Nakba #62 - Amina Ali Hammoud

”I was 14 when the jews attacked our village. My parents prohibited me to go outside, but I ran outside anyway to look at the soldiers. Then I ran back to my mother och explained the Israelis looked just like ordinary people, not monsters”, says Amina Ali Hammoud. ”A soldier shouted over a loudspeaker that we could either flee or choose to stay and be killed. One of the village men waved a white flag, as a sign that we were surrendering. The Israelis told the village mukhtar to gather all the villagers in the Sahat Aleyan square. There, the Israelis arrested seven men, blindfolded them, and lined them up against a wall. There, they were shot to death. Then the soldiers took us to a field, where we were held captive for seven days. They gave us nothing to eat, only a little water to drink. I ran around and played, not understanding the seriousness of the situation at all. After a week, the soldiers declared that those who wanted to were free to leave the country and go to Lebanon or Syria or wherever we wanted. The rich families left the village and the country, but poor families, like ours, remained in the village. Families from neighboring villages who were fleeing the Israeli forces poured in. In the end, we lived in four or five families in each house. There were seven of us in my family. Some of the families who fled to Lebanon regretted their decision and tried to return to the village. But they were stopped by the Israeli military, who sent them back across the border.” Born 1934 in Majd El-Kroum, Palestine. Recorded in Majd al-Kurum, Israel. Interpreter: Rula Hammoud. Photo: Cato Lein.