I was arrested at the end of the School Day

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.