A harvest report from Bil’in
heather on October 12th, 2005This Sunday the Bil’in villagers harvested their olive groves which are now being torn up by the construction of the Wall.
The annual harvest of olives is both vital to the livelihood of the Bil’in community, and being made increasingly difficult to perform. Israel demands that olive farmers in the West Bank apply to them for “permission” to harvest their own crops. The people of Bil’in are adamant that this demand will not be met. For them it cannot be met. “Where?”, they ask “…is there an authority that can legitimately grant (or withhold) such permission.” They know that when Israel has granted “permission” in the past and when it is not suddenly and without warning withdrawn, that it is often only for some small percentage of the farmers and for a fraction of the time required to harvest their crops.
On the way to their groves, accompanied by internationals from ISM and IWPS, and members of Rabbis for Human Rights, the men, women, and children from Bil’in crossed the Israeli construction site. By the time their trees produce another crop it is likely that an impenetrable barrier will stand here severing the connection between Bil’in and its farmlands permanently. Making their way out to the limits of their land, or at least to those olive groves of theirs which have yet to be consumed by the growth of the neighbouring settlements the villagers set about their work with urgency. Some hit the branches with sticks knocking the olives to the ground, and releasing clouds of dust into the air. The trees here are covered in a layer of dust which has been created by the construction work, and which the villagers believe has damaged the process of cross-polination this year. Some climbed the trees to pick the olives higher up, others gathered those that had already fallen to the ground. All focussed on the work at hand undistracted by the huge cranes above, at work expanding the hilltop settlement there, undistracted by the passing army jeeps and humvees on the road below, and undistracted by the roar of the construction and excavation equipment nearby.
Finally, with their bags full of olives everyone stopped to enjoy lunch, shaded by the trees from the midday sun. Then, choosing to walk back to the village along the route of the wall construction, the people of Bil’in passed the many diggers uprooting their trees and gouging away at the hillside. Followed closely by Israeli soldiers the Bil’in villagers’ message was clear - the land was there’s and they needed no-ones permission to work it.
Download films of the Non-Violent demonstrations in Bil’in:
http://www.archive.org/details/bilin20
http://www.archive.org/details/BilinWallDemo040505
