Testimonies

Mu'az Abu 'Eid, 26

I live with my parents in Bidu, in al-Quds District. Neither of my parents knows how to read or write.

I was born in 1982 at the Hospice Hospital in Jerusalem. My parents then took me to our house in the village, and my father never returned to the hospital to take my birth certificate.

In 1989, the school principal asked me to bring in my birth certificate. As an excuse, I told him it had been lost and that my father would get me a new one. I remember how embarrassed I was in class because I was the only one who was always asked where his birth certificate was. I remained in school until the sixth grade, stopping because the school did not let me continue on to middle school without a birth certificate. Since then, I have remained at home, not studying and not working.  

My real problems came when I reached the age you're supposed to get an ID card. I went to the Ministry of the Interior in Ramallah to submit a request for a card, but the clerks told me that since I didn't have an ID number, I would have to submit a request for internal family unification . In 2001, my father submitted the request for me, but the Israelis haven't replied to this day. In the end, the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior helped me get a birth certificate from the Civil Administration, but it didn't have an ID number.

Not having an ID card greatly affects my life. I'm imprisoned in my village, in Bidu, and can't work outside the village. I can't cross checkpoints without an ID card. I spend my whole life in the village. Seeing friends of my age leaving the village on their way to work saddens and depresses me.

About a year ago, I got married. To prepare for the wedding, I had to go to Ramallah, and I took my young brother's ID card so I could cross the checkpoints. On the way back, I heard that soldiers at the Rafat checkpoint were carefully checking everybody who wanted to cross. I decided not to take the risk. I took a taxi from Ramallah to Bitunya. From there, I went via the villages 'Ein 'Ariq, Saffa, Deir Ibzi', Bil'in, Beit Ur, Kharbata, Beit Liqya, Beit 'Anan, and al-Qibya before reaching Bidu. It was a long and exhausting trip, and I was worried throughout that soldiers would detain me at one of the checkpoints.

Because I can't work outside the village and there are almost no jobs in Bidu, my financial situation is bad. I rely on support from my parents and brothers. Being a financial burden on them is very hard on me psychologically. My wife is six months' pregnant, and soon I'll be a father. The financial burden I already place on my family will grow even heavier. I don't know how I'll be able to support the newborn child.

There are times I'm afraid to leave the house, even to go somewhere in the village. I'm afraid an army patrol will pass by and detain me. I have no social life and spend most of my time inside the house. Since the Separation Barrier was built nearby, about two years ago, I also haven't been able to get to my family's farmland and work it. Our land remained on the other side of the barrier, and to get there we have to go through the agricultural gate in the barrier. To do that, you need a permit from the Civil Administration, and you can't request the permit without an ID card.

I also can't get health insurance. Five months ago or so, I got into an argument with a neighbor and he hit me in the head and back with a sharp instrument. The blows seriously injured me and I was taken to the hospital. I had to pay the full cost of the hospitalization, 5,000 shekels. What will happen if I get severely ill and need prolonged treatment? Where will I get money to pay the hospital bills?

I don't know how long I'll have to live imprisoned in the village, how long it will be before the Israelis acknowledge that I am a human being. I only ask the simplest thing - an ID number to prove that I exist. Officially, I simply don't exist at present.

Mu'az Rateb Mustafa Abu 'Eid, 30, married and unemployed is a resident of Bidu in al-Quds District. His testimony was given to Kareem Jubran at the witness's home on 31 March 2008.