One Sunday a friend, a middle-aged man with three children, took me walking with his youngest son and his dog in Cremisan in the West Bank. As we walked through the paths of the forest, he told me that this has always been a special place for him since he grew up picnicking and hiking among that greenery and then raised his own kids to enjoy the same experiences. But now when he walks there, he said, there is a different kind of feeling, a sadness in the knowledge that one day he will not be able to walk through the paths he knows so well.
 
What would prevent him from walking is not old age and tired knees. It is a concrete barrier. When it’s finished, it will swallow Cremisan and surrounding areas of Beit Jala into a no-Palestinian zone.  
 
I notice that I wrote “what would prevent him” instead of “what will prevent him.” While I was in the area, construction was halted. There were trenches in the earth and the beginnings of a wall, but no building activity. It looked to (naive) me like the construction was abandoned because someone had the sense to realize that this is the only green space for Palestinians of that area left as the one in Bethlehem was cleared for a Jewish settlement. But no, there was no sense or sensitivity involved in the construction delay, it was a budget thing. And now construction has resumed. His worries will now become a reality.
 
While the man and I walked, his son walked farther ahead. Perhaps he had heard his father tell the tragedy of Cremisan before and didn’t want to hear it again. Perhaps he just wanted to mull over his own teenage thoughts. But when Cremisan is taken, where will he go to process his thoughts?  
Where will he go to take his girlfriends on walks?
Where will the father go to get fresh air and exercise?  
Where will the dog run free and happy?  
Where will the families gather to picnic?
 
When I started to wonder what would happen to me if I were denied access to green spaces, I realized how much I depend on them for mental health. Whenever there’s too much going on in my brain to handle, I drop everything and go outside. I walk and wander, feeling the earth beneath my feet support me until the air calms me and I am well. If I didn’t have that, I would have nowhere to become grounded.
 
So now what? These people are left without a local green space. To access others, they have to go through checkpoints and travel on roads that zigzag and detour far from their destinations just because they are Palestinian and therefore cannot access the good roads. These deterrents do succeed in deterring people from leaving the area often.  
 
And so I cannot help but think of these people, these families, as caged. And I thank everything that I am not subjected to that kind of oppression.
_________________
 
Here is footage of Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals resisting the destruction of olive trees and confiscation of land in Beit Jala, where Cremisan is.  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uss76bDKimw

Quote from Amanie on 03/09/10 at 23:51:57:

 
I don't understand the politics in that region of the world so I, personally, don't have a comment on the matter.  Just thought I atleast let ya know your post was read.

Along those lines, Crow Creek was able to get their land back from the IRS. These things continue to happen, especially eminant domain, especially when land it taken to build a Walmart.
 
J

Quote from Amanie on 03/09/10 at 23:51:57:

 
If you have been to that area you understand about these check points. The checkpoints come and go and anytime. Sometimes it is a gorilla faction that sets up a check point, sometimes it is the Israilie goverment. Sometimes it is just the neighborhood thugs. Each has a hand in the check points for whatever reason. That small strip of no mans land and than another check point by someone else on the other side.
As an american you can't vision what is going on in the area. There is much more that what you see as a tourist.
 
Like Ndnhorseman says, time to clean up our own yards and let the other people worry about theirs. We spend so much time worrying about what the rest of the world is doing that we don't take care of the needs right here at home.
 
Just my thoughts................just my personal experinces

I hear what you're saying about taking care of our own, focusing on here. Point taken.
 
It just baffles me that the same thing is going on in a different land all over again. People of all different backgrounds could get together to raise awareness and wider understanding of the conflict in order to help achieve human rights and prevent the injustices that are occurring every day.  
 
Ceye Sni Yo, I do understand the checkpoints. (I am not just an American tourist).  That term is reserved only for barriers the Israeli government establishes to inconvenience the Palestinian population within their own territories. It is not a simple conflict of fundamentally different people with impossible to solve claims. It's about a people whose lands were confiscated to create a state that is exclusive of them. It is about a systematic denial of civil, political, and HUMAN rights. There is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza which our government supports.
 
There is so much to be achieved here in our own communities. I understand that. But that doesn't mean we should ignore other conflicts (which we contribute to through our tax dollars!) that are so similar, and that could be stopped if we were loud enough together.