"A Day in the Life of Abed Salama": 5-Year-Old's Death Sheds Light on Life Under Israeli Apartheid

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2023-10-05に共有
We spend the hour with Nathan Thrall and Abed Salama, the author and subject of a remarkable new book detailing the many bureaucratic barriers and indignities that make the lives of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation even more difficult. A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy focuses on the 2012 death of Salama's son, 5-year-old Milad, who was killed in a fiery bus crash during a school field trip to a theme park. What followed was a desperate daylong search by Salama and his family to locate Milad's body across different cities and hospitals, encountering numerous barriers due to the Israeli occupation system, like different ID cards giving varying levels of access through military checkpoints, and lack of help from any Israeli authorities. "This awful event allowed me, in telling the story, to describe the entire elaborate system of segregation and subjugation and apartheid in which all of these people live," says Thrall, who first wrote about the tragedy in a 2021 essay for The New York Review of Books . Salama says his main motivation in participating with Thrall was to keep Milad's memory alive. “When I start to talk about him, I feel that his spirit is behind me, around me,” he says. “I hope if anyone from the American government hears me … we want only justice. This is what we want as Palestinians.”

Transcript: democracynow.org

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コメント (21)
  • @dabay200
    The Israeli settler colonial apartheid racist criminal state is truly disgusting. They way they treat Palestinians is really appalling - I'm surprised the UN does nothing, Israel should be heavily sanctioned for all their horrible crimes.
  • I have family in refugee camps all over Palestine. The Israeli soldier that killed my aunt Huda Hawaja in Aida Bethlehem smiled on camera and said he was purifying the land. This interview I uploaded to my channel for the world to see what this 'conflict' is really about. Please remember that after the 30 years of British occupation that dismantled Palestinian farms, libraries, and infrastructure, we had our Nakba where over 530 Palestinian villages were destroyed by acts of terror to make way for the Israeli occupation that stands today. I hope for freedom for my children to return to our home and to live with democracy and equality for all people all religions not for the benefit of only 1.
  • @vallee7966
    Exactly the way they were treated by the Nazis, they are treating Palestinians now.
  • Hi iam Jewish and and appalled of what is happening in Palestine this breaks my heart we are all human beings I am against the Jewish settlers colonizing segregating this is terrible and a tragedy thank you Nathan for talking the truth
  • @knowbuddee
    "The early Israelis taught the Palestinians about terrorism. Israel was formed by terrorism. There were a number of gangs, like the Stern gang and the Irgun Zeva’i Le’umi. They fought as terrorists against the British and the Palestinians, and ‘won’ the area we know as Israel. They fought and wrestled for that land just as the Palestinian people are fighting to hold onto the little bit of land that they could call home. It is so unfair, and it has the weight of the American government and the strength of the American dollar and army behind it. There will never be peace in the world while that situation pertains. If there is no peace in Palestine, there will be no peace in the world as a whole." -Benjamin Creme /2007
  • Thank you Mr Abed Salama. Keep your Son's Spirit Alive by telling us the Truth of what happened to him. This is a Coward's way to break all your Spirits. Please find a moment of Peace & realise the World is crying with you. This is the worst pain your family has suffered. You are in our Prayers & Peace will come to you in time.
  • @kb_100
    As a father of very young boy. Hearing Abed's story is absolutely gut wrenching. Truly every parents' worst nightmare. The cruel banality of Israeli apartheid and racism is fully exposed by this family's tragedy.
  • @wotiluv
    This is truly horrifying, not only because of the tragic loss of this man, but also due to the racist and deplorable conditions created by Israelis under their apartheid rule. It's as if they're attempting to establish a situation where Palestinians bear the brunt of the pain Jews endured during the Holocaust, perpetuating a cycle of dehumanization across generations. The racist sentiments and animosity towards Palestinians in Israel are eerily reminiscent of the radical right's racism in the US. One can see that it stems from the shared commonality of neo-fascism.
  • @Daphenini06
    Over the years I have read about Israel’s abuse not only of Palestinians, but also other ethnicities. Look up forced sterilizations of Ethiopians. The world needs to re-examine the kind of relationship they want to have with Israel if they decide to continue on this path. With the world finally discovering the ugly side of Israel, they absolutely need to be held responsible.
  • @sandra701
    My heart and souls cries in sadness for Mr. Salama and his family. The circumstances surrounding this tragedy are beyond my spiritual capacity. I’m greatly impacted by the horrors this Palestinian family has suffered. May God forever be with them.
  • @Lovewins0356
    I admire the father's bravery and strength to be able to stand and speak about his son and this terrible and unjust tragedy they had to endure at the hands of the Israeli state. Sir, know that most people in this world are with you and stand with the Palestinian struggle for freedom. I'm so sorry for your loss.
  • @esazonova1
    This has been one of the most educational, eye-opening, and sobering insights into the current state of affairs in Palestine, and an enormously important piece for understanding the current crisis. Thank you, Democracy Now! for this interview. May justice prevail and human rights be observed, irrespective of religion or ethnicity!
  • @LindaG858
    It is a crime against humanity & the world stands by doing nothing.😢
  • It's been horrible for the Palestinians. I can't stand behind Israel. I'm sorry, I just can't. They have been ignored for so long.
  • Mr. Salama's story brought me to tears and I am ashamed for humanity. While this form of apartheid exist in various parts of the world, it takes stories like Nathan's which puts mothers and fathers (readers/viewers) in the position of Mr. Salama and his wife. Trapped and powerless in a world dominated by racist oppressors and no hope of change or help from outside democratic countries. This is the hypocritical world of democracy we live in. Thank you Nathan and Abed, bless you both sharing this very poignant and difficult story.
  • @bluelines1
    What a brave father. Heart breaking. Sending strength and solidarity to him, his family and the Palestinian people.
  • This made me cry as a mother of a 5 year old boy... this is rhe age where they are full of curiosity .. life ahead of them. My heart bleeds for thr children killed in this war esp the poor Palestinian children born in this oppressive regime .
  • Thank you, THANK YOU, for bringing this story to light! I have been crying for the Palestinian situation for decades, and I am so ashamed that OUR nation, the United States of America, has continued to be complicit in supporting the Israeli government in its horrific treatment of its own citizens, based only on their being Palestinian, rather than Jewish Israelis. NO ONE IS MORE ANTI-SEMITIC THAN ISRAELIS; Palestinians are also semitic, and we in the United States continue to enable their maltreatment. What is wrong with his picture?! I hope that his book, and your presentation of it, will help to bring to light the TRUTH of life in Israel.