FREE MANAL AND NOUR

Majed

With a smile taking you to a childhood which you may have missed in the midst of a busy life, with two wide loving eyes filled with a brilliance you rarely see, 7-year-old Majed, Manal's youngest son outside of prison, welcomes you. He shakes your hand with his little dark fingers. With these little fingers, which carry a much greater burden, Majed confidently opens the syringe, surprising anyone that sees him doing so for the first time, and attempts to break the neck of the bottle. His aunt offers help. "I know, I know", Majed responds, gazing at her. Skillfully, he pulls the liquid into the syringe which he prepares and fixes to the device to replenish his blood 3 times a week, assisted by his aunt Arij to stick the syringe in his tender arm. Despite difficulties faced by Majed in receiving treatment at the beginning, he was assisted by psychiatrists from the Thalasimya Patients Association, and was able to create an amazing friendship and acquaintance with the syringe and medical devices.

Majed suffers from severe Thalasimia and inflation of the lien. His health condition requires that he often visits the hospital, and sometimes stays overnight, to provide him with blood and place him under medical observation. The doctor treating him decided to conduct a surgical operation to excise the lien before his mother was arrested by the Israeli army. However, he postponed it until Majed turns 10 years old. Majed's fragile health prevents him from visiting his mother regularly in Telmond Prison, where he used to visit her along with her grandmother. The Israeli army has prevented the grandmother from visiting her daughter. Due to the difficult journey, long hours waiting, and searches of families wishing to visit their relatives in prison, and the fact that his brother and sister, Niveen and Ihab, cannot take care of him, Majed's father was forced to not tell him about the visits to his mother. Therefore, Majed is always crying and yelling to see his mother until his brother and sister come back. His father was also forced to tell him that his brother and sister went to visit their mother because Majed always returned tired and sick after each visit.

Aunt Arij describes Majed:
Majed was in kindergarten when his mother was arrested. Juju is sick and his psyche is negatively impacted. Juju has everything… wrist watches, watches which make him laugh. When he is ill, you feel for him. He does not know how to express himself. He wants his mother to be beside him. He also wants to see his brother. When he is sick, he almost hallucinates. He wants to possess everything. Sometimes, he gives what he has to his brothers and sisters. I feel him becoming sick at once. I told him not to go in the morning. When he got up on the visit day, I told him that his brother and sister went to school. 'Aunt, you lied to me", he said when he came back from school.

During the interview, Majed was playing with an object he had in his pocket. His hand, which he extended from the moment we talked to him, is moving something there. It wasn't long till Majed took out a small medal with pictures of 2 lost loved ones, his younger brother Nour, and his martyred uncle Ghanem; two absentees who occupy little Majed's mind. He told me that he moves their pictures when he changes his clothes. Majed took out his medal and showed it to me. "This is Nour and this is my uncle Ghanim. Every hour, I look at the medal. I always keep it with me", Majed said while he was turning the medal.

Niveen

A group of female students, in blue school uniform, stood gazing at us as we were waiting for one of Manal's family members to accompany us to her house to meet her children. Shy looks and giggles, long gazes, and a wild desire to discover the unknown, were evident in those students. In turn, we broke the ice. One of the girls was walking through the streets of the refugee camp as if they were her home. Her complexion was dark. She was more courageous than the others. Her stare would penetrate you and make you feel as if she was searching for something in you. A few minutes later, Manal's sister arrived and we went together to her parents' house. I was surprised to see the same girl enter as we sat down; the same eyes and crazy hair, which didn't even begin to conform to the many hair band in it. That was my first encounter with Niveen.

In the absence of her mother, Niveen expresses the silence in her more powerfully than any other girl would. She took me with her on a journey to the silence filling her and which appears in her eyes. Silence filled the entire space. It was louder than the noise caused by children playing outside. With a few words, she expressed her longing for her mother. However, she remained silent as I asked her more questions, thus expressing even more of herself.

Aunt Arij describes Niveen:
She used to go out without permission. There are contradictions in her personality now and changes in her behavior. The girl was shocked, as if she lost something. She is aggressive, beats Majed, and is very jealous of her brothers and Majed. We try to compensate her with many things. She used to ask about her mother a lot. "Where is she? When will she be released? Why did they do this to her?" Sometimes, I don't know what to answer her!

The other girls make fun of her, saying "Your mother is in prison. Your mother is in prison". Sometimes, people treat her sympathetically. She is nervous when she comes back from school. She is excessively nervous. When her mother was arrested, she used to fight and beat other girls. I didn't like her behavior. She hardly speaks. She was young when her mother was arrested. Because she's the only female child, she is very jealous of Majed. Everyone has a problem. When she visits her mother, I ask her about Nour. "How is you mother?" Good. Niveen doesn't talk about her mother. All she says: "She says hello to you". Sometimes, after the second or third day after the visit, she will say something. "I forget. Wait until I remember", she would say. She remembers everything when she sits at the computer. At home, I call her the computer. Niveen likes everything to be hers. She needs courtesy. I usually try to give her everything. I feel that she is like a trust. Sometimes, Niveen gets upset because I tell her not to go out of the house. Niveen goes to the psychiatrist. They express themselves by painting.

Ihab

It wasn't difficult for Ihab to relate the story of what happened on the day his mother was arrested two years ago. He talked about what happened as if it was yesterday, as if two years had not passed by. It is an experience which still lives within him. His eyes were glistening as he described how the army entered the house on that night.

"The army broke into the house, damaged the sofas, the house, and the cupboard. They damaged everything. The split the TV set into two halves and damaged the satellite receiver. The army broke the windows and glass. The wire fell on the glass. They damaged the house and then they left", Ihab recalls.

He expresses what happened with his face and hands. A 10-year-old mischievous boy, he is full of energy and anger, both of which stimulate him. He was 8 when his mother was arrested from her house in Tulkarem refugee camp.

"I am sick because my mother is in prison", he easily and simply states. "I am sad and cause a lot of problems. I also get very nervous when somebody shouts at me."

I saw his face tighten and release. His eyes show mischief and shyness at the same time, and search the area once.

"My mother is in prison. Because my brother suffers from Thalasimia, she beat the soldier. On the day they arrested my mother, they first shook the door of the house. Both my father and mother went out. They told my father and mother to go away and wake up the children and take them outside. My father came with them. He woke me up and told me there that the army was in the house. "You sit here and you sit here", they told us when they first came in. My brother was uncovered. My mother wanted to bring a jacket, but they beat her. They stayed for half an hour in the house", Ihab says, responding to my question on the arrest of his mother.

Ihab Naji Ghanem in his own words

"I am in the 5th grade (Class C) in Tulkarem refugee camp. I have 100 friends. We love to play Karate, and (zaqqtotah). We love to play everything. We play (tummah) and (daqq al hajar). My closest friends are Ali, Abu Loto, Mu'taz, Abu 'Atef, Naseem, and Khalil. My friends nicknamed me as Abu Rasas. My brother Majed suffers from Thalasimia. They give him blood.

My mother is held in Hadarim Prison. We go and visit her with the ICRC. The trip in the bus is difficult. There, the Israelis search us and take us to Jenin to search us. They search the clothes and throw them. They throw some clothes on the dirty ground, but we clean them. We take clothes to my mother.

I was happy when my mother had a baby boy. I knew it would be a boy. I want a boy. I have never hugged my brother or carried him. The army doesn't allow us. I would love to kiss and hug him. I don't see my mother well during the visit. There is a glass barrier, wire fence, and more glass. During visits, I would love to break the glass, remove the wire fence, release her, and free the prison. I want her to be out safe.

The best thing my mother used to cook? Shawerma. When she is released, I want her to prepare Shawerma for me. The first thing we'd like to do when my mother is released is to go to the store and buy clothes. I will ask her where she is going, and go along with her.

I am most happy when I play football. My favourite hobbies are playing football and computers. We have a football team called Al Ghanim Neighbourhood Team, which is made up of me, Captain Ashraf, and Goalkeeper Hammoudeh.

When I grow up, I will be a man and get married. This means I will work in metal. We will collect metal and sell it. I'll go with my uncle, make cars, and bring metal. I will fix them all."

Aunt Arij describes Ihab:
He was calm. I didn't like his behavior. I didn't know what to do with him. Mother substitutes the father. He isn't willing to accept anything. He doesn't accept guidance. He's stubborn. I can't deal with him easily and I just don't know how to deal with him. Sometimes, he runs away. I don't know what to do with him. He lies and is increasingly careless. He doesn't care about anything and doesn't like to stay quiet. Sometimes, I become angry and hit him. He likes horror and war movies. If he meets a boy along the street, he will hit him. Everyone complains about him. He disappears for two hours and then shows up with no explanation. He drives me crazy. I don't know what to do!

Why does Ihab say that his mom is in prison because Majed suffers from Thalasimia? I'll tell you why. On the day they arrested Manal, the soldiers stepped on Majed with their boots. She wanted to dress him with the jacket. He was cold and she wanted to bring a blanket. The soldier prevented her and stepped on the boy instead. Trying to defend her son, she grabbed her slippers and hit the soldier with them. This is what Ihab thinks. The boy imagines things happened differently that what he saw that night.

Naji

He carries a burden, but a greater nostalgia. He is proud of his wife. Waiting for her release, Naji, Manal's husband, tries to compensate his children for their mother's absence. Tormented between work responsibilities and his children's needs, he misses his wife terribly. He has been prevented from visiting her since she was arrested. This departure was among the plans Naji and Manal prepared for 11 years ago.

"I married Manal 11 years ago. I saw her by chance walking along the street. I liked her immediately. I was selling flowers at the time and I was introduced to her. I sent her red flowers. I knew her for 4 months and then we were engaged. During that time, we used to travel together. We went to Nablus and Ramallah. She loved to go to Nablus. We planned to have 4 children and provide them with a decent living and future. Manal loved her children immensely. She studied at a beauty school and enjoyed embroidery. We named our children after their uncles who were martyred."

Manal's arrest
"It was raining. It was about 04:00 am at dawn. The soldiers asked about my brother Ghanim, who was later killed by the Israelis. They searched the house, broke glass objects, and damaged the house. They took me outside for half an hour. I saw them when they took Manal. The army asked about my brother, who is wanted. Niveen told me that they took Manal. The army beat me with a rifle on my shoulder. They also beat Majed, Niveen and Ihab. Majed saw how they arrested his mother. For two months after she was arrested, he stayed in the hospital to be treated for Thalasimiya."

Naji lives in his house alone. The children live at their grandfather's. Naji is prevented from visiting Manal for security reasons. Since her arrest Naji has only seen Manal and Nour one time at Manal's trial. His first and only time seeing Nour, Naji was eager to hold him during the trial. The Israelis allowed him to carry him for a minute and then grabbed him away.

Naji is 37 years old. He completed preparatory school. He is an employee at the UN Refugee Works Agency (UNRWA). His financial situation is average. He is renting the house in which he lives. On 24 February 2004, his brother Ghanem was martyred. His brother Samer is still held in custody in Jalbou' Prison.