At-Home with Gila Svirsky

Jerusalem
29 December 2001
Subject: Solidarity from Palestine

A message to the (Israeli) Coalition of Women for a Just Peace from Sumaya Farhat Naser, a Palestinian woman peace activist:

-----Original Message----- I could not wait until I woke up this morning, and I immediately opened my e-mail to read about what happened yesterday, the peace demonstration. I am very moved by what you all have accomplished and the message you conveyed. It is so important that you again and again raise your voices and make actions, especially because we are not able to join you. I really would have loved to join, but as you know, it is almost impossible to move and I am far, far away from Jerusalem. I live in Birzeit, just 28 KM away, but there are at least five difficult blockades to overcome, to bypass, with risks of being shot or not being able to go back home. Beside that, trying such an adventure would mean calculating about three or four hours for a trip that can usually be done in 40 minutes. I can feel the encouragment, the strength, and the support you all felt, having accomplished this event. I want in my heart to share this harvest, and consider it a push to start again and again. We have to succeeed in making our vision of peace come true. Thank you and thanks to all organisations who joined, and especially I thank the Palestinian organisations inside Israel, and special thanks to the many international organizations all around the world who have joined and held our hand in Israel and Palestine. I wish you a blessed and good New Year 2002 -- for both our peoples. Warm regards, Sumaya Farhat Naser Bir Zeit, Palestine