Is the time you were kept in Thahiriyyeh and Ansar Three the same? | Just Vision تجاوز إلى المحتوى الرئيسي

Is the time you were kept in Thahiriyyeh and Ansar Three the same?

[I was] kept inside a prison cell with two soldiers positioned outside the door. The door had a single hole, no more than five centimeters in diameter. The soldiers called out to me and told me that there was a paper that I had to sign. The paper was written in Hebrew and, as I don't know Hebrew, I said, "No, I am not signing a document that I cannot read." He said, "I'll translate it for you." I replied, "Why would I trust you enough to translate it for me? If it states my charge and I sign it, then I will be admitting to that charge." So I refused to sign it [...] When I was having this conversation with the officer, however, there was another soldier with him. That soldier asked the officer, "How can we make him sign a paper when he doesn't know what it says?" I'm not sure that I understood exactly what he said, but this is what I assume they were talking about. At that point it was as if the conflict was not between the soldiers and me, but rather between the soldiers themselves. I began to realize that even soldiers wearing the same uniform could have different opinions and ways of thinking. This is what being in prison gave me the opportunity to learn; that I should not look at others and assume that they are all the same. This was an extremely important experience. Professor Sami Adwan 6 Prison

Is the time you were kept in Thahiriyyeh and Ansar Three the same?

Yes because we were kept first in Thahiriyyeh. Then, after a few days or a week, they decided where to transfer the prisoners. The thing that affected me the most was that fax. It is very humiliating to be detained for some time, and then later to have the reason for indictment unveiled in a fax one and a half lines long. What also made an impact on me was being kept inside a prison cell with two soldiers positioned outside the door. The door had a single hole, no more than five centimeters in diameter. The soldiers called out to me and told me that there was a paper that I had to sign. The paper was written in Hebrew and, as I don’t know Hebrew, I said, “No, I am not signing a document that I cannot read.” He said, “I’ll translate it for you.” I replied, “Why would I trust you enough to translate it for me? If it states my charge and I sign it, then I will be admitting to that charge.” So I refused to sign it. He told me that if I signed, they would move me to the tents outside. The rooms in which we were staying had previously served as stables for the horses of the Jordanian army. The room was about three meters by sixteen meters, and we were about thirty men. The bathroom was inside with us, covered with a plastic blanket. So of course, it would have been much better to go outside, where at least you can breath some air, see people, and hear the sounds of life. Nevertheless, I refused to sign. When I was having this conversation with the officer, however, there was another soldier with him. That soldier asked the officer, “How can we make him sign a paper when he doesn’t know what it says?” I’m not sure that I understood exactly what he said, but this is what I assume they were talking about. At that point it was as if the conflict was not between the soldiers and me, but rather between the soldiers themselves. I began to realize that even soldiers wearing the same uniform could have different opinions and ways of thinking. This is what being in prison gave me the opportunity to learn; that I should not look at others and assume that they are all the same. This was an extremely important experience. Later, when we were being transferred from Thahiriyyeh to the Negev, one soldier insisted that we remain handcuffed and blindfolded while another soldier gestured as if to say that it was OK to take the blindfolds off and look outside. It was summer - July - and it was very hot and the way from Thahiriyyeh to the Negev is long. The officer had said that we could not go near the water faucet, so one of the soldiers forbade us from drinking. After the officer left, however, another soldier told us that we could go over to the faucets and drink. This was another personal experience that taught me not to assume that all people are alike. At the same time, it gave me the idea that dialogue and encounters could offer a better solution to the conflict than avoidance, neglect, or denial. I have never believed that military combat or the use or force could be the solution, or even one of several solutions with positive results. Even if the Palestinians achieved their independence after a war, I just do not think that the Palestinian State should be built on any more blood than that which has already been shed.