peter
1/5
“I grew up in Dheisheh Refugee Camp. It’s about 5 minutes from the center of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Hearing bombs go off, finding out that my relatives and neighbours had died, and having soldiers shout at me and my friends while pointing M16’s at us was just part of everyday life. My father left Palestine in 2002. It was a period when the Israeli and Palestinian conflict was incredibly tense. A few months after he left I remember a normal school day when a kid opened our classroom door and shouted that Israeli jeeps were outside. They were looking for someone. Suddenly tear gas and sound bombs were thrown into the school. The whole class jumped up and ran out. Teachers, kids, everyone started throwing stones at the jeeps to hold the Israelis back. I remember when the soldiers entered the school and started searching. One guy hid in one of the classrooms. When they found him his screams filled the empty school. We all heard him. I saw many things in Dheisheh, but that was when I felt the most terrified. Imagine seeing your friends getting tear-gassed and shot with rubber-covered bullets. That was life in the refugee camps. There were attacks and searches almost every night. Soldiers were always looking for somebody… I feel incredibly lucky to have gotten away!”