Voices Under Occupation

In: Index on censorship, Volume 33, Issue 3, p. 201-210

Abstract

Every Palestinian man, woman, and child in the West Bank and Gaza has a story to tell about how his or her life has been affected by the Israeli occupation in general and the current violence in particular. Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada presents interviews with the few dozen people whom I was able to meet when I lived and travelled in the Palestinian territories. The photographs and stories in the book wer one window into the pain, dreams and resilience of real people enduring a terrible conflict. Some will read the stiffering portrayed in these interviews and retort, 'Yes, but Israelis have suffered, too.' They will be right but they will have missed the point. I am not trying to argue that Palestinians' miseries trump those of Israelis, only that Palestinians be given the chance to express themselves in their own terms. Others may say: 'Yes, but given the suicide bombings, Israel must act to defend itself.' They too will be right and they too will have missed the point. Many of the hardships described in this book are difficult to justify on the grounds of security. Moreover, the volume as a whole paints a portrait of the kind of political and social context that nourishes extremism. While particular stories will vary, the message remains the same: a nation's cry for the right to live with freedom and dignity on its own land. WP