Adam's story from January 2014

We're looking forward to seeing one of the school students, Adam. Here is part of his story from a CADFA notice in January 2014

Horror of the Occupation.  They might never play again.

On 31^st January, two young men, two cousins, Adam Abduraouf Halabiyeh (17) and Johar Nasser Halabiyeh (20) were returning from football training in Abu Dis Youth Club to their house in Abu Dis, which is not far from the Israeli military camp

On their way home, they were attacked viciously by Israeli soldiers. First, they were shot in the legs with live ammunition. Then the soldiers set dogs on them to maul their hands and legs.  The young men were taken to the Israeli military camp where once again, they were badly beaten, and again on their legs. At this point, Johar’s knees were broken.  

This television programme  from Palestinian TV reports that  Adam was first shot with three bullets and Johar tried to carry him: he was then shot in his own hand and then had another ten bullets to his legs. Then the dogs attacked them when they were on the ground before the soldiers got close to them. 

Adam reported that one of the soldiers hit him on the back of his head with his gun, which caused a gash in his head. This later had seven stitches, The soldier then jumped on Adam’s leg and broke his knee.  

They were taken in a military vehicle to the military camp where they were held for several hours. Here Johar’s knee was broken, after he told the soldiers that they were football players. The interviewer asked Adam, ‘ so you were throwing stones and they shot you?’ Adam said that this was not the story: they did not do anything to the soldiers, the incident happened when they were on their way home from football training.

From the military camp, they were taken badly wounded to Hadasa Hospital in Jerusalem, but their families were not allowed to visit them.  Adam’s mother is from Ukraine and she (unlike many Palestinians from Abu Dis) was able to get to the hospital. But when she said she wanted to see her son, she was threatened with deportation from the country if she persisted: she couldn’t see him.

They were in that hospital for four days. After that, they were released: the army had never had any charge against them in the first place.

The families took them to a hospital in Ramallah which did not have the facilities to treat their bad injuries; they are now in hospital in Jordan. The fear is that though they were well and playing football before this incident, they may never play again.

Note, Adam is a school student still and Johar is the brother of Baraa, one of the children who visited Camden with CADFA in summer 2013.

CADFA is sending its strongest wishes to these young men, hoping for a swift recovery.  We are taking this issue up as strongly as we can with our representatives here and considering the best course of action by young people and sports players in support of young people in our twinned town who have been so badly treated.

CADFA then collected hundreds of signatures on get-well cards. And the story continues....