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Taybeh in Flames
Maria C. Khoury, Ed. D.
Our Biblical Christian village has co-existed
in peace with the surrounding Muslim villages for centuries. Not
being able to comprehend the tragic events that took place in our
little innocent village of Taybeh, I have been speechless for many days. I
literally lost my voice yelling at the fanatics to go away from our
doorsteps at the Taybeh Brewery as they were about to torch
modern-state of the art equipment that produces the only micro brewed
beer in the whole Middle East area named after our village. A
violent mob of armed young men took the law in their own hands and come
for a revenge attack on our whole extended family since a distant
cousin was accused of having an affair with a woman from their village
of Deir Ejreer. Over three hundred men
aggressively raided the village between 9 p.m. and 1 a.m. on Sept 3rd
burning down houses, cars and looting. Taybeh residents evacuated their homes in fear
of their lives thus no one was injured.
At the moment, Taybeh Beer, for me stands as a
symbol for democracy in Palestine. It was
Muslim fanatics that wanted to burn it and Muslim policemen that saved
us. It
is a challenge for the Palestinian Authority to protect the small
Christian community and diverse populations in Palestine if there is to
be a democratic two-state solution following the pro-longed years of
occupation. By the way, the Israeli army
jeep
came in the village and the soldiers simply watched the houses burn
down without doing anything in their power to stop the rage. Although we were on the phone with the army
captain begging for immediate help to stop the violence.
We are overpowered by tribal laws
which make it legal in the Islamic religion to kill women in the honor
of the family. Thus, the Muslim woman,
Hiyam was killed and buried by her brothers without a death certificate
after discovered pregnant. The
accused man, a Christian, paid the highest price by not only going to
jail but knowing that sixteen homes were attacked belonging to his
extended family leaving fourteen homes completely burned.
Innocent
families losing all of their personal belongings, furniture, clothes,
family keepsakes that were passed down from generation to generation
and beautiful family portraits that reflect the deep roots of this
Christian village having a unique character and identity since the time
Christ our Lord walked into this village before his crucifixion (John
11:54).
This barbaric and uncivilized behavior
could not be stopped by the Israeli Occupying army or by the
Palestinian Authority. As
American citizens we made numerous phone calls to the American
Consulate Emergency services pleading for help to put pressure on the
Israelis to allow the Palestinian police to pass the checkpoints and
arrive in Taybeh to stop the catastrophe. It
took over three hours for the Palestinian police to arrive but with
great appreciation to the American Consulate at least our brewery and
our home were saved. This was totally
unjustified violence that left over 72 people, the majority children,
in despair and agony having nothing left except the shirt on their
backs.
Furthermore,
as a woman believing in human rights, what bothers me the most is that
I live in a culture that wants to punish the man who slept with the
woman instead of the men who killed the woman? And
not only punish one man but in barbaric style punish every family
member that is related to him; and we are talking about fifth cousins
and sixth cousins; innocent people that have nothing to do and cannot
control the sin of an individual. This
aggression is something bizarre that has happened in our village and
should be condemned by all people who believe in law and order.
I have never had such an experience in my
twenty-five years in Palestine. It is my
Muslim collogues who call me before my Christian friends to wish me
“Merry Christmas.” It is a
Muslim mother that picks up my son at midnight when he is stranded in
the city. My son’s best friend is a
Muslim and I love him like my own son Costa. I
cannot make logical sense of what has happened in our village. And we are in such deep need of reconciliation
among all groups of people who are just in pure shock.
Christ’s love and peace is more
important than ever. Our
witness to Christian values and our struggle to exist as a small
community is now at the mercy of not only the Israeli Occupying power
which is legally responsible for protecting unarmed civilians but also
at the hands of the Palestinian Authority who must bring law and order
and put an end to tribal laws which are detrimental in this new
millennium. Family feuds should be taken to a courtroom not solved in
the hands of hundreds of crazy fanatics that are capable of wiping out
a whole village with such aggressive violence that leave you
speechless.
My
husband David Khoury, the new mayor of Taybeh has make an appeal to
many religious leaders, both Muslim and Christian and to all
authorities including humanitarian organizations to help us have a
strong voice as a Christian community and send letters of condemnation
to the Israeli and Palestinian Prime Ministers that justice, law and
order should prevail. Protection against
such
aggressive unjustified violence should be guaranteed for all human
beings in the Holy Land regardless of religion, race, and gender. The
violent aggression against our village should be condemned to help
Taybeh maintain its unique character and identity as one of the most
ancient places in Palestine and the only 100% Christian village left.
We want the Palestinian justice system to prevail and not the tribal
traditions that seek blood for forbidden relationships.
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