In 2003 the Israeli Government started construction on a Separation Fence in the Occupied West Bank BUT instead of going along the border line of the area, it cut right through Palestinian land. So much so, its planned route would have isolated six villages that would have then become completely land-locked.
One of them was Budrus, and its 1500 inhabitants of this small agricultural community would stand to lose 300 acres and some 3000 of their precious olive trees and the Fence would also plow right through their cemetery and just miss their school by some 40 meters. The locals who had farmed this land for generations decided not to take this lying down and mounted a whole campaign of unarmed non-violent protest, something totally unheard of in that region.
When the Army bought in the bulldozers they were met by the determined menfolk of the village who managed to stop them from starting the work, but naturally they came back with more and more reinforcements each day and the crowd of protestors steadily grew and was then led by the woman of the village.
The media look note, and in yet another ‘first’ the locals were joined by some Israeli activists who believed that the Palestinians were having their land stolen from them unnecessarily and they also wanted to show that Arabs and Jews could live in peace together. Their involvement changed the attitude of the rather large Army presence that were now there on a daily basis as one thing they evidently couldn’t do was shoot an Israeli (meaning Palestinians were fair game?).
As the power of the protests gained momentum with international visitors lending their support the anger and frustration of the soldiers was much more visible and most of it is caught on camera which makes for compelling viewing. The army forces the locals back into the village and tensions really get to boiling point with the kids throwing stones at the soldiers BUT then the army is attacking them with tear gas and LIVE BULLETS.
The director has used much of the footage shot by the people on the ground and to even it out she uses in-depth interviews with two of the army leaders who repeat the ‘official line’ but fail to justify the Fence’s construction, and also intersperses it all with newscast from Israeli TV to give it as a balanced view as possible.
After 55 demonstrations over 10 months the Israeli Government announced a new route for the Fence that will to all intents and purposes stick right to the Border and the village will only lose 5% of its land. It is a stunning victory for common sense, but more so for the sheer will of the Palestinian villagers who with their new Israeli friends stuck to their policy of total non-violent protest despite all the provocation and threats from the heavily armed forces in their midst.
The telling of their struggle is gripping and highly emotional: brilliantly edited so that it tells the story as it happens and leaves us to make our own judgments on this whole sorry mess. I’m sure too that seeing the Palestinians behave in such admirable way will be an eye opener to many as they are always (unjustifiably so) categorized as the bad guys. Not this time.
Unmissable.
Labels: 2009, documentary, Israeli
