Paul Calvert talks to Daoud Nassar, from Tent of Nations, a farm located South West of Bethlehem, about non-violent and constructive resistance.



Continued from page 2

Summer camp
Summer camp

Daoud: We have many volunteers throughout the year. Now on the farm we have about nine volunteers from different countries. Yesterday one from the UK left, she stayed for a while on the farm.

It's important for volunteers to come, see and learn. It's also an empowerment for us to see internationals coming here to support us, to support the work we are doing and to support our vision.

On the other side it is a learning experience for international volunteers, because we need the international volunteers since they will be our ambassadors for peace and justice to go home and spread the word. It also helps them through their challenges in life, because they are often facing challenges in their own situations. It may not be political, but it could be other challenges. The idea is that the moment they see us and how we are dealing with our problems, they learn that if we can do it here they can do it also in their own communities. So it's a mutual support.

Paul: You have celebrated 101 years on the land, tell us what you have been doing to celebrate?

Daoud: As I said before, the land was bought by my grandfather in 1916 and since then the situation was not easy. We are still facing almost the same situation since 1916. In order to celebrate we need to not think about the negatives or about the difficulties. To say we are here and it is a blessing to have this piece of land and that it became also a blessing for other people, is an important way to celebrate, celebrate life, to celebrate community and to celebrate believing in a better future.

Paul: You have had to fight to stay on the land, how difficult has it been to actually stay on the land with the legal battle with Israel that you have had?

Daoud: The legal battle started in 1991. We spent about 12 years in front of the military court and then we brought it to the Supreme Court.

It's a long struggle and we have 22 demolishing orders. We are facing challenges on a daily basis.

The thing is, it is hard because there is no justice. It is very difficult, and the system is unjust for us. At the end I believe that, like a tunnel we are going through that's full of darkness, difficulties and challenges, but the suffering is not the end of the story. One day the tunnel will come to an end and we will see the Son of justice rising again, this is how we deal with it.

On the ground when we are facing challenges like new demolishing orders, or going to the court, we try to think positive and we try to think about new projects. All the negative energy that we feel is invested positively.

Paul: Do you have keys and certificates from 1916?

Daoud: Yes we have the papers. We have documents from the British Mandate, from the Jordanians, and from the Israelis that say the land belongs to us. We have an old land survey and so on, all the documents, and that is why it is becoming more difficult for the Israelis to confiscate the farm.

Paul: How much have you paid so far in legal costs?

Daoud: So far we have spent about 200 thousand US dollars on legal expenses since 1991, for lawyers, for court expenses and for land surveyors. I thank all the people who sponsored and contributed financially to this situation.