Widowed mother struggle for her children's shelter
By Ali Awad
Huda Al-Najjar is a mother of five sons and three daughters. Her husband passed away in 2008 while she was pregnant with their last son. She supports herself and her children by tending sheep and cultivating the land in the village of Tuba in Masafer Yatta, where she lives.
But the Israeli Occupation declared her village a firing zone: so-called Firing Zone 918. As a result, in 1999, the Israeli army forcibly displaced Huda and her children along with the other 1200 Palestinian people from 12 villages in Masafer Yatta. She was able to return after almost 6 months of homelessness to her cave, which is the only shelter that exists for her entire family, but the Israeli civil administration still prevents her from building a suitable shelter for herself and her children.
In 2018, as a first attempt to build a shelter in addition to the cave, Huda and her family built a house with two rooms and a kitchen. It was just 40 square meters. However, the new house immediately got a demolition order by the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA).
Following the order, in March 2019, the ICA bulldozer showed up at their place with Israeli border Police officers and demolished their new house.
Often, the ICA comes to the houses with bulldozers without warning. Anyone whose home is under demolition order could wake up to bulldozers in front of their family's house, accompanied by many vehicles of the Israeli army and Border Police, who abuse everyone, even children, everyone who tries to protect their home from the demolition. The soldiers and policemen use violence such as beatings, firing stun grenades, tear gas and arrest.
The demolition of Huda’s family’s new home was no different: The forces suppressed Huda's family and everyone who rushed to help them. Eventually, after carrying out the demolition, they arrested a boy from the village and left.
Three months later, the family built another simple house consisting of just one bedroom and living room. It immediately received a demolition order. Until this day, the family goes to sleep at night worrying that they’ll wake up to bulldozers at their door.