Ramadan in Palestine

Mazin Qumsiyeh is a Palestinian geneticist who lives in the US and who visits his homeland once a year. He writes below about his latest experiences.http://palestinethinktank.com/2008/09/06/mazin-qumsiyeh-ramadan-in-palestine/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sep 6th, 2008 at 23:28 •Palestinian houses are easily distinguished from Israeli houses by one non-variant feature: Palestinian houses have water storage tanks on top of them. Running water 24 hours a day is reserved for Israeli colonial settlers. A trickle is occasionally sent our way and we try to maximize its use. But storage tanks on top of roofs are increasingly not helpful as the water pressure is so low when it is on that water cannot reach that high. Those who can afford it, have started putting new tanks on the ground or buying supplemental water. Drilling and maintaining wells (as our ancestors did) has been forbidden by Israeli regulations for many decades. Our old house is an exception since we do have a well that collects rainwater. Occasionally after long stretches of no or barely running water, a relative asks if they could have a bath at our house. Water here also costs a lot more than it does to Israeli colonial settlers. Not coincidentally the water we are denied is our water. 80% of the water of the West Bank is used by Israeli Jews (illegally according to International law).

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZBwcPcAeFA

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http://www.amin.org/look/amin/en.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=7&NrArticle=47422&NrIssue=1&NrSection=3
the article was commenting on Palestinian working group exploration of strategic options http://www.palestinestrategygroup.ps/

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http://archive.wbai.org/files/mp3/080904_100001fvoices.MP3

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Action: Petition to The Arab League Secretary General about Gaza

 

 

http://www.petitiononline.com/HFOUDA/petition.html

“The secret of human freedom is to act well, without attachment to the results” Bhagavad Gita

 

 

 

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/voices.php/2008/08/15/mazin_qumsiyeh_a_palestinian_life