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Earlier this week, 10 countries recognised Palestinian statehood. With them, the fig of UN subordinate states recognising Palestine arsenic a authorities person reached 157 retired of 193. This means the immense bulk of the satellite accepts the Palestinians person a state. And yet they proceed to beryllium treated arsenic if they bash not, with galore experiencing the soul-crushing world of statelessness astatine borders and successful migration detention.
As a freelance English-Arabic interpreter with Respond Crisis Translation, I often enactment asylum seekers successful detention. I person seen firsthand what it is to beryllium a Palestinian stuck successful the progressively inhumane US migration system.
I met Mohammad (not his existent name) portion interpreting during his ineligible proceedings, and implicit clip I interpreted for him connected aggregate occasions arsenic his lawyer sought to unafraid his merchandise from detention by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mohammad decided to flight Gaza earlier Israel launched its genocidal war. But erstwhile helium fled his home, helium didn’t find freedom.
The travel was brutal and afloat of precariousness. He was stranded successful countries that refused to recognise his homeland oregon the documents helium was carrying; helium was kidnapped by cartel groups, beaten, threatened, and robbed of his money. At last, helium reached the US. There, believing that, perhaps, the “American dream” could connection him safety, sanctuary and freedom, helium encountered ICE.
Mohammad had escaped 1 situation lone to beryllium thrown into another. The cruelty was truthful relentless that helium went connected a hunger onslaught – erstwhile helium stopped eating, the dependable of his hunger was his loudest and lone voice, a hopeless plea for release.
His hunger onslaught was much than a refusal of food. It was a refusal of invisibility. A assemblage breaking itself to beryllium heard. He reported being humiliated, placed successful solitary confinement, and subjected to intelligence unit during his hunger strike. The hunger onslaught – meant to asseverate dignity – became different tract of punishment.
Mohammad was forced to interruption the hunger onslaught aft the tribunal made wide that it would lone see him for merchandise if helium was deemed mentally unchangeable and medically clear. To conscionable this request and person a accidental astatine leaving detention, helium had nary prime but to interruption his hunger strike.
When Mohammad yet decided to judge deportation, the tribunal heeded his request. The justice and authoritative agreed: If helium did not privation to stay, helium could beryllium deported. But deported to where? The paperwork work “Palestine”, a connection that holds meaning for him but exists lone fleetingly successful the US migration system. The US does not recognise Palestine arsenic a state, truthful the tribunal defaulted to “Israel”. But Israel, which occupies the Palestinian territory, does not assistance Palestinians escaped introduction to Gaza, nor tin they simply participate the West Bank.
For Palestinians, particularly from Gaza, borders are not simply lines connected a representation – they are walls of steel, bureaucracy and laws. You whitethorn accidental that introduction is imaginable done neighbouring countries. Before the war, Palestinians from Gaza could lone spell backmost location done Egypt oregon Jordan. Egypt’s Rafah crossing is present closed. Jordan bars introduction unless a Palestinian holds peculiar permits, uncommon and astir intolerable to obtain. Even erstwhile “home” is written connected a deportation order, it whitethorn stay unreachable.
Mohammad’s imagined “redemption” – which was going to the warfare – was a mirage. Leaving the US strategy did not mean regaining freedom. It meant facing the cruel truth: To beryllium a Palestinian contiguous is to unrecorded without exits, without harmless havens, without the warrant of a instrumentality adjacent to the unknown. Even deportation, a process that for others whitethorn mean going “back”, for radical from Palestine is lone different trap.
Mohammad inactive insists connected going backmost to Gaza. He has truthful acold resisted being deported to different countries. He remains successful ICE detention. Lawyers explained that determination are fiscal incentives to prolong detention, since backstage facilities person regular payments per detainee. Even with a tribunal decision, merchandise is often delayed.
In the end, his communicative is not lone astir 1 man’s failed asylum claim. It is not lone astir the US’s continuing refusal to recognise Palestine arsenic a state.
It is astir what it means to beryllium stateless successful a satellite that demands documents earlier it offers dignity. It is astir however “home” becomes some a coiled and a dream. For Palestinians from Gaza, the imagination of state and dignity collapses into fluorescent-lit detention centres, and deportation becomes a travel not towards information but towards different closed doorway and acheronian future.
Courts tin motion papers, migration authorities tin escort radical to aeroplanes, but nary authorization tin erase the blockade that cages Palestine, oregon the policies that contradict its radical the close to instrumentality and determination freely.
The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
English (US) ·