Munther

About a month ago I wrote about going to see an oud concert in Ramallah and following the concert up with eating a pigeon. One of the three Palestinian men who took us four foreigners to the restaurant and treated us to our first pigeon experience was Munther. This is his story, as told through Luke.

"I met Muther Mahmoud Radwan in the PAS Program Office, the same location in which I presently sit. He struck me as incredibly tall and excessively skinny. He had chiseled features and a very striking face. That same face can hardly be found devoid of a broad smile which speaks to his welcoming disposition. After missing a few days of shaving his visage bore a distinct messianic pose, his Christ-like bearing instantly compels. He is 25. He is from a village called Nabi Elias south of Qalqilya, a city of 40,000 people surrounded by the illegal Separation Wall currently being constructed by Israel. He is in his first year of studies at Birzeit University, well behind the majority of his peers in terms of academic development.

When he was not yet sixteen, Munther was kidnapped and jailed by the Israeli army. Munther spent seven years in an Israeli prison.

To learn this fact struck me as very strange. Munther is so happy and jovial I have nicknamed him Abu Sayeed, The Father of Happiness. Everyone on campus is know to him, including students, teachers, and staff. His phone rings constantly. He has friends spread out from the Lebanese border to the Negev. He is well liked. He is extremely popular. He loves, absolutely loves, flirting and teasing local Palestinian ladies.

I heard rumor of a project being developed by Chris and Ron. They are making a movie to be accompanied by still photography, of prison stories from Israeli jails.(www.stricklyimaging.com) Ron's mission, as a Jewish American and product of a strict Zionist upbringing, is to remove the mask that is Israeli moderation as it is reported in our home country. He wants actual stories from actual prisoners on their circumstances, their time, and the lasting physical and psychological effects of Israeli prison. For this project, they need case studies.

I suggested Munther.

Because of his time in prison (which would have otherwise been spent in Secondary School) Munther speaks no English. When I introduced Munther to Ron and Chris it became apparent that translation would be necessary for the venture to go forward. I volunteered what remain today as my completely amateur services. Since I arranged the meeting, they were heartily accepted. I think Ron and Chris both think I speak much better Arabic than I actually do. Nonetheless, the date was set. Thursday afternoon. Munther's small flat here in Birzeit.

We meet Munther in the PAS office and accompany him to his home. Upon arrival we are welcomed by what seems to be the entire neighborhood. Youths and adults arrive from all sides of the street shaking hands and asking questions. "What is going on? Why is there a camera? Who is famous here? Will this be shown in the United States?"

The questions amuse me and Ron and Chris as well when I translate them. Still, they are very serious questions from the gathered crowd. Munther is about the share the darkest part of his life with us and it was assumed this would be big news everywhere, including in America. I explained that Ron hoped that this would be shown at small film festivals in the United States but for another six months or so. They seemed disappointed but there was little else that could be said. We sat on the balcony and drank tea. Chris and Ron arranged their equipment. Munther found a picture of Abu Ammar (Yasser Arafat) and the filmmakers decided to tape it up behind Munther's head. Munther remains a staunch Fateh supported, quick to criticize Hamas if asked.

The interview began.

Munther discussed his early childhood and life in Nabi Elias. He discussed his father's farm and their quiet existence in Palestine. Little by little, he reported, things began to change and life became more difficult. The First Intifada was difficult around Qalqilya as Israeli soldiers brutalized civilian populations. He was very young but remembers his friends and older brothers beaten in the streets and his family threatened. He described the sense of indignity that came with these actions as more and more Palestinian men were subjugated by Israeli soldiers, their livelihood and man hoods taken away piece by piece. The psychological effect of these policies seemed to weigh more heavily than the physical ones. Munther's face was no longer supporting a wide smile.

He described his teenage years and his political activism. Fateh was and is very popular in his village and around Qalqilya. He became a new recruit, a teen aged soldier running missions against Israeli soldiers on behalf of politicians who were seldom in danger. "Old men make war for young men to die in," I told him. "Suh" he said. "That's right."

He went on to tell of his subsequent capture and arrest by Israeli soldiers just prior to the breakout of the Second Intifada. He was a known fighter and they were trying to improve their military odds when tensions in the West Bank began to increase. He attempted to flee arrest and was shot in the leg. He was then drug to a local detention center were he was left, by himself, wounded and bleeding, for 22 hours. He was 16 years old.

From there he was taken to a hospital for treatment. He was bound for all medical procedures. He was removed back to a holding cell. For nine days he awaited some manor of trial or charge. For nine days none came.

During these nine days, Munther was denied food and water. He was made to urinate and defecate where he sat in a 1 by 1 and a half meter room, or alternatively, in an office for questioning. These sessions of questioning ring like all the most gruesome Hollywood movies you each may have seen.

His legs were bound to a chair. He arms were bound behind him. He was beaten with truncheons by two guards in his head, chest, neck, and back. He was beaten until he passed out from pain. He was revived and beaten some more. These sessions lasted two to three hours and occurred every day for the first several days of his imprisonment. He still bears the scars of these beatings today.

He was officially charged and placed in general detention. He served time with some of the most hardened resistance fighters in all of Palestine. He began his sentence when only 16. He watched the Israeli soldiers carefully, he listened to them. He speaks perfect Hebrew today as a result. Following a year or two, two of his brothers were also imprisoned. He confessed to me that the best times of his life in jail were being with his brothers and the other friends he made while in jail. His smile returns slightly when he says this to me.

Once, he became angry with an Israeli soldier. At this time, he was sharing a cell with 12 to 15 other prisoners. His anger boiled over at the constant abuse and harassment at the hands of the Israeli soldiers. He hurled a metal cup at an Israeli guard and hit him in the head with it. He was beaten severely as a result.

For the next two years, as punishment for his resistance to the inhumane treatment of the Israelis, he served his time in a one meter by one and a half meter room. He ate, slept, defecated, and urinated in the same room. He was not allowed to bathe for months at a time. He was beaten weekly. None of these beatings were accompanied by questioning. The beatings endured for the sake of punishment only.

We asked him about the current political situation. He responded with passion:

"What are we supposed to do? You are from America, if America was occupied and invaded, wouldn't you defend yourselves? Defend your homes? We are only protecting our friends and families. Our homes and businesses. We are defending ourselves against aggression. How does this make us terrorists? What should we do instead, welcome the settlers who take our land? I don't know of any people who would do that. This is where we are today."

Munther also spoke on his time today in the university:

"I know everyday that I am behind my peers. I am behind my classmates. I go to lectures and I see they all understand without study. I study for an hour, two hours and I still don't understand. The years I had when I was young are gone and I will never catch up. I am lost in that world, I am different. I know these things everyday."

Munther fought. He resisted. He defended his home and his family.

The Occupation is illegal. Settlements are illegal. Israeli targeting and killing of innocent civilians is illegal."

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Picture
Munther at home - Photo by Chris Strickland