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Carmel Agrexco

Valley of Grief

For the last month our TV screens and newspapers have been filled with reports of Israel’s massacre of the people of Gaza. The bloodshed and brutality have caused outrage across the world and calls for international actions to hold Israel to account are growing. Whilst this is going on, the people on the other side of Palestine continue their struggle in relative silence against the gradual ethnic cleansing of their land.

International Call for Action against Agrexco

The Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign (www.bigcampaign.org) is issuing an international call to action against Carmel-Agrexco next February. Carmel-Agrexco is the Israeli national exporter of fruit and vegetables and imports large quantities of goods from illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land.

Carmel Agrexco

Boycott Carmel Agrexco

Jordan Valley 2008

11th April: Fairly tired after four days of listening to tales of life under a belligerent military occupation so this isn’t going to be my best writing but i promised we’d start our blogs today, so…

“The breadbasket of Palestine”

Day One It takes a while to fully process what is going on. The past few weeks have been a blur of preparation, meetings, Arabic lessons, lies to parents (sorry mum, I’m afraid this isn’t Turkey), 30+ hour coach journeys, Lonely Planet guides, and border crossings. As such, it is only when we are actually in the taxi with Fathe that it finally hits me that we’re in the Jordan Valley, West Bank, Palestine. Fathe is a rich vein of information, and is truly passionate about the situation the Palestinians of this region have been forced into.

Palestinian farmers under the Occupation

How do you make a living as a farmer when your land and water has been stolen from you by the Israeli invaders? The answer is that you don’t. You join the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in refugee camps in Jordan, or you work for a pittance in the illegal Israeli settlements spreading like a cancer over the once fertile land of Palestine. The Jordan valley was once the most fertile region for Palestinian farmers.

Settlement Slavery

Waking up before dawn in the small village of Fasayil, deep in the heart of the Jordan Valley, we did not know what to expect. We were hoping to see, and maybe speak to some Palestinians that work in the nearby Israeli settlement farm: Tomer. After a walk down a mud track we arrived outside the farm gates. As the sun started to come up, the workers began to arrive – buses full of women and trucks full of men. It wasn’t until one had passed us by that we saw the line of children, perched along the back end – some no older than 12 or 13. Before long a factory worker arrived.

A Tale of Two Worlds

Edward Said used to say that Western support for the Palestinian cause could only be built through the creation of a national narrative strong enough to challenge Israel’s, and to do this the same story would have to be re-told over and over again until the world starts listening. Writing about a first visit to Palestine feels a bit like becoming a part of that essential retelling.

Palestine Delegation. Oct 2007. Day 2. Jordon Valley

In the heart of the Jordon Valley, set on the hillside of Al Jiflik is a small Palestinian community. What was once a peaceful agricultural community is now a picture of devastation. Since the occupation in 1967 the village has been caged in by settlements and their land stolen. Al Jiflik is situated in area C, which is a no build area and completely surrounded by checkpoints. The land which is still considered by the Israeli government as Palestinian is too dry to farm, as water supplies are minimal.

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