Hebron reflection

By Abigail Ozanne

Recently the soldiers arrested a Palestinian journalist for taking pictures.
The soldiers grabbed him, handcuffed and blindfolded him, and led him away.
I expressed how sorry I was to his brother. The brother replied, "This is our life." He said that at different times in the past Israeli forces had shot, beaten, and arrested him.

Last month, after I was present in a situation where soldiers beat two men--one to unconsciousness, tear-gas everyone in an enclosed space, and arrest several people, including the journalist, I said what a terrible day it had been. Our Palestinian neighbor answered, "This is our life."

I am a member of the Undoing Racism Working Group in CPT. Through this work, I have become more aware of my unearned privilege as a white American. In Palestine this means that I am asked for my ID less. The soldiers cannot arrest me although police can. The soldiers are not likely to beat me. If I am arrested, I do not need to fear being tortured. I am allowed to go most places in the West Bank. Soldiers are less likely to invade our home. If they do invade, they are not likely to ransack it. If I am hurt, arrested, or killed, the international community will say that it is wrong.The racist Israeli military control of the West Bank and Gaza does not grant the Palestinians we work with any of these privileges.

As I go about my work, I seek to stand with the oppressed and dare to be vulnerable. I try to listen to our Palestinian partners and friends about their experiences. I try to understand. And I acknowledge that what I experience is only a portion of the suffering Palestinians experience. I have privileges here not shared by the majority of the population. Additionally, at the end of my time in Palestine, I can go home. For the Palestinians, this is their life.