On Spatial Dynamics of Nature and Movement:
“The land was fertile with the femininity of Canaanite women, bathing in the plains and hills, camouflaged by anemones, sage, cyclamens, and narcissi bowing over the water with princely splendour”
I have been finding it extremely hard to digest the validity of numerous campaigns advocating for private land in england to be made publicly accessible for hiking and exploration. The campaigns are vehemently supported by nature and ecology think tanks who are extremely supportive of de-fencing landscapes to make them more accessible; however even a slight mention of palestinian resistance to reclaim their fields, farms, and olive trees is something that’s “too political” for these sectors and “dilutes” the main objectives. There is no land justice without decolonisation and there is no decolonisation until we see a free Palestine.
Countless acts of ecocide, and barbaric land ownership laws in occupied Palestine have pushed the local ecosystem to completely collapse, risking a loss of indigenous flora and fauna,invertebrates and even long term soil erosion. To make things worse, the occupation does not allow Palestinians to tend to their lands and as a result many locals are not allowed to forage for herbs, and other spices which are integral to the cultural fabric of palestinian cuisines and life.
Once an ecologically flourishing land, home to 2780 flowering plant species, 116 species of mammals, 511 species of birds, and more than 3000 species of invertebrates. This rich ecological diversity is declining at an alarming rate due to the constant threat posed by the settlers and their violent land grabbing and apartheid policies which prohibits the indigenous population from accessing their ecologically rich areas.
Since the Nakba of 1948 and the ongoing occupation of Palestine, walls and electrical fences are often used to “segregate” the land and obstruct accessibility for the natives. These fences are not just a means of cartographic segregation but also a violent psychological schema deployed unto the Palestinians. The barbed wires segregate once united fertile plains and farms. The fences restrict access to ponds and streams, once a summer retreat for all who inhabit the land: birds, mammals, people. The wall serves as a constant reminder of restraint and control.
The Wall around Bethlehem; separating people from their agricultural lands and from holy places in Jerusalem.
Due to the inaccessibility to the fertile lands, Palestinians face an imminent risk of destabilisation of their agrarian systems, imbalances in food production, forced famines and a violent separation of their lives from their very own ecosystems and natural resources which they have preserved and passed down generations for thousands of years. The birds which inhabited the ancient olive trees now have no homes. The olive trees long for its people and children to return.
Here’s a link to a beautiful song I heard on Radio Al-hara and my friend Mona found the full version on youtube. “Asfour”, is a song about caged sparrows and their struggle with flight.