by Ramzy Baroud Tuesday April 09, 2002 Jenin. Remember this word, for every time your lose faith in humanity, all you need to do is to recall it. Repeat inside of you, slowly, when you are down and frail. It should give you vigor and lift your spirit. It's a symbol of courage, courage beyond these times of despair and degradation, courage that's legendary, almost mythological. How else can we explain that a small refugee camp, less than a kilometer sq. length and width stands for days in the face of hundreds of tanks, Apache helicopters and thousands of trained killers, they call soldiers? Established in 1953 as a make-shift tent city to host thousands of Palestinian refugees, this small camp breeds tenacity and defiance. Many of those Palestinians who were uprooted from their villages in Palestine to live in the most humiliating conditions were still able to see the land that once was theirs, by simply gazing west. For nearly five decades they looked west. Now, when their elders die, their children who are raised in the same impoverished yet proud Palestinian camp, also taught to gaze west. West is Palestine, their home, where they were told stories by aging grandmas of how wonderful life once was. It was a reminder of their dire hardship and life under occupation. 13 thousand refugees lived in the Jenin refugee camp, located near the city of Jenin in the West Bank. Their dream was beyond paved roads, functional sewer systems and good schools. Their dream was returning home. Many held the deeds to their land in Palestine, some even held the large old keys of their ravished homes, and most of them knew too well what UN Resolution 194 meant: it was their right to return. But for decades those refugees remained without homes, without rights, and for decades they were subjected to never ending cruelty. In 1967, Israel added insult to injury when it invaded the West Bank and Gaza, the refugees are now under military occupation. In recent years, the young population in the camps have grown to reach 44 percent of the total number of refugees. Yet with little means, many managed to attain a proper education at nearby Universities, Bir Zeit, Bethlehem and Najah. A young, educated yet defiant generation was born and raised in the small camp, a population that never forgot to look west, were Palestine is, a population that never feared to carry on the torch of a dying generation. That dying generation taught them one valuable lesson; never forget the land, our rights, our pride and our dignity. And they never did. When Palestinian streets exploded with anger in a loud cry for freedom, the uprising was just getting started, and the Jenin refugee camp was there, leading the crowd, chanting the loudest, demanding justice, human rights and return. Israel knew too well what Jenin meant for its military aspirations, that particular refugee camp was a deal breaker for Israel's attempt to suppress the Palestinian population, to kill their spirit. Last March Israel carried out "Operation Colorful Journey" against the Jenin and Balata refugee camps. Like its name, the "Operation" was colorful, bloody colorful, as nearly 20 Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded in the refugee camp. Many homes were destroyed, but the spirit remained strong. Israeli officials said that their mission in Jenin was like "picking up terrorists with tweezers." But even the tweezers of the fourth strongest army in the world, one of the most powerful nuclear powers, was hardly enough to bend the will of Jenin. Jenin fought hard, and as the soldiers were pulling out, Palestinians emerged from their homes, carrying their dead, and chanting about Palestine and freedom. But General Sharon never forgets his unfinished battles. Revenge is his game, even if launched against refugees, fighting with old rifles and kitchen knifes. As he recently deployed his forces to invade West Bank towns, he spared nearly 300 tanks, thousands of soldiers and many Apaches to invade the Jenin refugee camp. Until the writing of this article, 8 days after intensive bombings, horrendous killings and indescribable massacres, the camp is yet to fall. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, mass graves have been opened, scores of dead have been buried in haste, men and women smothered under the rubble of their homes, and the camp is yet to fall. Frustrated with the small size of the poor camp, Israeli tanks began stepping on everything, homes and mosques to find a way for themselves, to open a new battlefront with the defiant refugees, and the camp is yet to fall. The head of the Israeli military Shaul Mofaz, embarrassed by the blunder, led the "operation" himself to carry out a massacre, as the whole world stood and waited while the refugees battled the tanks, and fought the Apaches. Over fifty missiles were fired on the camp within an hour; hundreds of people are said to be buried under the rubble; many bodies were scattered in the streets; Israeli troops began a systematic bombardment of the entire camp, the wounded bled to death, with no medical attention, just broken hearted mothers screaming in vain. With little means, the small camp, not only resisted, but inflicted heavy losses on the army that once claimed to be "invincible". From inside the camp, using a cell phone with a dying battery, a Palestinian fighter reached Al Jazeera satellite television. "I just wanted to let the proud people of world, not to worry, we are resisting and will fight to the last drop of blood." In the background, a proud population stood listing to the speaker, maybe thinking that the world really listened or cared. They all chanted in one voice for freedom and Palestine, before the battery died, maybe not to be charged again. By the time this article is published, maybe the Jenin refugee camp will be bulldozed, maybe hundreds more will be killed, maybe the fighting will still continue; but under no circumstances will the remaining refugees of Jenin be coerced to abandon their fight for freedom, their vow to return. Israel is yet to be convinced that even with the most sophisticated US manufactured weapons, the people of Jenin refugee camp will never abandon their honorable fight, they will never cease to look west, where their land and pride are, where Palestine is calling on its people to come home. ***************************************************************************************************************Send us a letter to the editor at: [email protected] Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP) 10661 South Roberts Rd, Suite 202 Palos Hills, IL 60465 Tel: 708 974 3380 / Fax: 708 974 3389 /Pager: 1 800 916 8286 http://www.iap.org E-mails: [email protected] OR [email protected] add your commentskeep up the spiritby edong • Tuesday April 09, 2002 at 10:52 AMI'm in fellowship w/ you all. Keep up the spirits. add your commentsSharons indictment?by Stop Killing! Love! • Tuesday April 09, 2002 at 02:26 PMWhat about Sharons indictment? He's giving himself all of the proofs needed for a trial, as does his belligerant generals, and other soldiers.add your commentsTo the brave terrorists of Jeninby Ed Said • Tuesday April 09, 2002 at 03:47 PMDont you think that if the IDF were barbaric animals like yourselves they could pulverize this tiny refugee camp from the air. No mess, no fuss, easy.add your commentsRe ed saidby txiki • Tuesday April 09, 2002 at 04:29 PMNo Ed, because it appears the Zionist forces get more sick pleasure out of trying to torture and humilliate a people into submission. And just by the by, what the fuck do you think those apache (named ironically after another nation that was almost wiped out by the Zionists allies) helicopters are doing. The Israeli forces have occupied a country. The Palestinian people have a right to resist, and using whatever means they can. When the Germans invaded France in World war II, were the French Resistance terrorists. The dramatic use of the word "terrorism" just isn't having the same effect any more. People are beginning to see (albeit too little too late) that Sharon is a "Godfather of terrorism", as the jargon goes. he is a sick and twisted racist that is continuing his long career of genocide against the Palestinian people. Long live the Intifada!!! add your commentsMy Solidarityby Ani • Tuesday April 09, 2002 at 05:44 PMI am ashamed of what has been happening in Jenin. As a human being with sense of morality, I feel that Jenin is leaving a deep scar in the world's conscience. This is a replica of what happened by the same Sharon in Gaza in the 70's, and by the same Sharon in the 80's in Lebanon. Jenin should set an example to the rest of the Palestinians. Resistance must continue, because colonialism has an end.add your commentsSharon and Arafatby Stop killing - love ! • Wednesday April 10, 2002 at 12:57 AMBoth of them should be indicted on war crimesadd your commentsCome on !by Sander • Wednesday April 10, 2002 at 04:55 AMA lot of other countries would have just carpet bombed Jenin. I wonder what Saddam would do if Kurds would blow themselves up in downtown Bagdad. Israel deserves at least some credit for limiting civilian casualties as much as possible. Remember: all of this would not have happened if the Palestinians wouldn't resort to terror to accomplish their political goals. Be objective please.add your commentsObjective?by rob • Wednesday April 10, 2002 at 06:12 [email protected] Objective? Come on. Objectivity is long gone in this situation. Anyone who tries to take some rational high ground is just pissing in the wind. In the battle of suicide bombers versus invading tanks, one can either throw up one's hands in despair or pick a side. I think if you asked either the invading Israeli soldiers or those who resist them to be "objective" they would spit in your face. "Being objective" means removing oneself mentally from the emotion of the situation, from the scattered blood and bone, bombs and shrapnel. It's a form of denial and a way to remain passive.
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