By Tazeen Hasan
In two far-off lands, on opposite sides of the earth, A story of destruction, of homes and hearth, Kashmir and Palestine, both places we know, Where houses are razed, and families made to go. In Kashmir, the army rolls in with tanks and guns, Bulldozers and explosives, the job has begun, They give no warning, no time to pack, As they shatter the walls, and the roof they hack. In Palestine, it's the Israeli army's might, The bulldozers come, day or night, With no care for the people, who call it home, Their houses are leveled, to the ground they're thrown. Both places are scarred, by these acts of violence, As families are left, with no place to find solace, Their memories, their dreams, their hopes and their fears, Are crushed, shattered, in a flood of tears. The world looks on, with a deafening silence, As the people of Kashmir and Palestine, Are left to bear, the brunt of this hate, Their stories, their pain, they cannot abate. Yet, amidst all this, they rise up again, With a resilience that's hard to contain, Their spirit, their strength, they will not yield, For in their hearts, a flame still burns, unhealed. So, let us stand with them, in their darkest hour, And lift our voices, with all our power, To tell the world, that we will not be still, Till their houses are rebuilt, on the same old hill. My name is Hasan Tamimi.
I became blind in Israeli custody when I was 17. Due to medical negligence during the detention. While I had a medical condition affecting my kidneys and liver at the time, I was arrested for throwing stones. Even though my mother and family informed the police about my medical condition; I was denied critical medicines for two months. When I was detained, my doctor told my mother, If I am not given medicines, I may go into a coma, Or something terrible may happen to me. I had a medical condition affecting my kidneys and liver. This required regular medications; and a strict diet. The Israeli soldiers denied medications, Kept saying they are checking them; for two months. And was finally taken to the hospital by guards, When other prisoners protested. But by then, I had gone into a coma I remained in a coma for three days, I eventually lost my eyesight due to nerve damage. When I woke up, I couldn't see anything. My mother was sitting beside me. I asked my mother, What is going on? She told me, you won't be able to see anymore. Doctors told us this is a permanent loss. I said to her, ‘trust in God’. Israeli soldiers mistreated me in the hospital too. I was handcuffed to the bed. When I wanted to use the bathroom, The soldiers wouldn't let me, They would bring a box for me to urinate, When I would ask for water, They would give me a small cup of water, Which wasn't enough to quench my thirst, I am home now, Trying to adjust to life without eyesight, The blindness has affected my life, I can't study anymore, I can't see my family and friends. I pray to God to restore my eyesight. This poetic depiction is based on the real-life story of 18-year-old Palestinian youth detainee Hassan Tamimi, who was subjected to medical negligence during his detention by Israeli forces. Hassan was suffering from liver and kidney issues since early childhood. He required a particular diet and treatment; however, Israel did not allow Hassan his medication and he eventually lost his eyesight. Written by a Canadian activist for prisoners of conscience. The saga of a Palestinian child who was shot, arrested without warrant, and denied medical treatment until he was forced to falsely confess throwing two stones at the soldiers. He was tortured, sleep deprived, bound by a plastic cable, blindfolded, and intimidated by a gun during interrogation.
I am a Palestinian child. I was arrested at the end of a school day. I was arrested without a warrant. I was blindfolded, sleep deprived, and my hands were tied. I was denied legal aid. I was denied medical aid. I was tortured during interrogation. When I was only 15. I was arrested because I was just in the wrong place, At the wrong time. There were clashes at the school gate. I tried to walk through the clashes quickly. But I was shot in my right leg by an Israeli soldier. While I collapsed to the ground bleeding, the soldiers came and started beating me. Paramedics tried to reach me to take me to the hospital in an ambulance, but the soldiers wouldn't let them. I was taken to the interrogation centre instead of the hospital. Soldiers wrapped a bandage around my leg. Then they blindfolded me, tied my hand with a plastic cable, And took me to a second interrogation centre. I was confused. I asked to talk to my parents, and to have legal advice as I knew my rights. My interrogators refused. My interrogators keep shouting at me. They placed a gun on the table, In front of me, to intimidate me. They said bad, bad words. I don't want to think about those words. When I refused to confess, they stopped interrogation, they took me to a detention cell, They made me take off all my clothes, in the freezing cold of December. And chained me to a metal chair by my wrist and ankles. The next day, they interrogated me again. My wounds were hurting. I kept telling them I needed medical treatment. They asked me to show them my injury. I showed them my bullet wounds, They pressed the wound, And said they wouldn't stop until I confess. It was the worst pain I ever felt. I realized my suffering would end until I confess, I finally decided to confess, I said that I threw two stones. It was then that I got medical treatment. Two days after I was shot. It still hurts to this day, two years later. After this forced confession, I was sentenced to seven months in prison. An ugly, ugly place. I don't like to think about it. They would set off an alarm at midnight, at 3 am and 6 am, so we could never sleep for long. If we do not wake up to these alarms, We will be beaten. I was beaten with wooden sticks a few times. I still have back pain now because of a bad beating. I was not allowed education during detention. All I want is peace and the future. I was released after seven months, but the physical and psychological scars remain. No child should be arrested without warrant, No child should be subjected to torture, No child should be denied his or her fundamental rights. No child should be denied crucial medical treatment, No child should be forced to confess, No child should be denied legal aid during interrogation. No child should be arrested at the end of a school day. I was arrested at the end of a school day. When I was 15. Story is based on the real life events of a Palestinain child. The ex-detainee child was interviewed by Save the Children, UK. The real life story was published in their report titled Defenceless: The Impact of Detention on Palestinian Children. The child’s name was changed to protect him and his family from further aggression. Written by a Canadian activist. I was a 17-year-old minor when Israeli forces entered my house, blindfolded, physically assaulted, and arrested me.
It began like most night arrests. Israeli soldiers entered my house at 2 AM. They bounded, blindfolded, and physically assaulted me. They searched my house and arrested me without any warrant. I was not informed of the reason for my arrest. My name is Laith. I was a 17-year-old minor when this happened. I live in Ramallah on the West Bank of the land called Palestine. Over the next 11 hours, I was transferred to multiple locations and interrogated about throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. Throwing stones is a security offence under Israeli military law. I was presented to multiple courts but they never charged me for any crime. They released me after 46 weeks of detention. BUT I missed my final year of high school. I was never told why I was being arrested. I have never presented a warrant. I also want to tell you that I am not the only minor who was illegally imprisoned or more correctly kidnapped by the Israeli military. 10,000 Palestinian minors have been arrested and held in the Israeli military detention system since 2000. In the month of April only, Israeli forces arrested 1,228 Palestinians in April, including 156 minors and 11 women, and Palestinian prisoners’ support organizations. We are tortured and humiliated in Israeli prisons. We are bullied to get confessions. Denied water when we are thirsty. Denied enough food. Denied medicines. Denied education. Denied free and fair trial. We are denied our basic rights. I want to tell you that we are separated from my parents, tortured, harassed, denied education, and denied the right to a fair trial. Every year, Israel prosecutes between 500 and 700 Palestinian children in military courts. And the world is silent. And western countries like Canada which support Israel financially and morally have a critical role in our persecution. This story has been reconstructed in first-person narrative from mainstream Palestinian media and human rights reports. Written by Tazeen Hasan. Amnesty's declaration of Israel as an Apartheid State is a big step towards delegitimizing the Zionist State. It's a big step towards the delegitimization of the Zionist State, writes Tazeen Hasan. By Tazeen Hasan
The recent 208-page report Amnesty International issued declaring Israel an Apartheid State is a milestone for the Palestinian movement. It's a big step towards delegitimizing the Israeli State. Anyone who keeps an eye on Israeli media can sense the rising fear inside the zionist capital. 2022 will be the year when major international institutions will declare it an apartheid state. The rights group has 10 million members advocating for universal human rights, raising a strong voice against crimes against humanity by aggressor states and entities. Nonetheless, Amnesty is not the first rights group to expose Israel's crimes against humanity as apartheid. Before the Amnesty report, the Israeli NGO B'Tselem and global rights group Human Rights Watch also declared Israel an apartheid state. While the Israeli government and the US ambassador in Israel both rejected the report, Amnesty International's general secretary, Agnes Callamard, said Palestinians "are treated as an inferior racial group" and are "systematically deprived of their rights." There is a growing fear inside the zionist capital regarding the consequences of its own seven decades-long histories of systematic crimes against humanity. According to a news report by Jerusalem Post published four weeks before the Amnesty report on January 6th, 2022, Israeli Foreign Minister expressed his fear that the region would be declared an “apartheid state” in 2022. Over the last twenty years, pro-Palestinian groups have accused Israel of systematic discrimination against Arab Palestinians. These crimes include;
The list is not exhaustive. Recently, four global institutions have begun the process of investigation against Israeli crimes against humanity: International Criminal Court (ICC), Human Rights Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the Geneva-based United Nations Committee for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The UN General Assembly has also provided $5.5 million to the Human Rights Council inquiry against crimes against humanity. Notably, when Human Rights Watch declared Israel an apartheid state in April 2021, these developments from rights groups and global institutions represent a big blow to the legitimization of the Israeli State. The rights group also feared that the report will be seen as anti-semitic and an attempt to destabilize Israel. The report recommends "targeted sanctions, such as asset freezes, against Israeli officials most implicated in the crime of apartheid." Justice For All Canada highly appreciates the advocacy efforts of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch to document Israeli Crimes against humanity. Advocacy Actions in Canada
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