Jordan Valley: 4 reports on accompanying shepherds
translated by Dana E.
8/9/21 Hagar Geffen and Gali Hedndin
Visiting B. in the Hemdat area. Hilly area and the grazing is good. Conversations with the shepherd. Back home, working together in watering the flocks and scattering the seeds. We drank coffee and talked to the elderly neighbor. There were no disturbances today on the part of two individual farm owners. B. is usually well prepared if he is to face them alone.
9/9/21 Hagar Geffen and Gali Hendin Hamra area.
This area of tall hills is strikingly beautiful. The owners of the few individually owned farms below apply a strong and violent restriction on the grazing areas. Hence the grazing is meticulously kept in the heights. We made a close acquaintance with M.’s daughters and family. We checked that we arrived back without delay and properly. We immediately drank water and hot drinks. We usually watch another family member’s grazing flock or any of the young children if there is no schooling that day. Sometimes we converse with them and at times we walk separately. I expand and improve my knowledge of the Arabic language, M. writes words and names in Arabic in my notebook. He has beautiful handwriting.
12.9.21 Hagar Geffen, Ben Zion Eshel
Today we accompany B. He talks about fatigue. We park at the grazing border so on the way back the sheep and mare accompanied by the dogs come back on their own and we escort them from below in my car.
9/15/21 Hagar Geffen, Gil Hammerschlag
Today we are at M.’s. Wonderful wind on the hills and a clattering of Jackdaws. The flock is superbly quiet today. This alleviates the frenzy consumed by the shepherd as the sheep disperse and climb up. This affects the spirit of conversation in M.’s house upon our return, with the participation of some of the older sisters in the house. His mother, father and others join in as well. In a lovely confluence of circumstances all was quiet in these reported days
Jordan Valley
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Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley is the eastern strip of the West Bank. Its area consists of almost a third of the West Bank area. About 10,000 settlers live there, about 65,000 Palestinian residents in the villages and towns. In addition, about 15,000 are scattered in small shepherd communities. These communities are living in severe distress because of two types of harassment: the military declaring some of their living areas, as fire zones, evicting them for long hours from their residence to the scorching heat of the summer and the bitter cold of the winter. The other type is abuse by rioters who cling to the grazing areas of the shepherd communities, and the declared fire areas (without being deported). The many groundwaters in the Jordan Valley belong to Mekorot and are not available to Palestinians living in the Jordan Valley. The Palestinians bring water to their needs in high-cost followers.
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