By Mohammed Omer
and Nora Barrows-Friedman
and Dennis Bernstein
and Nora Barrows-Friedman
and Dennis Bernstein
John Pilger with Dahr Jamail and Mohammed Omer
"......Flashpoints: Mohammed, if you could tell us where you are and what happened to you on Thursday.
Mohammed Omer: I am in hospital in Gaza. I have difficulty breathing. And I have also difficulty swallowing in addition to some damage on my larynx. As I started to approach the terminal of Allenby bridge, the Israeli soldiers stopped me and they say that I have no permission. When I give my passport to the passport control, they say that I have no permit to go into Gaza, back to my own home. They ask me to sit for one hour and a half. After that, they rechecked my bags, my suitcases, and everything, making fun of me, making fun of everything I got, making fun of my life, and saying that I am a crazy man to come to Gaza. I have been to France, Sweden, Greece, England, and to Holland, and I decided to come back to the hell of Gaza. They told me, "The Shevak is unfit to me. There is no electricity there. How come you go there? There is no life, there is no security, there is no food, there is no cooking gas, there is no cooking oil, there is nothing. You'd better go out back." And I told them that I want to be the voice for the voiceless, and I want to get the message out from the Gaza Strip to the world. Then he said to me, "Okay. Then you should suffer." I said, "No, I should tell the truth.".......
The soldier is asking me, "Mohammed, why do you bring the perfumes? " I said that I got these perfumes as a gift for the people that I love. He said to me, "Do you have love in your culture?" I said, "Of course." He saw a trophy from other journalists in Greece. He asks me, Where is this trophy from?" I said, "Greece." He said, "Mohammed, you know that Greece is not a friend of Israel? It's a friend of the Palestinians." I said, "I don't care. It is none of my business."........
And there I am, laid up at the [around 22:52 European?] hospital. I can hardly breathe, I can hardly, I cannot swallow at all. I have a fracture in my chest and I can't wait for the days to retire as a war correspondent.
Flashpoints: Mohammed, you're 24 years old. You have your entire life ahead of you. You've just won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for journalism. You were awarded it along with our good friend and special correspondent, Dahr Jamail. In any other country in the world, you would be treated as someone of the utmost importance and with pride and honor. But because you are a Palestinian journalist from Gaza, trying to get home after winning this award, after speaking to many European parliaments, you are now suffering and you're in the hospital. Is there anything that you would want to say, maybe to the Committee to Protect Journalists or to the Israeli government right now?........"
Mohammed Omer: I am in hospital in Gaza. I have difficulty breathing. And I have also difficulty swallowing in addition to some damage on my larynx. As I started to approach the terminal of Allenby bridge, the Israeli soldiers stopped me and they say that I have no permission. When I give my passport to the passport control, they say that I have no permit to go into Gaza, back to my own home. They ask me to sit for one hour and a half. After that, they rechecked my bags, my suitcases, and everything, making fun of me, making fun of everything I got, making fun of my life, and saying that I am a crazy man to come to Gaza. I have been to France, Sweden, Greece, England, and to Holland, and I decided to come back to the hell of Gaza. They told me, "The Shevak is unfit to me. There is no electricity there. How come you go there? There is no life, there is no security, there is no food, there is no cooking gas, there is no cooking oil, there is nothing. You'd better go out back." And I told them that I want to be the voice for the voiceless, and I want to get the message out from the Gaza Strip to the world. Then he said to me, "Okay. Then you should suffer." I said, "No, I should tell the truth.".......
The soldier is asking me, "Mohammed, why do you bring the perfumes? " I said that I got these perfumes as a gift for the people that I love. He said to me, "Do you have love in your culture?" I said, "Of course." He saw a trophy from other journalists in Greece. He asks me, Where is this trophy from?" I said, "Greece." He said, "Mohammed, you know that Greece is not a friend of Israel? It's a friend of the Palestinians." I said, "I don't care. It is none of my business."........
And there I am, laid up at the [around 22:52 European?] hospital. I can hardly breathe, I can hardly, I cannot swallow at all. I have a fracture in my chest and I can't wait for the days to retire as a war correspondent.
Flashpoints: Mohammed, you're 24 years old. You have your entire life ahead of you. You've just won the Martha Gellhorn Prize for journalism. You were awarded it along with our good friend and special correspondent, Dahr Jamail. In any other country in the world, you would be treated as someone of the utmost importance and with pride and honor. But because you are a Palestinian journalist from Gaza, trying to get home after winning this award, after speaking to many European parliaments, you are now suffering and you're in the hospital. Is there anything that you would want to say, maybe to the Committee to Protect Journalists or to the Israeli government right now?........"
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