Cactus Our visit to Iraq al Manshiyya
There is no reason for the cactus plants to grow naturally in straight rows, like a fence, with openings, like gates, so the cactus could keep livestock away from vegetables. But you see cactus fences like this all over Palestine, near Israeli industrial centers, on hillsides near Jewish settlements on the West Bank, in the middle of "Peace Forests" of pine trees planted fifty years ago to hide the cactus which do not stay buried. The cactus fences are remnants of more than 500 Palestinian villages destroyed by tanks and bulldozers in 1948. What would this land look like today if CNN had been there to film the bulldozers in action?
Our son stayed in a Palestinian refugee camp with a family for two months before his junior year in college, at the American University in Cairo. He became close friends with one young man in the family who was able to visit us for a week in America and became like one of our own, an extra son. The highlight of our trip to Palestinewas visiting the site of Iraq al Manshiyya, the village where the father had lived. He showed us where he hid from bullets when he was 15 years old in 1948. At the end of the war the United Nations decided residents could return to this village. The Israelis agreed, but then the Israelis forced the residents to move to a refugee camp. The village well was so deep, and the water so pure, the Israelis recognized it as an ideal site for development. So now the village of Iraq al Manshiyya is gone, but these cactus fences remain, just outside of Kiryat Gat, an industrial Israeli city.
		Excerpt from the Armistice Agreement From: Walter Eytan Head of the Israeli Delegation at Rhodes In connection with the Egyptian-Israeli General Armistice Agreement, I confirm the understanding that, in the course of the evacuation of the Egyptian Force at Al Faluja, provided for in Article III of the Agreement, such of the civilian population at Al Faluja and Iraq Al Manshiya as may wish to do so may also be evacuated along with the Egyptian force. Those of the civilian population who may wish to remain in Al Faluja and Iraq Al Manshiya are to be permitted to do so. Those of the civilian population who may wish to do so may proceed to the Hebron area under United Nations escort and supervision. All of these civilians shall be fully secure in their persons, abodes, property and personal effects. The Government of Israel reserves the right to treat as prisoners of war any persons electing to remain in the Al Faluja and Iraq Al Manshiya areas who may be identified as having taken part in the fighting in Palestine. Signed: Walter Eytan .
	It was the first time the son had seen his father's village. When the Israeli soldiers stopped our rented car at the checkpoint they did not ask to see papers, or the son still would not have visted Iraq al Manshiyya.
The family from Iraq al Manshiyya has lived in a refugee camp since 1948, first in a tent, then a shack, finally in a block home with electricity and water. The fences can be closed at any time. Israeli soldiers can walk in at any time, as they did last year in the middle of the night, throwing flour and oil into the street. Usually the refugees are free to leave the camp to seek work. Sometimes there is curfew and they cannot even leave their homes. The obvious differences between a refugee camp and a low-income neighborhood in America are the persistent congestion, restriction, and oppression, but in Palestine the narrow streets are clean .The Palestinian people are courageous and gracious. We stayed two nights with our friend's family. I met his mother, his toddler son, his brothers and a young nephew. One night I listened to nine other men from the camp, elders and younger men, tell me they do not understand why Kosovo is different to America in 1999 than Palestine was in 1948. Willie met his modest wife and sisters in another room.  I drank more tea and coffee than I thought I could possibly hold. We slept on mats under incredibly cozy comforters. We felt so very welcome and secure, despite the soldiers nearby with their rifles and attitudes.
The Sea of Galilee in Palestine, where Jesus walked and Peter fished, where our many Palestinian friends are not allowed to walk and fish
					The Mediterranean Sea in Palestine, where refugee children in the West Bank cannot listen to the waves crashing on rocks, where they cannot build castles in the sand.
	. A simple place in Palestine where a grandfather may have played when he was young, but a grandson cannot explore because of fences and checkpoints.
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	In a few places there are Bedouins living in tents among the stone walls and cactus fences. But mostly the cactus plants stand as sentinels to a silent past. The Palestinian word for cactus means "patience," because you must patiently remove the melon-like fruit from the cactus and patiently prepare it for the table. This refugee father we met has taught his sons to have patience, but it is difficult for oppressed young men to be patient. It would be difficult for any of my sons to be patient. I believe, if I were Palestinian, that I would have long ago lost my patience. As an American, and a Christian, I am ashamed of what we have let happen here. With my fingers on a computer keyboard, I will continue throwing stones. And now you know why we call our place cactus48.com.
A Cactus Memory By Nasser Abufarha I have both an emotional attachment, and great appreciation to the cactus tree. My grandpa (Sidi) used to wake us up early every morning in the month of July after he had collected two big buckets of cactus fruit from the nearby hillside. He used to get there at dawn, before sunrise when the fruit is still cool before it is hit by sunlight, and before there is a breeze in the air so the tiny thorns don't blow at him while picking. At home we the children would all sit around my grandfather and my father and they would cut the cactus fruit open and feed us. As they handle the thorny fruit with their fingers to cut it open and put the sweet juicy fruit in my mouth, those bites also carried love, care, and sacrifice. In this setting, the cactus fruit is building the bond of love and appreciation to one another in Palestinian society. I appreciate the cactus tree for its resilience and patience. As the Israelis continuously plow the outskirts of the over 400 Palestinian villages they destroyed, this resilient tree keeps coming up again and again. It has been my guide to destroyed village sites in Palestine. This tree is so patient which is what the name for it means in Arabic, "Sabir". For over fifty years those cactus trees in stolen Palestine produce their fruit every season and don't find the people to pick them (they are surrounded by strangers who don't know how or when to pick them, or what they taste like, or if they are even edible). They are patiently blooming their beautiful yellow flowers every spring and fruiting every summer hoping that the people who know them would come the next season.   We shall return, Nasser Abufarha nasserabufarha@hotmail.com
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