AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Shanti’s shot sheep
abril 17th, 2008
in:
CPTnet
17 April 2008
AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Shanti’s shot sheep
by Jessica Frederick
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal.]
One of the shepherds here in the South Hebron Hills reminds me of a prophet from biblical times. He is a Palestinian from a village near At-Tuwani and has a dark, bushy beard and wild hair. Like the prophets, he is a fearless nonviolent witness to the truth when confronting the Powers that Be. I’ll call him Shanti.
On Wednesday, 26 March, Shanti was grazing his sheep in the Mshaha Valley. Settlers from the Hill 833 settlement outpost, which they refer to as Havat Maon, frequently harass Palestinian shepherds as they graze their sheep in this area. While his flock grazed, Israeli settlers shot two of his sheep and his billy goat.
For over six hours, Shanti told and re-told his story, with relentless passion and animation. To Israeli police; to Israeli military; to the Israeli police (again); to armed Israeli settler security agents (who were suspiciously vague about their identities and their interest in Shanti’s sheep.)
A few times, standing near an unsuspecting Israeli soldier, he would launch into his story. As Shanti recounted the violence done to his flock, soldiers shifted uncomfortably or became very interested in the rocky ground beneath them. Shanti’s story rendered them defenseless. Their guns and army gear could not protect them from the truth of his account.
His persistence in telling the story of the violence done to his flock was powerfully reminiscent of the biblical prophets’ commitment to speaking Truth to Power.
Shanti’s commitment to nonviolent resistance is not limited to words, only. The next day, in response to the shooting, Palestinians from around the South Hebron Hills came together to graze in the valley where settlers had shot Shanti’s sheep. Shepherds, sheep, and goats dotted the valley and the hills in the Mshaha valley.
Despite the trauma of the day before, Shanti joined them. Of all the shepherds in the valley, Shanti was the shepherd grazing his sheep nearest to the Hill 833 settlement outpost, nearest to the risk of danger and attack from settlers. Like the prophets of old, on that day (and in the days that have followed), Shanti put himself in a place of danger to resist nonviolently the Powers that Be.
The Palestinians here in At-Tuwani and the surrounding villages are my mentors in my journey of nonviolent response to structures and situations of oppression and injustice. Shanti’s fierce courage and persistence in response to violence around him nurtures me. To me, he is stepping out of the pages of the biblical witness.
17 April 2008
AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: Shanti’s shot sheep
by Jessica Frederick
[Note: According to the Geneva Conventions, the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and numerous United Nations resolutions, all Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal.]
One of the shepherds here in the South Hebron Hills reminds me of a prophet from biblical times. He is a Palestinian from a village near At-Tuwani and has a dark, bushy beard and wild hair. Like the prophets, he is a fearless nonviolent witness to the truth when confronting the Powers that Be. I’ll call him Shanti.
On Wednesday, 26 March, Shanti was grazing his sheep in the Mshaha Valley. Settlers from the Hill 833 settlement outpost, which they refer to as Havat Maon, frequently harass Palestinian shepherds as they graze their sheep in this area. While his flock grazed, Israeli settlers shot two of his sheep and his billy goat.
For over six hours, Shanti told and re-told his story, with relentless passion and animation. To Israeli police; to Israeli military; to the Israeli police (again); to armed Israeli settler security agents (who were suspiciously vague about their identities and their interest in Shanti’s sheep.)
A few times, standing near an unsuspecting Israeli soldier, he would launch into his story. As Shanti recounted the violence done to his flock, soldiers shifted uncomfortably or became very interested in the rocky ground beneath them. Shanti’s story rendered them defenseless. Their guns and army gear could not protect them from the truth of his account.
His persistence in telling the story of the violence done to his flock was powerfully reminiscent of the biblical prophets’ commitment to speaking Truth to Power.
Shanti’s commitment to nonviolent resistance is not limited to words, only. The next day, in response to the shooting, Palestinians from around the South Hebron Hills came together to graze in the valley where settlers had shot Shanti’s sheep. Shepherds, sheep, and goats dotted the valley and the hills in the Mshaha valley.
Despite the trauma of the day before, Shanti joined them. Of all the shepherds in the valley, Shanti was the shepherd grazing his sheep nearest to the Hill 833 settlement outpost, nearest to the risk of danger and attack from settlers. Like the prophets of old, on that day (and in the days that have followed), Shanti put himself in a place of danger to resist nonviolently the Powers that Be.
The Palestinians here in At-Tuwani and the surrounding villages are my mentors in my journey of nonviolent response to structures and situations of oppression and injustice. Shanti’s fierce courage and persistence in response to violence around him nurtures me. To me, he is stepping out of the pages of the biblical witness.
