Eva Bartlett will share her experience in Palestine
with the community on
Sunday March 9 at 2 pm
at the Islamic Centre of Kingston
Bio of Eva Bartlett
From May until December of 2007,
I lived in various areas of the West Bank,
volunteering with the International Solidarity Movement. Our activities
included: staying with Palestinians in high-risk areas (where there is settler
violence, army violence, risk of house demolition, curfews and invasions...);
joining Palestinian farmers in the olive harvest in high-risk areas; bringing
food and aid to Palestinians under army curfew, and escorting Palestinians to
their homes during curfew; joining in non-violent demonstrations against the
Wall and other occupational aspects (roadblocks, checkpoints,
land annexation...); documenting occupational problems (house demolitions,
curfews, shootings, arrest and torture) and writing reports on these events;
standing in solidarity with Palestinians at any time; watching checkpoints and
trying to prevent excessive detention of Palestinians; joining in
house-rebuilding activities; trying to improve awareness of the realities of
life under occupation in our western media.
I experienced a great deal in my
time in Palestine
and am keen to express to Canadians the real situation.
Eva Bartlett is an independent Canadian activist who spent 8
months in the occupied West Bank as a human rights volunteer with the
International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement active
since 2002 and committed to resisting the Israeli occupation of Palestinian
land using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles.
From May until late December 2007, Eva joined ISM in
delivering food and negotiating passage for Palestinian civilians past invading
soldiers and sharp-shooters during Israeli-army imposed curfews, also
documenting the army’s use of tear gas, sound grenades, and live ammunition
against unarmed Palestinians. She participated
in nonviolent demonstrations against the separation Wall, Jewish-only highways,
and roadblocks, among other things. She
also bore witness to numerous Israeli army invasions and sieges on villages
around the West Bank, interviewed Palestinians
who had been imprisoned, tortured, arrested without charge, and wounded by the
army, as well as documenting the loss of possessions and homes due to Israeli
army demolitions and attacks.
Eva stayed with Palestinian families in villages around the West Bank in high-risk areas, sleeping for months in the tents
of Palestinians who faced demolition orders and attacks by extreme illegal
settlers. During this time, she
witnessed land annexation, settler attacks, and Israeli army brutality and
abuse of power.
During the autumn olive harvest, Eva and other
internationals and Israeli activists joined Palestinians in their yearly struggles
to harvest olives on their own land, facing violence from both the Israeli army
and illegal settlers, witnessing settler attacks and army prohibition from
accessing the olive trees.
Eva was arrested and detained numerous times for her
participation in peaceful actions, and was finally deported in December for
over-staying her visa after renewal had been denied. She continues as a volunteer editor for a
journalist from Gaza, a collaboration which over
the past year has rendered the siege on Gaza
painfully vivid.
She will talk of some of her experiences and of the profound
humanity, dignity, and kindness that she found amongst Palestinians under
Occupation, as well as of the brave Israeli peace activists that work alongside
Palestinians to end the Occupation and bring forth justice to Palestinians.
Eva is hoping to raise funds to return to the region and, if
possible, to enter Gaza to volunteer there and
contribute to alternative media reporting of the realities of Gaza.
Her blogs can be seen at
www.opt2007.wordpress.com and www.personalpalestine.wordpress.com