Friends,

The first is a piece (writen by an ISM activist) about the village of Dir Ibzya, west of Ramallah, where the ISM worked with a children's summer camp. Following are letters from the children of Dir Ibziya to the children of the world. Please help us distribute these letters far and wide.

Away from the gunfire...

This week we have heard of the two Palestinian attacks on Israelis resulting in the deaths of ten people. However, the 43 deaths of Palestinians over the past three weeks have not been considered newsworthy. Away from the gunfire, a psychological warfare is being waged. Where the occupation imposing curfews, roadblocks and checkpoints deny Palestinians their basic human needs such as the distribution of food, medical supplies and education. Contravening International Law under the Geneva Convention. I have returned from Deir Ibzya, a small village near Ramallah consisting of 1500 people.

Deir Ibzya is easy to fall in love with. Set in the mountains, surrounded by rolling hills, which on a clear day you can see the light bouncing off the sea all the way in Tel Aviv. It is hard to imagine that only two weeks ago, this village had the physical presence of tanks, APC's and soldiers looming over the hills, suffocating Deir Ibzya's economy and threatening its people. The infrastructure of Deir Ibzya's economy relies on it quick and easy access to Ramallah. However, what used to be a 15-minute drive to

Ramallah, is now thanks to the checkpoints and roadblocks- a 4 hour journey. The imposition of the curfew renders mobility between Deir Ibzya and Ramallah obsolete. This has many harsh effects on the livelihood of Deir Ibzya, as people can't get to work, thus they have no money. Food is even more difficult to distribute, thus it costs more money. The repercussions of immobility know no end, from the small details of not obtaining any chicken feed, resulting the death of the trade of meat and eggs, as well as contributing to the lack of food. To the diminishing hope of the inhabitants under the occupation, whose morale sinks lower and lower, as they live under the constant fear of attack starvation and imprisonment in their own homes.

Blackouts are common, either due to the electricity supply being cut off, or the generators being so old yet the village is unable to replace. Israeli aircraft adds to the terror, as F16's become a regular occurance, and the sound of gunshots in other towns carry over the hills. To heighten the isolation of this small village, are the illegal settlements that surround Deir Ibzya on two adjacent sides. In my time there I was involved in a summer camp, catering for anything up to 150-250 children. The summer camp was arranged by a local man named Deeb Kamal, and provided English lessons, Art classes, Sports, Dancing and singing sessions.

I had the good fortune of taking the art class, which consisted of 25- 30 kids between the ages of 11-15. It was the most rewarding experience of my whole life. I wanted the kids to create some images of how they felt about Palestine, if possible to explore their feelings in a context of hope and not suffering. On the first day, I set the project 'What I love about Palestine'. I managed to communicate this idea without the help of a translator; it took a lot of gesticulating and physical demonstrations before anyone knew what to do. However, once these kids understood the project- nothing could stop them. They were bursting at the seams with creative energy. I got beautiful images of mountains, trees, rivers and seas with fishes, and candles inscribed with the word 'peace'. Its hard to imagine that just two weeks before this, they were not even allowed to leave the house. Deeb Kamal, the director of the camp claimed that before this was set up you would rarely catch any of these village children smile.

It is clear to me that these kids had a desperate need for expression, as once they understood the project they we're so self - directed. They produced some amazingly colourful images of what they idealised about Palestine, although there were a few images of refugee camps with people carrying shahid's (those killed by Isreali's). I didn't quite know what to say about these. Another project that was given to this class was to create an image of how they idealize themselves in the future. These kids have dreams just like the rest of us- I saw images of dentists, doctors and art teachers- to name a few. It is so clear to me that all these kids need is a chance. The situation they are finding themselves in is abysmal. They are being deprived of their basic needs. Their education is constantly undermined by the occupation. This is particularly evident when the IDF broke into a school to vandalize. * The small village is further isolated by surrounding illegal settlements. During my stay in Deir Ibzya there was another blackout, which coincided with the helicopters settling over Ramallah and the sound of firing. The next day, I discovered that occurrences like that were part of these peoples every day lives. They were so accustomed to the sound of attack they didn't seem to notice or surprise them anymore.

Although the tanks have left the hills of Deir Ibzya, occasionally soldiers still pass through the village, fuelling people's sense of feeling unsafe within their own homes. Under the occupation people are unable to live their lives. The most they can do is sit at home and panic. When they chance on watching the news, it is they who are being portrayed as the persecutors, further isolating them from the rest of the world. This is why an international presence, such as the ISM have such significant implications.

As it denies the IDF to persecute whilst the world isn't watching. It also helps to boost the morale of the Palestinian people, many of which believe the world is against them. It seems that there is a difference between knocking people down and keeping them down. The Isreali's have succeeded in breaking Palestinian morale, now what they are striving to achieve using psychological warfare is leaving them with no hope. In the many interviews I had taken, when asked 'What hope do you have for the future?', the answer is always negative. Even when the physical presence of the soldiers is not there, Palestinian people are forced to live under its shadow. *This is described in more detail in the interview with Nadia Ayesha

Dear Friends,

I wanted to share with you a few of the beautiful letters written by the children of Deir Ibzya Summer Camp to pen pals in the United States. The children wrote the first sentences of their letters in English and then wrote a message in Arabic, which we translated to English. With love and hope for peace in Palestine,

Cathy

Letter from Latfa.

My name is Latfa. I am 12 years old. I like to swim. I am in 6th grade. I feel very happy now because the internationals are beside us. And we shall miss them and I hope they will please visit us again. I want to tell them thank you very much all of you and I hope you will come again to visit my village. I thank you very much.

Letter from Diana

Greetings in God's name. My name is Diana. I am 12 years old. I like to swim. I am in 6th grade. I was very sad when the Israelis came into our land. We cannot make anything. But when the internationals came, I am very happy. They want us to forget the sadness in our lives and to laugh and play. Our friends such as Wendy, John, Arla, Cathy, Seth, Ola and I thank my Uncle Deeb for making the summer camp in our village so we will forget the sadness in our hearts and laugh and play again. You make us happy. Thanks to my Uncle Deeb. I will never forget him. I thank you three times for making the summer camp. It is very good and it makes us very happy. Thank you.

Letter from Alaa

My name is Alaa and I am 12 years old and I like to swim. I am in 6th grade. I am very happy when I hear that the internationals are coming. We are learning with them very much. And we are playing many games and it is wonderful. WE are happy for the first time since the occupation in our village. And when we were sleeping we heard the sound of bullets from the armored vehicles. But now we are forgetting the sound of the bullets from the armored vehicles and we are thinking of the summer camp and forgetting the occupation of our village. And I am very happy because I see the smiles on the children's lips.

Letter from Safia

My name is Safia. I am 12 years old. I like to swim. I am in sixth grade. I love you. The children of the Palestinian people are very sad because of the occupation by the Israelis. But after this summer camp we are now very happy because of our uncle Abu Ferraz (Deeb Kamal) and the internationals. They come from all over the world. I hope my Uncle Abu Ferrz will please make the summer camp every year. And I thank my Uncle Deeb from all my heart. And I thank the internationals. The summer camp is beautiful. I thank you very much.

Letter from Raghda.

My name is Raghda. I am 13 years old. I like to Intifada. I am in 8th grade. I am a Palestinian Child. I live in Deir Ibzya. We are the children of Palestine. We send this to all the children of the world and especially American children. We tell you here about our tragic situation in the shade of an unfair occupation who doesn't know the word mercy. The Second Terrorist After Bush (Sharon) kills the children, arrests the men, humiliates women, demolishes houses, destroys trees, pollutes the air, steals the goods of the country and has the movement of the citizens in his hands. He besieges the cities and villages since a year. WE can't see our relatives and friends. Who needs something has to walk many meters on foot over the mountains to reach the main road. There he might find the army, who sends him back to the place he came from. So he has to go back after a long suffering. The army shoots fire on the people so a Palestinian can be killed in seconds. The feelings of the Palestinian children are sad in the shade of Israeli terror. The child can't play and laugh, like all the children of the world. He can't reach any amusement places. Our rights are taken from us. The tears are in our eyes. The ears listen to the sounds of guns and bombs. The eyes see blood and the legs run away from soldiers. The hands treat the injured people. We ask American kids to help us, because we asked the adults but they didn't listen. We hope that you hear our call for help and help us. We believe that we'll get our rights back some day. We thank everyone who tried to help us, especially Mr. Jon Jackson.

Thank you very much.