More Angry than you can Imagine

an interview with Mohammed Abu Roudeina

from Bitter Lemons (used w/permission).

BI: Please tell us who you are and about your court case against members of the Israeli government.

Abu Roudeina: I am 26 years old. I was born in Shatilla Camp in Lebanon. I am a college student and I work during summer vacation. During the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in [1982], when the Israelis surrounded our camp, they committed a massacre in the camp, led by Ariel Sharon, Israel's [current] prime minister and his troops; and Effi Eitam, the Israeli chief of staff; and the head of the Lebanese forces, Elia Hobeika.

At the time of the massacre, my father and mother and my sister and I left our own house because the shelling and shooting in the entire flat was bad and they were afraid that we would get shot. So we first went to our neighbor's house and stayed there for a while. Then they [armed men] surrounded the house and started to shoot at the house. Then they went upstairs and began to break the furniture. After that, they came down to where we were and separated the men from the women and told us that we [the women and children] had to leave immediately and go to the Sports Center [a nearby stadium] where we would be interrogated by an Israeli officer. Before we left, one of my uncles and his daughter were killed. We walked past many dead bodies.

BI: Is it your understanding that the United States has pressured Belgium to drop the case against those who carried out the killings?

Abu Roudeina: Absolutely. [US defense minister] Donald Rumsfeld told Belgium to cancel its law [against war crimes], or the United States would pull Belgium's NATO membership. I am pretty sure that Belgium will submit to American power because nobody says no to the United States. You can say no to the Security Council, but not to the United States.

In any case, we know that God is the only source of justice. Islam produces justice.

We are extremely disappointed right now, because America's power has changed the world. After September 11, the United States wanted to show that it is the only power and world leader. The United Nations and the Security Council are dead. The rest of the world is dead. The only thing left living is the United States. For one, I am not convinced that justice exists in these days.

BI: What exactly are you and the other plaintiffs asking for?

Abu Roudeina: We were taken to Belgium to give our testimony against Sharon and the others who committed this massacre, but we haven't gotten anywhere. When I went, I thought that at least we might be able to [draw attention] to the fact that Sharon is a war criminal, but we didn't even succeed in that.

We are seeking justice and to go back to our country. I am originally from Haifa; my family left [what is now Israel] in 1948. To expel us like that from our country was a crime. We have the right to return to our land according to United Nations Resolution 194.

In the West, there is near mindless support for Israel and against the Palestinian people--people who are just trying to live in peace. We agree that suicide bombing is not acceptable; there is dispute among Palestinians over this issue. But what Palestinians need is justice. All of the United Nations resolutions were implemented in Iraq, but not in Israel. Why? Is Israel above the law? No, it is because America is supporting Israel.

BI: If you could speak to the average American, what would you say?

Abu Roudeina: I would tell them that we want them to support justice. We are not against the American people, we are opposed to the American administration and we are against the lies that your administration is telling you. What happened in September 11 is, of course, terrorism, but what happened to us was much worse. We are now millions without a country. What the US is doing to us against the law. You are doing everything possible to bring Israel to the top and to shut the rest of us up.

What we need right now is for the Americans to right their policy, not to take the same hard-line, and not to re-elect President Bush, because this man is destroying the world. He is giving the Americans a bad name.

The American people need to understand that we are not terrorists by nature. When these people blow themselves up in the street, this is an act against God. But it is frustration that makes people carry out such an act.

BI: Are you angry at US policy?

Abu Roudeina: I am very angry--more angry than you can imagine.

-Published 2/10/03