Separated from the Land His Family Has Tended for Generations

18 Sept

Samir is one of the last Christian farmers in Bethlehem. He began helping his father out on their farm as a young boy.

He doesn’t talk about his land as something he owns; it’s something he belongs to. Losing it is like losing a part of himself.  

But Samir can no longer access much of his land (over 5½ hectares) after a fence was built by the Israeli occupying authorities a few years ago, cutting right across it. Samir has tried many times to reach it, but each time he is turned back.

“The land is still there...but it’s no longer mine in any real way.”

— Samir

What hurts him most is not the loss of land, but the loss of what grew on it. More than 200 olive trees were destroyed. Some were burned by Israeli settlers; others died because he could not reach them to tend them. Many of the trees were 150 to 200 years old – a legacy cared for by his father, grandfather and great-grandfather, now lost.

This year, thanks to Embrace supporters who sponsored a tree through the Olive Tree Project, Samir received 100 new olive saplings, helping to replace what has been stolen from him but also to protect what land remains, as land under cultivation is harder for settlers to commandeer.

But settler attacks are on the rise. Each time Samir goes to work his land, he does not know what he will face.

“Before the war [in Gaza], life had a rhythm. Not easy, but manageable. There were difficult days, but also days where things felt normal...Since then, that sense of normal is gone. Harassment has become part of everyday life. They don’t see who we are. Muslim or Christian, it doesn’t matter. To them, we are all the same when it comes to the land.”

— Samir

But for Samir abandoning his land is not an option; it is his home, livelihood and identity. His resistance is simple; it is steadfastness. It is planting a tree and coming back to it day after day. It is remaining to nurture new life in response to destruction.