Samia A. Halaby, The Electronic Intifada, 30 October 2006
"Fifty years ago, on October 29, 1956, 49 Palestinian residents of Kafr Qasem were murdered by Israeli border police who at that time were officially attached to the military. Countless more were wounded and left bleeding and unattended. Their families were unable to offer aid because of a 24-hour curfew lasting for some two days and three nights. Violation of the curfew was punishable by death.
In the following two days (while the families were thus imprisoned in their homes) the Israelis unceremoniously buried the victims without permission or the presence of witnesses. On the following morning, the unattended wounded who had helplessly lain in the streets were torn away from their deceased loved ones, thrown into trucks (not ambulances) and hauled off to hospitals. This deliberate massacre had been planned in advance to coincide with the Israeli and Anglo-French attack on the Suez canal.
The townspeople of Kafr Qasem organize an annual memorial event on October 29th which begins with speeches by the town elders followed by a march through the town to additional ceremonies at the martyrs cemetery. Later in the day an open house for the arts is organized at the town council headquarters. Poets, writers, and artists are invited to contribute to these events, thereby aiding the process of healing.
I attended such an event in 1999. I began interviewing survivors and continued the work in subsequent visits. My primary goal was to make a series of documentary drawings. These drawings fill the pages of this web treatise. Some documentary photographs from Kafr Qasem publications are also included."
Enter The Memorial
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