Testimonies

Fahmiyeh Tarawneh, mother of ten

About six years ago, I moved from the Old City to Dahiyat a-Salam because of the housing shortage. We bought an apartment overlooking the wadi between Dahiyat a-Salam and al-‘Isawiya. There was clean air and beautiful scenery. The only problem was the lack of services. The area is horribly neglected. The streets are torn up and piled with refuse, but that is nothing compared to the garbage dump. The dump has existed for years, but it has grown a lot since the middle of last year. Then truck drivers began to bring refuse from all over the city and throw it into the wadi near our house. They dumped construction, medical, and industrial refuse and tyres. The refuse contaminates the area and we suffer from it.

My six-year-old daughter Asmaa and many other small children in the neighborhood suffer from shortness of breath. She began to suffer in 2005. We treated her at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem, where she was hospitalized for six days. After that, her condition improved. In 2007, her condition deteriorated and we had to take her to hospital more than six times during the course of the year. The hospital told us that the amount of oxygen in her blood was very low, endangering her life. Each time we went to the hospital, the doctors asked us what was around our house and said that her problem resulted from inhaling polluted air. To breathe clean air, Asmaa uses an oxygen inhaler a lot.

The neighborhood has turned into a garbage dump. The refuse causes dust, which rises in the air. There are lots of flies and insects in the area. Most of the local residents can't open the windows of their houses. For a long time, my husband and I and others in the neighborhood complained to the Municipality and asked them to do something to stop the dumping, but our complaining didn't help. The refuse continues to pile up, and is getting closer and closer to the houses. It has already reached twenty meters from my house.

Another problem is that children burn electrical wire and tyres. The fires create a thick, black cloud that blocks the sun and makes it difficult for everyone to breathe.

Residents tried to prevent the criminals from dumping. They reacted violently and continued dumping. I am afraid that my husband and sons will get in trouble with the criminals, who have no conscience or respect.

About two months ago, following repeated complaints by residents and the involvement of human rights organizations, municipal officials came to discuss a solution to the problem. After that, the criminals stopped dumping refuse in the neighborhood. If the Municipality had intervened at the start, this horrible situation would never have existed.

The dumping has stopped, but the garbage remains. I heard that municipal officials promised to solve the problem, but the refuse remains. Asmaa is still suffering greatly and has trouble breathing because of the dust and pollutants.

Fahmiyeh Khalil Jabarah Tarawneh, 45, married with ten children, is a homemaker and a resident of Dahiyat a-Salam neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Her testimony was given to Kareem Jubran at the witness's home on 28 April 2008.