Report from Jenin
William J. Thomson, Ph.D.
734-662-2216
April 23, 2002

On Tuesday, 4/23/02, a group of some 25 Palestinians and internationals travelled from Jerusalem to Jenin camp.  By bus, taxi and foot, we arrived at the camp at midmorning, having encountered no Israeli military along the way.  The lack of exposure to the IDF was strictly a function of the skill of our Palestinian guides, as the city and camp remain surrounded.

In the camp we heard a succession of horrible stories.  Civilians were shot in cold blood, and then first aid supplies were placed on the body to make it appear that the IDF had rendered assistance.  One victim was repeatedly run over by a tank, crushing his body into an unrecognizable form.  Both men and women were ordered to strip completely--two elderly men who refused were summarily executed.  The soldiers stole telephones, money, jewelry--anything of value that could be carried.

The scene of the devastation was horrifying.  Within an area of approximately 500 yards by 500 yards, there was not a single structure remaining.  Even the remnants of houses were pulverized beyond recognition.  All that remained was several mounds of dust-covered rubble, 1-2 stories high.  Residents attempted to identify where they had lived by finding a familiar blanket, bucket or toy.  The empty area was surrounded with a perimeter of structures that were missing walls and were in danger of imminent collapse.  Residents were digging through the rubble with their bare hands in search of corpses and any salvageable items.  On the day we were there, five bodies were discovered, including that of an infant.

We estimated that the devastated area must have held around 300 homes (each containing several families), for a total of about 9000 people out of the camp's total population of 15,000.  Clearly all of the houses were not fully occupied during the attack, but it is equally clear that the number of deaths in this area must have been considerable.

I have little to add to the specific individual accounts described above and in previous messages, except to point out that the stories are distressingly similar, differing only in details.  According to Dr. Mohammed Abu-Ghali, a pediatrician who is Director of Jenin Hospital, only 102 injuries were reported, due to the ruthless efficiency with which the IDF went about its gruesome task.  One young injured boy was Asad Faisal Awad (10), who had two broken legs, missing toes, a missing arm, was blind and on a ventilator to assist with his labored breathing.  His father was praying for his death, a death which we were later informed had in fact occurred during our return to Jerusalem. 

A child in the camp handed me a piece of ordinance which an expert here in Ann Arbor identified as either an M-203 grenade (fired by an M-16 rifle) or a 40mm chain gun missile fired by an Apache helicopter.  In either case, we are talking about a rather indiscriminate weapon (much like a hand grenade), which if fired into a typical concrete block room would likely kill everyone inside, collapse the ceiling, and significantly damage the walls.  It is a crude, imprecise weapon.  Perhaps it was just such a grenade that led to the death of Asad.  It should also be noted that the ordinance contained both English and Hebrew markings, which led my expert friend to believe with 90+% certainty that the weapon had originated in the United States, paid for by our tax dollars.

To the degree that such things are possible, I would also like to report some aspects of a positive nature.  As a clinical psychologist with a special expertise in trauma, I was impressed by the mood of the people in the camp.  Clearly they had been dealt a terrible blow, and yet the flags of Palestine, HAMAS and Fatah were on display, and people were going about the business of recovery.  One woman was clearly visible prepring a meal near the edge of an open wall that had once been the side of her home.  But perhaps the most striking example of recovery was the following--in the home of Um Sulhi an internal wall had been knocked down by Israeli soldiers as they were moving from home to home searching for "terrorists".  However in this home, the wall was already repaired, and a painting had been produced on the wall.  In the midst of incredible destruction, there was now a beautiful work of art!

A second ray of hope came from children.  As I have found typical in refugee camps at various places around the world, as soon as we arrived in the camp we were surrounded by children.  We asked one bright and beautiful Palestinian girl, Shairma' (age 11), what she wanted to be when she grew up.  "There is no hope here; I want to be a martyr."  Another child, Eyad (age 10), said, "I want to resist, I don't want to go to school"--understandable, but very concerning sentiments.  The ray of hope comes from a brilliant Palestinian therapist, Dr. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, who over several hours of conversation with these children was able to instill some hope and desire to return to school.  In fact, Shairma' and Eyad accepted the responsibility of gathering their compatriots for a play/art therapy session set up for after school the next day.  So we have a small success, but there are far too few Dr. Naderas and way, way to many Shairma's and Eyads.

On our way home we were intercepted outside Jenin city by an IDF patrol.  Our interactions with them and our ability to use nonviolent methods to literally disarm one of the soldiers will be the subject of my next narrative.