History of this Land

Mohammad's date farm is located in a very special place with a tragic history.  The years 1948 and 1967 are fused in the memories Shuneh's older population because for many as teenagers they and their families became refugees of war.  Forced out of their land, they took up residency here, in Shuneh, Jordan, right near the border.  It is a difficult for me to imagine the unresolveable confusion and pain that these people face when they look out their windows to see their old home towns but are not allowed to go back to them.  We have met many Palestinians who were born and rasied in Palestine but cannot live there because of the Israeli occupation of their homelands.  It's one thing to hear about the situations on the news and then a completely different experience to hear it first hand.  Mohammad is actively working with a group of Jordanians to ensure border control between Palestine and Jordan will give more leniancy to the Palestians who are dying to go home or at least visit their old stomping grounds.  He too would like to go back his old home. for a visit.  In this article, you can read about two men who have been locked out of Jericho for more than 50 years.  Technically they can try to cross the border here at the checkpoint located 5 minutes walking from the farm.  However, to make the attempt is to succomb to a round of long hours waiting in lines, uncomfortable questioning and possible humiliation because Palestinians are often treated like criminals by the Israeli border police.  The stories here are real; the two guys from the article can be seen sitting outside of the mosque everyday in the town center of South Shuneh.  Last night we drove by them during the last of 5 daily prayer times and one of the men encourage Mohammad to go in for his prayer.  With our permission, Mohammad left us in his car and took the old man's suggestion.

The people in Shuneh are religous but not radical despite what's in the news about Muslims and Muslim culture.   We find them to be curious, desperate to communicate, and open to sharing their stories.  For instance, when we're at the date stand, the taxi drivers come over to say hello in English.  They smile, ask where are you from and offer a strong hand shake and say welcome.  The other night  by the poolside, Andreas and I sat with an older man who wanted to tell us about his family and ask us about ours.  We used hand gestures; my favorite was his to ask if Andreas and I have kids.  He did the motion of a pregnant belly and pointed his finger at both of us.  We learned he's a proud father of five children, 2 boys and 3 girls, and he's been married for 35 years.  Finally, just yesterday we sold some dates to a man and his old mother.  They came into the farm and Andreas made a fresh cut from a bunch they wanted to buy.  While we waited for Mohammad to show up and give the price, this man talked to us about his story.  He spoke pretty good English which is not so common outside of Amman.  Anyway, he is Palestinian and his mother's family was kicked out of Palestine twice and until they gave up.  Tears welled in her eyes as she passionately tried to convince us of the injustices she faced and still faces.  She really wants to go home and there is a very good chance that will never happen.  We also met a goat farmer and his 18 children from three wives who has a similar story of being forced out off his family's land when he we younger.  It's a sad situation but clearly people here are making the best of it.  Often when this topic comes us here or anywhere people ask what should be done.  Clearly, a two-state solution will not work because neither side will be completely satisfied by the outcome of land division.  Mohammad is sure that a union between the countries is the only option and democracy must be implemented to give all people an equal voice.  The hope lies within the youth of Israel and Palestine to set Palestine free.  We can only hope we don't have to wait much longer.

This the mother and son who came for dates and left their story in our hearts.

The nomadic farmer's goats and this is only a third of his herd.

We sat in their tent and enjoyed the freshest ever goat milk with tea as the herder introduced us to his 10 sons. 

Here's the view of their surroundings as we left the herder's camp.  In the background is a landfill.  The metal containers on the left are filled with drinking water.  The biggest impression we had was how happy people with so little can be.  This really put things into perspective!