Forced into Adulthood at 14
Every year, 500-700 Palestinian children are detained by Israeli authorities, in direct violation of their human and civil rights. Amer, a 14 year old from Ya'bad, was detained for four months. This is his story.
Detention, interrogation, handcuffs and court dates should not be a normal part of the vocabulary of a 14 year old. But at this age, living in Palestine, Amer lived through an experience that most adults would find terrifying.
Last May, in the town of Ya’bad, north of the West Bank, Amer and his friend were in some nearby fields when they saw a number of Israeli soldiers storming the area. “We couldn’t run away, they were coming from every direction. We climbed up a tree and closed our eyes hoping they wouldn’t see us. I could hear them walking below me, and suddenly I felt someone grabbing my leg” said Amer.
The two boys were pulled violently from the tree, verbally abused and dragged to an area where military vehicles where gathered. They were strip-searched, handcuffed, blindfolded, put inside a military vehicle and taken to a holding area in a nearby settlement. After a physical exam and after going through some paperwork, the boys were forced to sit outside on the gravel. It was around midnight and the they were tired and cold, only having light clothing to wear. The soldiers harassed them every time they tried to lie down to get some rest.
Amer’s parents had no idea where he was and were frantically looking for him. It wasn’t until after 2am that he was allowed to call his family to tell them that he was being detained. During the night, Amer and his friend were interrogated separately without the presence of a lawyer and were taken to several holding areas before they finally arrived at the jail on the following afternoon.
“They shoved us in the back of a van that was divided into small compartments which we barely fit in,” says Amer. “It was scary and very uncomfortable. Our hands and feet were in shackles and we were blindfolded the entire time.” When the boys got out of the van they were tied together “so it was difficult to walk and we would frequently fall on the ground. The guards would scream at us and push us back up.”
When they arrived at the Megiddo jail, they were processed and put into separate cells with adult detainees. Amer describes the experience: “The cell was a small narrow room with five metal bunkbeds lined up against the wall. There were 10 people in each cell and we shared a small bathroom. At 9pm they turned off the lights and we had to go to bed.”
The first court date was five days later, even though international standards recommend that children should stand in front of a judge within 24 hours of arrest. Court days were exceptionally difficult for Amer; detainees have to wear special uniforms and they spend the entire day in shackles. “I had to wait in a tiny room full of detainees until they called me to appear before the judge.” Amer says that the most difficult part of the day was seeing his parents in the court room and being unable to talk with them. During his detention, Amer had three court days.
The detention of children has numerous detrimental effects, most importantly the effects on psychosocial well-being. Many children develop anxiety and anger issues, and become less sociable. Many also lose interest in going back to school. Amer spent four months in detention and he was lucky to return to school and continue with his classmates. Many other children end up losing a school year and in some cases dropping out.
Despite the sense of community, warm welcome and support Amer received from his cellmates during his detention, he is still struggling to shake off many difficult memories, especially the 5am count. “The guards would violently wake us up at five in the morning every day to take count, they would shout at us and beat on the doors… it was very startling.” He remembers that they “had to get up quickly, get dressed and be fully alert to respond back when they shouted our names… I hated it and I’m still affected by it.”
World Vision Jerusalem – West Bank – Gaza works with local and international partners to bring awareness to the issue of child detention and also helps Registered Children who go through such experiences by coordinating with specialised organisations that provide psychosocial support for child detainees. Amer is involved in a psychosocial rehabilitation programme with a local organisation to help him overcome the effects of the detention and have a positive outlook for the future.
Through the advocacy efforts of World Vision and other international organisations, there have been some amendments to the Israeli military legislation, such as reducing the amount of time for which a Palestinian child can be held without seeing a judge, and raising the age of majority in the military-justice system to 18. However, Palestinian children are still being sentenced based on provisions applicable to adults, and numerous violations continue to be committed by the Israeli Authorities during the detention of children.
Amer’s experience is heartbreaking and it is shared by many children in the occupied Palestinian territory. Every year, between 500 to 700 Palestinian children are arrested, detained and prosecuted in the Israeli military court system. The majority of the child detainees face accusations of stone throwing. Three out of four experience physical violence during arrest, transfer or interrogation.
Amer’s father has been previously arrested by the Israeli military and he knows the process all too well, so he was distraught when he learned of his son’s arrest. “What hurt me the most was that I could not protect my son,” he said, “I could see him in front of me in shackles and I was unable to talk to him and comfort him.”