This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.
No permit, no entry. Even with one, it can be denied, especially in and out of Gaza. Special permission must be gotten. Getting it to visit Gazan prisoners now is entirely denied.
Visitation bans are exacerbated by cutting off communication in virtually all forms. "I have no way to communicate with Samir," said Nisreen.
"The only way of communication available to us is through the letters conveyed through the ICRC, but this is useless. These letters take between 2 to 3 months to arrive, so their content is outdated when we receive them. Sometimes they do not arrive at all. We have finally decided not to send letters anymore.""(W)hen Samir's parents died, we did not know how to inform him. Which is the harm done to Israelis by a call to our relatives in jail?"
Abed Al-Naser Farwana, Prisoners Affairs Researcher, said Israel enforces harshness to "demorali(ze) and (punish) Palestinian prisoners and their families. This has a profound effect in the cohesion of the family and the society in general."
"It is not only the anxiety experienced by the relatives but when the prisoner returns to their families they have to start a painful process of rebuilding their relationships."
Unable to see or communicate with her son killed Samir's mother. "She was all the time talking about him. She somehow hoped (he) was going to be released as part of the Shalit prisoners swap of October last year."
"She was devastated when she did not find him in the list of prisoners to be released. We believe this sadness contributed to her death 2 months after in January this year."
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
1
1
