Press Releases

SUMOUD Solidarity Committee is Launched

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
July 14,1998 
BADIL Resource Center 

 


On Saturday, July 11, a local tour of NGOs and consulates toured the Sumoud Camp and spoke with the families living there.  The tour was organized by the Sumoud Solidarity Committee in order to promote awareness of the issues surrounding the camp.  The Sumoud Solidarity Committee is composed of the Camp Council, BADIL Resource Center, and other supporting organizations. The Committee intends to improve the conditions of the camp, while simultaneously advocating for residency rights in Jerusalem. 

During the tour, the group discussed the issues of house demolition, eviction, ID Card Confiscation, child registration, and the difficulties in finding affordable housing for large Palestinian families in East Jerusalem.  They also had the chance to visit the two new Jahalin Bedouin families of Salman Jahalin and Abu Nidal Bseas, who recently re-established their residence at the Sumoud Camp.  Both families were victims of ID card confiscation and were not able to find affordable housing in East Jerusalem, since their eviction from the first Sumoud encampment in Siwane.  This brings to 25 the number of families currently residing at the Sumoud Camp. 

When asked what they will do in the winter, most families said they had little idea and hoped the Orient House would soon find them permanent housing.  Some parents complained that their children were already suffering aches in their legs and arms because of the cold and damp nights in the cement building.  Many are extremely fearful that with the coming winter and the lack of health insurance, some of the children may not be able to survive, as a few have already developed rheumatism.  Yet, all the families are determined to stay in Jerusalem, until their right to live in their hometown is secured. 

The tour, which was attended by such organization as World Vision, the Lutheran Federation, SAAR, the Swedish Representative Office, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, LAW, and the Jerusalem Center for Women, was also shown the projects under construction in the Sumoud Building. Many of the families have built themselves indoor latrines, although the camp still lacks sufficient resources to complete the two communal lavatories necessary for the growing number of occupants in the building. 

The Sumoud Solidarity Committee intends to support the initiatives undertaken by the Camp Council and other Sumoud residents.  One priority of the Committee is to construct a Learning Center for the children of the camp, who lack both summer activities and a place to play.  Also, to break the isolation and feeling of abandonment felt in the camp, a support network is currently being developed for both individuals and organizations, who wish to express their solidarity with the people and the struggle who comprise Sumoud. 

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For further information and visits to Sumoud please contact: Matthew Brubacher at BADIL  Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights, tel/fax. 747346, email: [email protected]