Can We Be Silent?
These past two weeks we had to get used to the traffic coming to a standstill when we went through checkpoints, presenting our passports and on one occasion standing in line and have our luggage scanned and my suitcase searched. This was not even at the airport, but just crossing from the West Bank into Israeli territory. For us as Americans this is a way of life we had to get used to and really never did these past weeks, as we want freedom of movement. Not so for Palestinians, as there are numerous “Israeli –only” access roads crisscrossing the West Bank. In 2007 it even became illegal for Israelis driving these access roads to transport Palestinians in their vehicles without a permit. Resembling modern-day apartheid pass laws, the Palestinian identification requirements to travel from one point to another prevent many people from moving freely from one place to another and thus separate families. We have been very fortunate to have talked to numerous Palestinians these past weeks who live in the West Bank and have family in Jerusalem who they are unable to visit. For those who can travel, the twenty mile journey from Ramallah to Jerusalem can take a whole day due to lines at checkpoints.
To me the aspect of the occupation that is
even worse than apartheid is the Israeli Apartheid Wall that will be over 400 miles when completed. The irony is that the Israeli government most commonly calls it the separation fence. Standing next to the so-called fence it was obvious to me that it was no fence but a wall that is as massive as 8 meters of solid concrete at some places.
Standing next to the wall it was very difficult to express my emotions as a deep sadness set in. How can it be that the plight of a people can be unnoticed by the world? Does the Israeli government regard Palestinians as human beings, as no human can treat another like this 
… the separation, the isolation, and the imprisonment in your country of birth. As I stood there I felt claustrophobic behind the wall of concrete, and it was as if a deep urge to resist the humiliation of a people awakened in me.
This, according to Nelson Mandela, is what we as South Africans have to do as the “temptation in our situation is to speak in muffled tones about an issue such as the right of the people of Palestine to a state of their own. We can easily be enticed to read reconciliation and fairness as meaning parity between justice and injustice. Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others faces.
Yet we would be less than human if we did so.
It behooves all South Africans, themselves erstwhile beneficiaries of generous international support, to stand up and be counted among those contributing actively to the cause of freedom and justice.
Even during the days of negotiations, our own experience taught us that the pursuit of human fraternity and equality — irrespective of race or religion – should stand at the centre of our peaceful endeavours. The choice is not between freedom and justice, on the one hand, and their opposite, on the other. Peace and prosperity; tranquility and security are only possible if these are enjoyed by all without discrimination.
It is in this spirit that I have come to join you today to add our own voice to the universal call for Palestinian self-determination and statehood.” (Address by President Nelson Mandela at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Pretoria, 4 December 1997)
Or maybe for us as Christians the graffiti on the wall speaks for itself:
Tags: occupation, Palestine
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