The First Story

My name is Ayat Abu Akkar. I live in Aida Camp.
On Sunday, at five O'clock p.m., we were playing with the neighbours daughters in our street. Suddenly, an Israeli tank and an Israeli jeep entered in the camp. We were frightened. The israeli forces statrted firing tear gas on children and young people, and after 15 minutes of their entrance, the tank stopped infront of our house. Some of the soldiers started hitting at the door, my grandmother opened for them.
The soldier asked: Is their young people here?
She said: No one is here.
He didn't believe her… They searched the house, everywhere… They tore the seats and looked under them. Under one seat they found a knife and Nokafeh (a piece of wood in V form with elastic used to hunt birds with small stones).
The soldier asked: To whom belong these things?
She said: To this child.
He doesn't seem to believe her.
He asks: And where are the young people?
She says: I don't know…
They gothered all the people in the house in one room. They digged and made a hole in the wall between us and the neighbours to get through to the neighbour's house. Thesy searched the neighbour's house as well. And we remained like this from 5 to 9 p.m., without eating, or satisfying our basic needs.
My grandmother asked a soldier: Could you permit the children to go to the toilettes?
He answers: No I can't. I have orders.
Another soldier came… My grandmother repeated the same question.
He said: You have half an hour to do everything you need. Then we all sat down.
The soldiers left and returned again around mid night… We stayed awake till 7 am, then Israeli forces left our house to search other neighbours houses. They tried to enter the school which is just opposite to our house.
Every time the occupation soldiers invade the camp, they enter our house.

Ayat Abu Akkar