Origin: Unknown | Documentary | Director: Angela Godfrey Goldstein | 28 minutes

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Nowhere Left to Go

Angela Godfrey Goldstone documentary 28 min.

Posted by A Mosaic For Peace in Uncategorized February 25, 2013
"Nowhere Left to Go" is a film documenting the story of the Jahalin
Bedouin, a group of Bedouin people who were displaced from their
traditional lands in the Negev desert in 1951. At that time, two elements
of the Israeli Army (the Haganah and the Stern Gang) attacked the Bedouin
people living in the Arad area of the Negev, killing 5 men and burning 15
tents. The people fled the Negev with their sheep and goats, settling in
the hills to the east of Jerusalem. For 60 years, the Bedouin have lived a
traditional life, living off the fruits of this land and garnering income
from their sheep. Seasonally, they would move their tents to new ground,
moving to a cooler place close to water in the summer and to a warmer place
in winter. Since the 1967 Israeli military occupation began, they have
faced increasing hardship as their land has been taken from them for
settlement construction and grazing access for their livestock has been
increasingly denied. In most cases, they have been denied access to basic
services such as water, electricity and sewage, even though the water,
electrical and sewage infrastructure for nearby settlements passes through
their land. The building of the Separation Barrier and the Checkpoint and
permit system has denied them access to the city of Jerusalem, their
primary market to sell their produce. They are unable to obtain work
permits to work in Jerusalem, and since the building of a village school in
2009, they have been denied work permits to work on nearby settlements.

Today, the land they live on is wanted for expansion of the Israeli
settlement Ma'ale Adumim, to create homes and the amenities of a modern
city for Israeli people on what is clearly Palestinian land (as per the
1949 Green Line). Given that it is illegal for Palestinians to enter
settlements without a permit, the homes and amenities of this spreading
city will remain inaccessible for these soon to be displaced Bedouin and
their fellow Palestinians.

In November, 2011, an Israeli Civil Administration delegation visited the
Bedouin community of Khan al Ahmar. They informed the Bedouin that plans
were underway to transfer them from the Ma'ale Adumim area to Al-Jabal near
Al Eizariya, the location of the Jerusalem municipal garbage dump. This is
the location other members of the Jahalin Bedouin tribe were moved to in
the 1990's to enable a previous Ma'ale Adumim expansion. However,
following a High Court petition against the 2011 decision and broad
international protests, the Civil Administration withdrew the plan. It is
now understood that the Bedouin will be forcibly displaced to the Jericho
area in the near future. Forcible displacement is in direct contravention
of International Humanitarian Law, which clearly states "Individual or mass
forcible transfers (...)of protected persons from occupied territory to the
territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied
or not are prohibited, regardless of their motive." (Article 49 Geneva
Convention IV). According to Netta Amar-Shiff, a lawyer and International
Humanitarian Law specialist with Diakonia, Article 49 has no exceptions.
It applies inside the occupied Palestinian territory and contravention of
this law is considered a war crime.

For more information go to http://www.jahalin.org

It provides an excellent documentary of the plight of the Bedouin people,
while providing superb footage of both Bedouin life and life inside the
Israeli only settlement of Ma'ale Adumim. But beyond facts, you will find
your heart moved by the deep, deep desire of these oppressed people to one
day live in peace with their neighbours. One day, the truth will set them
free, and they will overcome the very real prison walls that currently
surround them.

Full documentary: https://vimeo.com/109683662

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View trailer