I don’t usually broadcast appeals on my blog but I will make an exception in this case. If you can afford to make a donation, however big or small, please go to. This isn’t charity, it is support of the struggle against the Zionist thieves who have taken the land and bodies of the villagers of B’ilin.
Tony Greenstein
https://www.generosity.com/medical-fundraising/new-wheelchair-for-rani–2
https://igg.me/at/KU0LmzxBx1I/emal/13929215
The video is a portrayal of a non-violent activist and photographer from Bilin, Rani Bornat. Rani was shot by Israeli snipers during the first days of the second Intifada during a peaceful protest in Ramallah. His injuries have left him confined to an electric wheelchair with only the use of his right hand. In 2004 Israel began to construct the apartheid wall in his village, Bilin, stealing 60% of the villages land. Since then, villagers have organized weekly, and sometimes daily, non-violent demonstrations against the wall and the settlements surrounding it, making Bilin a centre of non-violent resistance in the West Bank. Rani, one of the organizers of the villages popular resistance, has attended and photographed every single demonstration, and compiled a huge archive of photographs.
Rani was shot by Israeli snipers during the first days of the second Intifada during a peaceful protest in Ramallah. His injuries have left him confined to an electric wheelchair with only the use of his right hand. In 2004 Israel began to construct the apartheid wall in his village, Bilin, stealing 60% of the villages land. Since then, villagers have organized weekly, and sometimes daily, non-violent demonstrations against the wall and the settlements surrounding it, making Bilin a centre of non-violent resistance in the West Bank. Rani, one of the organizers of the villages popular resistance, has attended and photographed every single demonstration, and compiled a huge archive of photographs.
I
was born in the village of Bil’in in 1981. Bil’in is a small, poor
Palestinian village in the West Bank. In the past there were less than
one thousand inhabitants in the village. Most of them make their living
from agriculture. Some work in Israel, some in Palestine and a few in
the civil service.
primary school in Bil’in. I then proceeded to go to a high school in the
neighboring village. Upon my completion of 10th grade I moved to a
vocational school, El Kouds in Elram junction. I completed my high
school studies with honors, majoring in electronics, which was my
favorite since childhood.
I began to work while waiting to hear
from one of the universities or colleges to receive higher education in
my profession, but the occupation put an end to that.
On September
30th 2000 I participated in a parade to protest Sharon’s entrance to
the Al Aqsa Mosque. While we approached area B, a vast number of
soldiers were waiting for us in the surrounding buildings and started to
shoot live ammunition. They wounded and killed us, protestors whose
only ammunition was their will.
I was badly wounded and was
announced as a martyr after a bullet hit my neck and my back, damaging
the third and forth spinal vertebra. I was paralyzed, lost my memory and
could not speak. After a year of treatment and rehabilitation I was
forced to remain in a wheelchair.
I live in a wheelchair, but it
does not limit me from saying NO to the occupation, saying NO to
oppression, and saying NO to injustice, slavery and bloodshed. I
continue to say YES to peace, freedom, liberty and independence. I still
participate in the protests we organize with Israeli and foreign
activists who come to express solidarity with us. We protest against the
racist wall, land confiscation and settlement construction. I am in
front of the parade with my camera, with which I capture photographs.
These photos are a tool in my struggle against injustice and those who
responsible for it. I have been wounded numerous times from rubber
bullets and shock grenades.
My injury has not stopped me from
continuing my life like other people. I decided to get married and I had
the good fortune to find a suitable girl who was able to understand my
situation and agreed to become engaged to me. Our marriage happened on
10/25/2008, and after one year God has blessed us and given us triplets
(a boy and two daughters) on 28/10/2009. despite the harsh conditions
and the increasing burdens of life, I’m still a believer in justice and
determined to continue resistance until we gain our freedom and
independence.
Together we all continue to struggle, with our
writing and photography, to secure ourselves and our children lives full
of love, peace, and safety.
I need a new electric wheelchair, and
because I can’t work, I can’t afford to bye a new one. Pleace help me,
so my wife don’t have to help me all the time.
Rani Bornat
[email protected]
Please go to:
https://www.generosity.com/medical-fundraising/new-wheelchair-for-rani–2
