THE HANDSTAND

MAY 2003

APRICOT TREES
BY MIKE O hanini@comcast.net
The name "apricot" comes from the Spanish Arabic al barquq, meaning "precocious," as the apricot tree blooms very early each spring.


     Have you ever tasted something so good, so special, that the taste continued to linger in your memories for the rest of your life? That no matter how many times you try, you are never able to duplicate it?

The memories of my childhood and my family's fruit orchards in Palestine are still as fresh today as they were when I was there as a young boy. My family's orchard produced an assortment of God's beautiful bounty. We grew olives, peaches, figs, an assortment of plums, and the world's best apricots.

   My favorite fruit had always been the golden, slightly blushing, sun kissed, apricots that grew on the trees that were planted decades before by my grandfather. These aged trees continued to produce fruit that we ate and sold to the neighboring townspeople as well as in Jerusalem.

    I remember getting up early in the early summer mornings and running to the dew covered orchards. I would go directly to my favorite apricot tree and pick the cool, dew covered fruit that had fallen that morning to the ground. These slightly bruised golden beauties were absolutely the best tasting fruit the tree offered for they had been left on the vine to reach the peak of flavor ripeness. The point of getting there early was two-fold. I would get there early so that the birds would not have a chance to devour the fruit as it lay on the ground and it was nice and cool in the mornings. Since Palestine gets no rainfall in the summer, the principle water source for the trees and plants is the cool dew that blankets the area in the mornings.

    I would scan the ground for the best looking fruit, pick it up, and lift it over my mouth. I would then squeeze the golden nectar from the fruit and let it drip into my mouth. The taste of that sweet, cool nectar emanating from the fruit is something that is well beyond explanation. It must be experienced for no amount of explanation or imagery can do it justice or come close to conveying the flavor and the feeling. The trees that produced such delicious beauty were planted by hand, on land, which had been in my family for hundreds of years. The soil that these trees lived off of was worked by the hands of my forefathers before me. Their sweat and tears were part of the soil and in turn translated into the sweet taste that I now enjoyed. This was not lost on me even as a child. For every bite that we took from the bounty of our land, we thanked God, and said a prayer for the people that made it possible.

    I have now been away from my land and country for over 34 years. I have gone back "home" to Palestine on numerous occasions, but never in the peak season when the apricots were ripe. Here in the US they grow apricots as well. I even make treks to orchards here to try to replicate the tastes and feelings that I have in my memory, but to no avail. It is NOT the same. Not even close. The tastes, smells, and the experiences of my childhood in Palestine continue to haunt and taunt me. It is like an elusive love that is experienced and then lost. One can spend a lifetime trying to find and bring it back. To me the taste and smell of the nectar as it dripped from the apricot is something that I will cherish till my death. It is the essence of my life and attachment to a land that was stolen and continues to be from my people. For as long as I can remember the taste and smell of the bounty that my land and country produced, I will always yearn and dream of my return there.That is why I am deeply saddened and outraged when I see pictures of olive groves and orchards being destroyed and uprooted by Israeli bulldozers. They are more than just trees.they are a whole lot more than most Israelis and soldiers will ever realize or know.

Mike O.

Mike..." A seed in the Fruit of Palestine"

OLIVE TREES

New Pro-Palestinian Rap Artist

Music is an integral part of culture and it is often used to express ourselves, either by creating it or listening to it. In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict there has been little in the way of music that describes the history of the Palestinian plight, until now.

One of the most brilliant new artist/activist to take his message to the micro-phone is the Iron Sheik.

His bold and insightful rap-style challenges traditional views on Palestinians. The
following song entitled,

"Olive Trees" describes the uprooting of the Palestinians from their land, much in the same way Israeli settlers are uprooting olive trees today. Ironically, olive trees are traditional symbols of peace, i.e. the olive branch.

His new CD entitled "Camel Clutch 2003" will be available next month so stay tuned.

 OLIVE TREES


Trouble began before 1948
When Zionists founded the Israeli state
Zionism called for a Jewish homeland
But they picked Palestine as a land with no man
One major flaw with all of this:
They forgot the indigenous populace!
Native Arab Muslims and Christians
Didn’t they notice that something is missing?
They left native Arabs all out of their view
Zionism’s goals were heavily skewed
Newcomers settled up in the country-side
In separation just like Apartheid
Jewish roads, schools, and hospitals
And also paramilitary patrols

These are the seeds of 48’
From colonial deceit to the Jewish state
It’s not a mistake, though
It’s not a mistake, no
Life in exile, is that our fate?
Life in exile, that’s our fate?
Life in exile, that’s our fate! ?

CHORUS:

They exiled us and stole our homes
Now all we have are old keys and new poems
They turned us into refugees
And uprooted us like our olive trees
…olive trees.

REFRAIN

In 1917 the British gave away our nation
With Lord Balfour’s stupid declaration
They had no right to give it away
But guess what?
They did it anyway!
And once again the natives had no say
You know the British acted like they ruled the earth
And the Israelis think they got it by birth
Yeah right man!
Who lived on the land?
And who had to use force with their hand?
I’m surprised by this, they should know better
Then to move on our land as a settler
I mean that word says it all
Some say it’s not their choice, that it’s God’s call
But to me that’s called manifest destiny
I thought that went out of style in the last century
Now we’re held captive to their public opinion
As a Palestinian I feel more like an Indian
Driven into reservations
Living under occupation
As a shattered nation
A western creation

CHORUS

Last time, we went jogging in the park
But now we can’t go outside
Cuz we’ll get shot
Or as Benjamin Netanyahu might like to put it:
we jumped in front of that Israeli bullet.
But who can believe what that sucka say
He gotta be the biggest yoohoo alive today
So I searched yahoo for who’s the most sinister
It came back with Israel’s current prime minister
Ariel Sharon, a real cabron
I’d like to meet him in a dark alley and it’s on
He’d be the Penguin and I’d be Batman
My flurry of fists would sink that fat man
Like the Titanic
I can’t stand it
it’s time to panic
cuz’ we’re heading for the bottom of the Atlantic
Israel and America’s a sinking ship, if we don’t change it soon we’re going down with it

Contact the Iron Sheik at: yoironsheik@yahoo.com

The Cooperative Development Unit - Palestine

The months of Intifada that began in September 2000 and continue today have been characterized by a visible deterioration in Palestinian infrastructure resulting mainly from wartime damage and under-investment[1]. There has also been a loss of half of Palestinian purchasing power, due to massive unemployment not only among those who can no longer work in Israel, but for those who previously worked in the Palestinian market.

Sixty percent of Palestinian exports have been lost and government spending is halved. Previously, the Palestinian Authority spent over $100 million a month, now it puts little more than $50 million a month into the economy. Even this flow of cash is dependent upon Arab donations.

Poverty is widespread, affecting about half of the population. Direct and indirect losses for the entire economy have been estimated at somewhere between $3.5 billion by international agencies and $10 billion by Palestinians. But even a loss of $3.5 billion means that Palestinians have lost their Gross Domestic Product for an entire year. Prior to September 2000, the Palestinian Authority GDP was nearly $4 billion. The losses continue to add up.

While the food industry continues to produce at 60 percent of its capacity, light industries are working at less than half their abilities. This is due to the sharp decline in Palestinian purchasing power and the abrupt interruptions in the ability to transport and market goods locally, to Israel and to other export markets. It is impossible for those in Hebron, for example, to send their products to Nablus, Jenin and to Gaza. When they are able to transport their products, the cost is ten times that they used to pay, which cramps competitiveness and business possibilities. 

At the same time, Palestinians increasingly are forced to depend on Israeli products, which are infiltrating the Palestinian market. It is clear that Israeli products have less trouble passing through Israeli checkpoints and that the Israeli military is facilitating access of Israeli products to Palestinian markets.

On top of all these mounting losses, the most recent Israeli incursion in the West Bank, that began in the early morning hours of 29 March 2002 and lasted for almost one entire month, was devastating. The damage to commercial and residential properties was extensive, amounting to perhaps half of the damage done by the Israeli military over the last 20 months. According to the World Bank and the Local Aid Coordination Committees estimates, the physical damage to the infrastructure adds up to a loss of $361 million dollars from which around $26 million belongs to the Agricultural sector[2]. To give some idea of what that means, Palestinian public investment is not more than $200 million a year. In one month, the Israeli army destroyed what the Palestinian Authority might have built in two years.

[1] From an Expert Report by economist Samir Abdullah published on May 22, 2002 in the Palestine Report.

[2] From a press release issued on May 15, 2002 by the Local Aid Committee Chairs (UNDP, the World Bank and the Government of Norway) concerning the damage to the Palestinian civilian infrastructure and institutions during the latest Israeli invasion of the West Bank during April 2002.

  Last Updated April 27, 2003