He ran
away from the army. I wanted to be with my
father so he took me with him and we came to
Palestine. I was twenty years old. We were
walking on the bodies of dead people as we
came to Palestine. ine.
In Palestine, we farmed a small
piece of land. We seeded it, we planted
it. When it rained, the plants came. We
harvested the plants. We used to sing the
song of the wheat while we were harvesting.
We had animals. I used to milk
the cows and sheep. I cooked the milk and
everyone liked it.
We were simple people. We lived
in Ramla, Bethlehem, Beit Jala, ‘Ishwa, ‘Islin.....
We were under the rule of Britain. Now the
land is with the Israelis.
The Jewish came after us. They
used to come and catch any Palestinian they
could. They used to come and shoot us with
bombs. We ran away and left our homes. I
was married and had 5 kids.
All the people of the village
ran away at night. We ran to a school. We
spent one night at the school. In the
morning, a young man came from the village.
He was a collaborator. So we ran away from
the village.
They made a camp for us in
Dheisheh. This place used to be planted
with trees. They cut all the trees so we
could have a place to live. The UNRWA
came. They brought tents and gave them to
the people. We did everything in the
tents.
I worked as a seamstress.
People would bring me fabric. “I can make
trousers for you, I can make a shirt for
you.” The Bedouin women had beautiful
dresses, like English queens. They were
many colors and many layers. Many women
came to me and I made this dress for them.
Once I was strong. Now I sit
here like a child. I have grandchildren.
My grandchildren bathe me and dress me. They
do everything for me.
Once the land was beautiful.
Now it is no more.
Interview: Dheisheh, January 2008
Interviewer:
Jane Toby from Catskill, New York, who
worked for many years with Women in Black
and Middle East Crisis Response, Hudson
Valley, NY. Interview in cooperation with
AEI.
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