Occupation, in the details

I visited the West Bank earlier this month and created these illustrations as part of a travelog. This is part 1.

The last time I had been there was 2008. Now, everything seemed heavier, particularly in Hebron where I spent most of my time. The air was heavy, the mood was heavy, and  the gravity of occupation seemed responsible for the drooping faces. Merely existing there is exhausting.

Much of the media coverage misses the details because it’s not interesting enough or attention-grabbing enough to rope people in.

In these illustrations I focused on the details of military occupation that get overlooked.

1) I was in a service going from Hebron to Jerusalem and passed the village of Beit Omar. The suffering the people of this village has faced over the years is unimaginable and has been documented in great detail by organizations like the International Solidarity Movement and the Palestine Solidarity Project. But on the day I drove by, it was just another day.. a guy operating his store, a woman hanging the clothes out, and two soldiers occupying their roof.

2) The old city of Hebron. The ancient stones belong to the scene. The woman belongs to the scene. The mouse belongs to the scene. But the plastic surveillance technology– if this is the Holyland, just a few steps from the Ibrahimi mosque/tomb of the Patriarchs, what is holy about harassment and surveillance?

3) View of an Israeli base from the Ibrahimi mosque. With the shape of the crescent on the minaret, the first thing I thought of is that this scene looks like an Eye of Sauron in reverse. The crescent looks like the eye, but it’s the Israeli army base and the watchtower on top of the hill that holds the same position as Sauron did in Middle Earth.

The original illustrations are for sale on my website: https://katiemiranda.com/product-category/original-art/