Olive Harvest Campaign 2016: “Our Olive Tree is our Homeland”
Be a Palestinian farmer for a week this October
Since the 1st of October 2016, Israeli forces remarkably escalated the use of force against Palestinian farmers using their internationally proscribed weapons against the unarmed people. According to the Union of Agricultural Work Committee’s 2016 semi-annual violations fact sheet, the Israeli army and settlers uprooted 1000 olive trees, which considered a universal symbol of life and peace in attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their own lands. Other statistics of the first six months of 2016 include: land confiscation reached 2776 dunum, Palestinian-owned structures demolished in the West Bank reached 784 structures, and people displacement reached 516 people.
Olive trees carry more than an economic significance in the lives of Palestinians; they are symbolic of Palestinians’ linked to their land. Thus, despite the continuous Israeli uprooting and damaging of Palestinian olive trees, Palestinians insist to cling to their lands and replant more and more olive trees and strengthen their roots in the ground.
The olive harvest season is a perfect period to stand in solidarity with Palestinian farmers and protect them and their olive trees from Israeli (army and settlers) violations. Accordingly, UAWC launches a yearly olive harvest campaign to support Palestinian farmers and protect them from the Israeli violations. The presence of international volunteers along with Palestinian activists and students lowers the severity of Israeli violations. Your presence can reduce the risk of extreme violence from Israeli forces and settlers; also it supports Palestinians’ assertion of their right to access their land. In addition, The Olive Harvest Campaign provides a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Palestinian families in their olive groves and homes.
This year’s campaign raises the slogan: “Our Olive Tree is our Homeland” As each year, it is focused on providing an in-depth experience for all the international volunteers by allowing them to stay with farmers; help them in the olive harvest, have long discussions, and experience the Palestinian culture. We at UAWC believe that observing and experiencing the situation is more powerful than just reading about it.
The campaign starts from 15th October 2016 till 30th October 2016. Download fact sheet about olive harvest in Palestine.
For more details about the campaign contact UAWC at: hiba@uawc-pal.org
In Solidarity, UAWC