PAINTINGS
BY PALESTINIAN CHILDREN
Artworks
by Children living under military occupation - Essay
by Mark Vallen
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Child's
drawing of Al Quds (Dome of the Rock) 1988
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The
drawings on this page were created by unidentified Palestinian
children living in the Israeli occupied West Bank. Sadly, their
reality remains the same today. The child artists who created
these drawings in the late 80's are young adults now.... and
God knows what has happened to them in the latest round of fighting.
What do children know of political struggle... yet look at these
drawings. The child artists drew what they saw around them...
brutality, violence, and death... the fruits of military occupation.
The drawing directly above shows Palestinians in Al Quds
(Jerusalem) being surrounded by armed Israeli soldiers.
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Child's
drawing of a street battle - 1988
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In
the drawing above, Palestinian demonstrators face off against
Israeli soldiers... the streets littered with burning tires
and rocks. Palestinian and Israeli children... like children
everywhere, deserve to grow up in a loving and peaceful atmosphere
free from violence and fear.
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As
I write this, many dozens of Palestinian children
have being shot, wounded, and killed by Israeli
Soldiers in the latest intifada (uprising)...
and for what crime? Throwing rocks? How is it
that the world has come to accept the shooting
of children? Innocent Israeli children have also
fallen victim to the crime of terrorism aimed
at civilians, and I mourn for them also... for
what child deserves to be punished for the deeds
of their parents? We must all work to find a way
to bring peace with justice to the land of Palestine/Israel...
because the alternative is too terrible to ponder.
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