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News :: Civil & Human Rights |
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Kelly with Balata Refugee Camp Childrens Art Exhibit Arrested in Palestine |
Current rating: 0 |
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by NWFIMC Staff |
17 Dec 2004
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Many of you may remember Kelly Bornshagel who came to Pensacola with the Balata Refugee Camp Childrens Art Exhibit several months ago. Kelly was arrested on Dec 14th by the Israeli Defense Forces for filming a demonstration in occupied Palestine. The statement below was written by Mika, her co-partner with the Balata Camp Media Collective. |
Subject: Kelly In Deportation Prison In Israel
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 00:34:51 -0800
From: Kelly (at) riseup.net
To: mika (at) balatacamp.net
Dear friends and supporters of Kelly and Palestine,
Kelly was arrested by the Israeli Border Police during a demonstration in the village of Bil'in near Ramallah on Tuesday 14th Dec. She is currently being held by the Ministry of Interior police, and will likely be deported in the next few days.
The demonstration on Tuesday was directed at the large-scale theft of land from Bil'in for the construction of the apartheid wall. The villagers successfully managed to halt the military from surveying their land; in response the Israeli soldiers and Border Police attacked the residents. Several Palestinians were badly beaten with batons, while the demonstration as a whole was targeted with tear gas, plastic bullets and sound grenades.
At one point, plain-clothes policemen appeared to pick out internationals they recognized, who had also filmed the particularly brutal beating of a Palestinian boy. Kelly was singled out, before being wrestled to the ground and dragged to the top of the hill. Later on, another American woman who was filming was arrested.
Kelly has been interrogated in the Ministry of Interior and is currently being held in Hadera Deportation Prison. She has received a package of fruit, books and clothes from us and a second is on its way.
It's unclear exactly what Kelly is being charged with, or when and to where she will be deported. Court expenses are around $2000, so it is unlikely that we will be able to fight Kelly's deportation in the courts.
She will hopefully receive a phone later today, at which point people can reach her on ++972 54 6346923. Alternatively, email this address and I'll read her the message.
Kelly sends her love to all, and asks people to keep fighting for the Palestinian cause. Of course, the balatacamp.net projects will continue.
In struggle,
Mika
'Every dawn has its appointment with a rebel' - Ghassan Kanafani |
See also:
http://www.balatacamp.net
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This work is in the public domain |
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Re: Kelly with Balata Refugee Camp Childrens Art Exhibit Arrested in Palestine |
by Scott
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
19 Dec 2004
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I tried to call Jeff Miller's office to see if they could look into the circumstances of her arrest, but was unsuccessful getting anywhere with it. |
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Re: Kelly with Balata Refugee Camp Childrens Art Exhibit Arrested in Palestine |
by Abraham
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
28 Dec 2004
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I've tried a handfull of times on various issues, but have never had a good experience with Jeff Miller. He didn't even have the decency to send a "I dissagree with you" letter - just the same old tired and generic "thanks for writing, I care, blah, blah, blah, everything is being taken care of, go back to sleep" form letter, signed by a printer cartrage. In fact, I have a decent sized pile of that one letter sitting in my desk. |
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Re: Kelly with Balata Refugee Camp Childrens Art Exhibit Arrested in Palestine |
by Scott
(No verified email address) |
Current rating: 0
12 Jan 2005
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I agree and it turned out to be useless anyway. Should have known. I just got an email from Kelly that said she was deported to Wisconsin on Xmas day. She's trying to do support work for the Balata Camp Media Collective from home, though.
There are some interesting projects going on now. One is with a film that was made on the election and there is another that might be out now. They're both available on the http://www.balatacamp.net web site.
The work goes on. |
