Connections with Cave Dwellers

    Meet cousins Nasser and Mohammed from the village of Gwein. These boys are part of a community known as the "cave dwellers," because these 56 people live in caves. Their simplistic life is actually a form of non-violent resistance because they refuse to leave their land  which is part of Palestine according to the '67 boarders (they also cannot build on the land due to Israeli military orders). Though it is a hard life, they say that they are used to it. Nasser (16) has five sisters and one brother & is interested religion. Mohammed (18) comes from a family of four girls and four boys and is interested in world history. In order to attend school, they have to walk ~8 km and leave at 5:00 am. Their school is in a different village. Though they don't typically have problems traveling to school, they oftentimes are harassed by soldiers and settlers on the way home. If caught, they are often beaten and even detained for up to 10 hrs. Since one of their responsibilities is working as a shepherd to watch over the village's sheep, they do their homework in the fields. In addition to caring for the sheep, they also carry water over the hills to the village and occasionally work in the city to earn some income (either illegally in Israel or in the nearby city of Hebron). For fun, they enjoy hanging out with friends from other villages, having BBQs, watching/playing soccer and boxing. They are able to keep in touch with their friends via Facebook. Both of them dream to be doctors & if they could go anywhere in the world, both of them chose America because it is an advanced country and you can go/see everywhere. Though they have been to local cities and to Nablus, it is expensive to leave Palestine. Despite speaking negatively about the occupation, Nasser & Mohammed believe that Israel itself is good and that there are good people in Israel. One of these "good people" is their cousin - an Arab Israeli who they get to see once every two months; unfortunately, they cannot cross into Israel to visit him because they have not been given permission through Israel. Both see the solution to the conflict as freedom from the occupation. Mohammed's biggest fear is the foxes (he joked), though he says that Palestinians are not really afraid of anything -- getting beat up, shot, etc because they are used to it. Nasser's biggest hope is liberation & freedom from the occupation and someday to have the ability to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.