Dima Al-Wawi is a 12 years old Palestinian girl. She was just released from an Israeli prison. Look at her eyes and ask: what have they done to her?
What do you see when you look at Dima Al-Wawi’s eyes? What was she subjected to, how was she treated, did she really confess? Look at her eyes and ask: how many children are imprisoned in Israel? How can anyone with a shred of humanity accept such a violation to the rights of children?
They confess simply to get out of solitary confinement
"We're not saying offences aren't committed – we're saying children have legal rights. Regardless of what they're accused of, they should not be arrested in the middle of the night in terrifying raids, they should not be painfully tied up and blindfolded sometimes for hours on end, they should be informed of the right to silence and they should be entitled to have a parent present during questioning. (…) Solitary confinement breaks the spirit of a child. Children say that after a week or so of this treatment, they confess simply to get out of the cell."
Each year, between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are arrested by Israeli soldiers
In an article published by The Guardian in 2012, Harriet Sherwood wrote: “Between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are arrested by Israeli soldiers each year, mostly accused of throwing stones. Since 2008, Defence for Children International (DCI) has collected sworn testimonies from 426 minors detained in Israel's military justice system. Their statements show a pattern of night-time arrests, hands bound with plastic ties, blindfolding, physical and verbal abuse, and threats. About 9% of all those giving affidavits say they were kept in solitary confinement (…) Few parents are told where their children have been taken. Minors are rarely questioned in the presence of a parent, and rarely see a lawyer before or during initial interrogation. Most are detained inside Israel, making family visits very difficult."
Human rights violation
"Human rights organisations say these patterns of treatment – which are corroborated by a separate study, No Minor Matter, conducted by an Israeli group, B'Tselem – violate the international convention on the rights of the child, which Israel has ratified, and the fourth Geneva convention. Most children maintain they are innocent of the crimes of which they are accused, despite confessions and guilty pleas, said Gerard Horton of DCI. But, he added, guilt or innocence was not an issue with regard to their treatment."
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| Dima Al-Wawi upon her arrest by masked soldiers |
They confess simply to get out of solitary confinement
"We're not saying offences aren't committed – we're saying children have legal rights. Regardless of what they're accused of, they should not be arrested in the middle of the night in terrifying raids, they should not be painfully tied up and blindfolded sometimes for hours on end, they should be informed of the right to silence and they should be entitled to have a parent present during questioning. (…) Solitary confinement breaks the spirit of a child. Children say that after a week or so of this treatment, they confess simply to get out of the cell."
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| Dima Al-Wawi upon her release ten weeks after her arrest |
Dima Al-Wawi's eyes
French singer Renaud wrote: "Question d'histoire d'abord / Où est la Palestine ? / Sous quelle botte étoilée ? / Derrière quels barbelés ? / Sous quel champ de ruines ? / Question d'histoire encore / Combien de victimes / Combien milliers d'enfants / Dans les décombres des camps / Deviendront combattants ?"
First a question about history / Where's Palestine? / Under which starry boot? / Behind which barbed wires? / Into which fields of ruins? / Again a question about history / How many victims? / How many thousands of children / Into the rubble of the camps / Will become fighters?
Is the answer in Dima Al-Wawi’s eyes?
First a question about history / Where's Palestine? / Under which starry boot? / Behind which barbed wires? / Into which fields of ruins? / Again a question about history / How many victims? / How many thousands of children / Into the rubble of the camps / Will become fighters?
Is the answer in Dima Al-Wawi’s eyes?