Nothing makes life miserable for Palestinian shepherd Jihad and his sheep except for an Israeli unmanned shooting vehicle which patrols the area near an Israeli watchtower and shoots at his sheep once they approach the 150-meter buffer-zone to the west of the border fence declared as such by Israel.
The weather in the Gaza Valley these days is very good with the advent of the spring season as grass looked in its best brightness and the warm weather started to prevail with day hours gradually increasing.
The Israeli occupation soldiers stationed at the eastern borders of Gaza shoot at shepherds on daily basis using live ammunition and tear gas canisters. The repeated uprooting of produce by the Israeli bulldozers in addition to poisoning agricultural produce deprive shepherds from herding their sheep freely.
Daily journey
The Israeli military watchtower to the east of the Gaza Valley only overlooks shepherd Jihad al-Sawarki 21 and his sheep which are scattered across the fields to graze on available grass.
Jihad’s father introduced him to herding sheep some eight years ago. These days Jihad goes to the west of the border fence of Gaza looking for grass after the late growth of grass this year due to the lack of rain and the tension in the border area.
He told the PIC reporter “I herd sheep everyday from the morning until the evening. The herding season begins in December and ends at the beginning of May. We are not in the best herding days. Yet rain was late this year and grass only grew up in February. We continue to herd our sheep until the wheat harvest season in May.”
Jihad complains about the repeated uprooting of agricultural produce by the Israeli occupation in addition to spraying them with chemicals which kill grass and the effects of which could be seen across tens of meters away from the border fence.
He adds “Importing livestock lack of rains and the worsening economic situation all together have negatively impacted prices. These days we are getting ready for the holy month of Ramadan and later Eidul Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) season. The situation might get better.”
Tea and cigarettes
Jihad watches an Israeli unmanned military shooting vehicle which quickly moves towards the borders after noticing ‘unusual’ movement and which might start shooting as it did a few minutes ago.
He notes “Here everything is beautiful and green. The place is calm. But the Israeli occupation forces deprive us of calmness. When my sheep reach the 150-meter buffer zone area cameras notice them and shooting of live ammunition and tear gas canisters at my sheep begins. In the past two years my sheep started giving birth to deformed sheep with one eye or even without eyes due to inhaling gas. I lost nine sheep during the 2014 war on Gaza.”
Smoke comes out of a small fire Jihad started to cook some tomatoes and eggplants which is Jihad’s best meal while herding.
He adds “I spend time by smoking cigarettes and drinking tea. My friends visit me here and we sit and chat. The beauty of the nature here is only threatened by bullets and teargas fired by the Israeli occupation army.”
