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110-year-old Palestinian farmer fights age for his farm
110-year-old West Bank farmer fights age for his farm
by Osama Radi, Saud Abu Ramadan
NABLUS, West Bank, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — Although over 110 years old, the long-living Palestinian farmer Ibrahim Ishteya, from al- Nassareya village near the city of Nablus, is still practicing his daily routine of getting up early in the morning to work on his farm.
As soon as the old man reaches his farm, he holds his hoe by his exhausted shriveled hands and begins his day with a weak strike of the soil of his farm.
“Although I don’t feel as strong as I used to be several decades ago,” said Ishteya, who has been working as a farmer since he was a teenager, adding “but I am used to such kind of life and I feel like that I still have the ability and energy.”
Al-Nassareya village is 17 km northeast of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Located on the western edge of Jordan’s valley with a distinct and unique location, the northwest part of the village is above the sea level and the southeast part is below the sea level.
The village has a population of 1,800 and 85 percent of them are farmers. It has an amazing view of orchards, green trees and water springs, and it has become a site for campers.
“The farm is my whole life and all I want is to keep farming my land and take care of it by myself,” Ishteya said.
Ishteya has eight children, two of his sons and four of his daughters usually help him on the farm. The old man said he was extremely happy when he sees his children working with him ” because this land is our past, our present and our future.”
Ishteya inherited the farm from his father, and he is keen to give it to his children and grandchildren. However, he said he has been suffering from the actions of Jewish settlers against the Palestinian farmers.
“The settlers repeatedly disturb our work by disconnecting water pipes we use to irritate our corps, and they also come at night and burn the trees,” said the farmer, “but whatever they do, we won’t leave our farms and we are ready to confront them and defend our land.”
Dozens of settlers have tried over the past several years to build up illegal caravans, said Ishteya, adding “we always confronted them and prevented them from seizing our farms and lands.”
In the area of Nablus, there are 48 settlements, which is the largest compound of settlers in the West Bank.
However, Ishteya, who fights his age and sickness by farming, said he was always happy and proud of what he has done. Although farming is a hard work, he said, “but what I have done is part of the national struggle for the sake of land and the legitimate rights.”
Mahmoud Ishteya, the old man’s 35-year-old son, said he is so proud that his father is 110 years old and still farming and taking care of the farm, adding “my father is a typical example for a typical farmer who ignores his sickness and age for the sake of his land.”
“My father is still in a good health and as long as he is alive, he will keep working on the farm,” said the son, adding “but we are not to leave our father doing this job alone, we will help him. “
Ishteya is not only a farmer, he is also a poet and can orally read dozens of poems. Besides, Ishteya can still recite verses from the Quran.
“I’m always looking for a better future for myself, my family and the Palestinian people. I really wish I can see the moment when the Israeli occupation of our territories is over and our independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital established,” said Ishteya.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english201...c_13445338.htm
Okay... and this is relating to politics how exactly?
Why they do this, are they just being mean motherfuckers?
fuck those settlement pricks
"My heart sings for you both. Imagine it singing. la la la la."- Hannah Kay
"if you keep calling average working people idiots i am sure they will be more apt to listen to what you have to say. "-bcbm
"Sometimes false consciousness can be more destructive than apathy, just like how sometimes, doing nothing is actually better than doing the wrong thing."- Robocommie
"The ruling class would tremble, and the revolution would be all but assured." -Explosive Situation, on the Revleft Merry Prankster bus
You're kidding right? It's a story of a palestianian farmer, despite his age, that is still defending his land against the Israeli expansionists. How this doesn't relate to politics is beyond me.
A very interesting article indeed, it is amazing to think of all of the hardship and turmoil which he and his family have witnessed in the face of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Quite symbolic as well, he has survived through all of that struggle and still lives to resist blind Israeli aggression towards his people and his land, much like the Palestinian people themselves.
He's one of many farmers who are struggling against the settlers.
I'm moving this to Struggles: Palestine, k?
Obviously, though it would be difficult for a news reporter to interview each and every one of those farmers. He is intended to be representative of these people, and of the conflict itself.
I moved it to The Situation in Palestine anyway.
That's fine.
Because the settlers want to take control of what they see as their "rightful" land by making life so miserable for Palestinians that they leave and forget about Palestine, and perhaps leave their land for more settlements. Essentially, they want to ethnically cleanse the West Bank enough that the Israeli state can take it over.
Of course, trying to make Palestinians give up by increasing their suffering hasn't worked for the last 62 years, and it won't start working now.
I think it's a goddamn shame that this guy saw the beginning of real Zionist settlement a century ago and still has to put up with these fucks. It's a shame that a century later, Ibrahim Ishteya still has to put up with these pricks. And we have to bear the brunt of that shame. If I make it to 110 and still have to put up with right-wing pundits defending genocide, I'll just give up being a communist.
"Face the world like a roaring blaze, before all the tears begin to turn silent. Burn down everything that stands in our way. Bang the drum."
