------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 11:23:37 +0200
Subject: For moderation - SUMOUD Camp: Open letter to President Clinton
From: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Open Letter to President Clinton
Office of the President
1600 Pennsylvania Ave
Washington, DC 20500
Re: Invitation to Visit the Sumoud Camp, East Jerusalem
Dear Mr. President
On behalf of the families at the Sumoud Camp, we would like to welcome you to
Jerusalem and invite you to visit us at the Sumoud Building located down from
the American Colony in East Jerusalem. We have been living in this building
with no water, electricity, or heating for 7 months now in order to preserve our
right to live in our hometown.
The Israeli policies of ID card confiscation and forced eviction intended to
reduce Palestinian presence in Jerusalem attempt to abrogate our rights to
Jerusalem and strain our families, constantly reminding us that we have been
made strangers in our hometown. Unlike Jewish residents, the Israeli Interior
Ministry requires Palestinians to prove our center of life is in Jerusalem by
showing proof of a permanent address, even if we have lived in Jerusalem our
entire lives. This request of the Israelis is absurd as they were the ones who
occupied our homes and forced us from our lands.
Mr. President, remember us as you visit Jerusalem. There are many Palestinian
families in the same situation as ourselves and the problem is only deepening.
You have the influence to correct the wrongs done to our people and to stop the
forced eviction of Palestinian families from occupied East Jerusalem. Come and
see where we live and see how we struggle together to preserve our right, to be
steadfast, in Jerusalem.
Sincerely,
Mahfouz Aby Turk
Camp Council Spokesman
Members of the Camp Council:
Mahfouz Abu Turk
Usta Mohammed Abu Shakhdam
Ali Abu Bayaa
Families of Sumoud:
Abu Sara Family (7 children) Abu Turk (6 children)
Abu Beses Yosef Family (6 children) Abu Besis Family (7 children)
Abdel Rahman Burkan Family (1 child) Nareeman Maraqa Family (2 children)
Abu Bassam Sharha Family (4 children) Malakeh Abdulkarim Risha Family(1 child)
Abu Shauban Family (5 children) Abu Mahmoud Family (5 children)
Abu Haitham Family (3 children) Abd Al-Ramadi Family (4 children)
Abd Naser Family (2 children) Abu Shakhdam Family (5 children)
Abu Heseen Authman Family (5 children) Abu Islam Family (5 children)
Abu Hamdeh Alreshek (2 children) Aljaa'bary Family (9 children)
The material contained in this communication comes to you from the
Forced-migration Discussion List which is moderated by the Refugee
Studies Programme (RSP), University of Oxford. It does not necessarily
reflect the views of the RSP or the University. If you re-print, copy,
archive or re-post this message please retain this disclaimer. Quotations
or extracts should include attribution to the original sources.
Forced-migration Discussion list reports are archived on:
http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/forced-migration.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|
