Regular readers know that I have a hero: the lionhearted Adeeb Abu Rahma, whose brave confrontation with Israeli soldiers in this video in 2008 is the stuff of a historical play by Shakespeare or of the American civil rights movement. When you see Adeeb Abu Rahma staggering with spiritual exhaustion as he explains to the invading soldiers, I am yelling because you are stealing our land, or cries out, poetically, Do you think I have 1000 dunums inside me? you recognize nobility, a large soul who is willing to die for the truth. And not surprisingly, Abu Rahma was arrested a few weeks later, lest he stir the spirit of resistance.
Many times here I have tried to convey the incredible cost that Palestinians face for nonviolent resistance– even as well-paid American writers mislead their audiences by asking, Where is the Palestinian Gandhi? Well Adeeb Abu Rahma’s family is paying that price. Here is a dispatch by Evie Solie of the International Solidarity Movement interviewing Abu Rahma’s wife Umm Mohammed on the occasion of Al Eid, a Muslim holiday. She has seen her husband once in prison in two years. The family is struggling to make it. The two oldest daughters are in university. One of them has not been able to see her father, who is to be released in one month.
As Willy Loman said, Attention must be paid:
Five months before Abdallah [Abu Rahma] was taken from his home, his cousin Adeeb Abu Rahma was arrested in a demonstration in Bil’in. His wife has only been allowed to visit him once at Ofer Military Prison where both Adeeb and Abdallah are held. Adeeb’s daughter Radja (20) has not been able to see him at all, due to what Israel calls “security reasons”. This Eid is not the same as before for the family consisting of Adeeb’s wife and 9 children, aged from 4 to 20. Radja says, “This Eid there is not happiness like there used to be in this family. In Eid our family used to be together, visiting and having guests. Our father is not here, and we all miss him. Eid is not Eid without him.”
After Adeeb’ arrest, the family hoped he would be released shortly. However, after weeks and then months of waiting, the Israeli Military Court sentenced him to 1 year, and his family hoped that they would see him soon since he had almost served his sentence. But the military prosecution appealed and now Adeeb is to be released the 12th December. Exactly 1.5 years will have passed since Radja saw her father the last time.
Struggling financially
The financial situation has been hard the last 1.5 years. There is no big brother to help support the family financially. The eldest son Mohammed is 16 years old and still in school. Two daughters are in university, and are now struggling to pay the fees. The family’s income is from their small market, but their household is suffering from the absence of Adeeb’s income as a taxi driver. Umm Mohammed is also alone in her responsibility to raise the children; though they are all helping out as best they can, most of the children are not old enough to have responsibility. She misses her husband, and has been present in every court hearing so that at least she can see Adeeb. But she has not been allowed to talk to him except for the one time she was allowed to visit. Radja explains how Batoul (4) reacted when she visited her father in prison: “She did not understand why he could not be home. At home she cried and was constantly nervous. She asked: Why did they take him? When she saw him in prison she was in shock, she would not speak. After a while, when she realized that he is not coming home, she started to talk. But what can we answer to her question? It’s clear that they took him and still are keeping him because they are afraid of the success of the non-violent demonstrations. It scares them that through the demonstrations the world can see what Israel is doing to us, so they fabricate evidence against the leaders and put them in prison. All Batoul knows is that her father is taken away from her and she does not understand why.”
Success in spite of suffering
Both Adeeb and Abdallah’s families are obviously strong, though given no choice but to manage without their husband and father. They have been waiting in uncertainty for months before the trials, and suffering severe disappointment since the appeal, which deprived the children of their fathers for another half a year. Adeeb Abu Rahma was in July sentenced to 1 year for “encouraging violence”, and another 6 months may be added on Thursday when the state prosecution appeals his sentence. Abdallah Abu Rahma was, according to the first court decision, supposed to be released this week, but his release is now postponed. Despite the frustrations and constant ache, both Adeeb’s and Abdallah’s families express hope because they know why they were arrested. Majida says:
“My husband was visible. He went to every demonstration, and spoke up against the Wall and the settlement. In spite of our suffering, and his son now growing up without knowing his father, we know that his actions were successful. Israel was so threatened by the demonstrations that they had to remove strong characters like my husband and Adeeb.”
