This article was firstly published in International Courier nº 5
Interview with Soraya Misleh, Brazilian-Palestinian journalist and member of the Front in Defense of the Palestinian People of São Paulo, Brazil. Soraya was in Middle Orient in May and was prevented from entering the Palestinian territory by Israeli occupation forces. She stayed few days in Jordan, when demonstrations for the right of return for Palestinians took place. Demonstrators clashed with Zionist border police and the army on the anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe).
Here we reproduce her impressions of the movement.
International Courier: How was the repression in your attempt to enter Palestine?
Soraya: We were a group of four Brazilians of Arab origin, being two Lebanese and two Palestinians. When we as usual tried to get across the Jordan border with occupied Palestine, the Israeli occupation forces arrested us, interrogated us and treated us as criminals. We were isolated from each other, they made psychological pressure all the time; we were kept separated from each other for seven hours and they asked us ridiculous questions such as “if we were carrying weapons”. They also asked us where we met, details of the personal life of each other, etc.
I believe that the treatment we received is part of the continuing discrimination suffered by the Palestinians and Arabs in general by the part of the state of Israel. This discriminatory treatment is worse when they think people are activists. They asked me where my father was born, I said “near Nablus.” They asked by my relatives, father, mother, aunts and so on. Their concern was with the right of return for Palestinians and their descendants as I am. They asked me “what was my relationship with the Nakba.” They asked if I had been there before. And I said yes, last year.
One guy of our group is diabetic. Despite being warned of this problem, they kept us in prison, without access to food throughout this period. They made threats to each of us. They said “we know everything about you”, “you’d better not lie” etc. They suggested that there was a spy (Muhabarat) that had reported our presence to them.
Have you had contact with the movement that organized the march on May 15 (Nakba’s Day)?
Yes, it is an independent movement formed mainly by young Palestinians. They are exiled Palestinians who started to organize themselves through Internet social network in the Egypt revolution. From there, they organized the community 3rd Intifada, which got in, according to them, membership of 350,000 people. Because of that success, the Zionists lobbied until the server put down the page. Even so, they decided to keep the proposal to make the demonstration on Nakba’s day.
First, they thought to make it inside Palestine and from there to seek the support of other countries. Then, they changed direction and decided to do from the outside, i.e. from countries bordering the occupied Palestine. And then they decided to march by the right of return on the 63rd anniversary of the Nakba.
The result was beyond what everybody expected: in the four countries that share borders, there were rallies that faced the Israeli repression. But it was not only the Zionists who tried to disrupt the mobilization; they also had difficulties with the Arab governments allied to the Zionists, who also cracked down and tried to avoid they reached the border.
The surprise, according to them was Egypt. It was scheduled a march to the border in Gaza, but it was necessary to change it to Tahrir Square in Cairo, because the Military Council did not allow the displacement there.
In Jordan, there was dispersion because the authorities made it difficult and did not allow the buses from universities and mosques, where they were gathering, to go to the border. And several were hijacked on the road, with violent repression by the police and the Jordanian army. People shout “peaceful,” but they were suppressed with violence. Even though, they got to reach the four borders and then there were clashes with the Israeli occupation army.
In Lebanon, Israeli snipers killed 11 demonstrators. In Syria, despite the repression, with four dead, five Palestinians crossed the border, and one could enter without being caught later.
The young activists say that despite all the problems, this movement was successful and was the “beginning of the 3rd intifada.” They say they will continue to organize and plan other peaceful demonstrations. They are directly inspired in Egyptian, Tunisian, and Syrian revolutions. They will work together in refugee camps and to strengthen the cause of the right of return. With the encouragement of the Arab revolution, they have overcome a discouragement that could be taking over years of waiting. They expect support from the communities abroad, as well as here in Brazil.
They see how important is the movement for boycotting Israeli products and services (BDS) despite they think that it can work better in European countries and Latin America, not in the region.
We must strongly press the Brazilian government to break up trade agreements with Israel, such as Mercosur [1], and the acquisition of military technology. And even diplomatic relations. After all, as shown in my case, when Brazilians try to enter Palestine, being of Arab origin or member of social movements, they are criminalized and discriminated and have their access forbidden.
How youth see the unity agreement between Al Fatah and Hamas?
They are not related to this issue or with any of the two forces, they are independent. They reported that the traditional political parties didn’t support their mobilization. There is the example of an international organization linked to the NPA who, at first, came to participate, but was advised to leave and did so. An important issue is that the youth movements that I mentioned are articulated with similar movements in many countries. The support of the Front in Defense of the Palestinian People is part of this. What unites us is the defense of the right of return for all Palestinians, inalienable and non-negotiable.
The struggle for the boycott is articulated. Arabian revolutions inspired this movement on May 15. There is a link with the Egyptian revolution. The Egyptians of the movement have supported the 3rd Intifada, as well as Syrian and Lebanese people. Since the youth involvement, the struggle turned into a mass movement in the whole Arab world.
I would like to finish with a phrase that Ben Gurion had said referring to the Nakba, and Palestinians are proving he was wrong. Ben Gurion stated: “The old will die and the young will forget.” The youth are proving now that he was wrong.
Previously, the Palestinians left their land because they believed they would return soon. Today, they do not get out, they resist; even suffering an increasingly harsh repression.
They state: If they destroy our homes, we live in a tent. The youth movement of May 15 comments that during the 2nd Intifada, approximately 700,000 Zionists decided to leave Palestine, because they had no ties to the land. In fact they are leaving, although we have never heard any Palestinian saying he couldn’t live with the ordinary people settled there. But the coexistence is impossible with occupation, oppression, humiliation, walls and checkpoints, of course. We want a democratic Palestine with equal rights for all, a single secular state. Above all, certainly we will come back, despite the intimidation, repression. We’ll return to our land.
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[1] Mercosur – Southern Cone Common Market, a Trade Agreement of Southern countries of South America that has accepted Israel as a member.
