Today April 15, 2002, the curfew imposed on Ramallah was lifted for the 4th time for four hours, allowing us to to enter the Sakakini Centre premises and assess the damage wrought by the Israeli army during their Saturday April 13th break in.
The scene was that of desolation and destruction, to a beautiful old building epitomizing the esthetics of Palestinian architecture. All of the windows of the middle floor of the Center, & all the glass of the veranda were shattered by two blasts caused by the blowing up of two side metal doors. All of the floors of the veranda/conference room and the foyer were covered with glass shards.
The four offices were all broken into and vandalized -including the one used by poet Mahmoud Darwish- : Drawers from antique built in closets as well as from desks were emptied on the floor, bookcases broken, and books thrown on the floor, a wooden door was broken. The full extent of the damage can only be known and quantified once we return to work, but we were able to assess the preliminary:
Irreparable damage to some art work, and to an antique original ornate iron door, the telephone switchboard is destroyed, electricity cut off, the alarm system damaged, a radiator broken by the blast and its water covers the foyer's floor, the heavy metal safe was forcibly opened, shards from the blast caused deep marks and impact on all of the the area's walls and ceilings. As for theft, the main computer's hard drive was stolen, as were a few thousand NIShekels in cash from the destroyed safe, and a mobile phone. The damage was videotaped and photographed.
The Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre is a non governemental organization established in 1996, organising varied art activities and events, as well as special projects on Palestinian narrative. The Centre hosted a week before the start of the current invasion a visit by a delegation of international writers, among them 2 Nobel literature prize laureates, Wole Soyinka and Jose Saramago.
Arts and culture organizations have not been immune from the vandalism and methodical destruction of Palestinian institutions in the last 2 weeks. In addition to the Sakakini, there was the break-in and vandalism of the Qassaba Theater & Cinematheque in Ramallah, the destruction of the contents of the French and Greek Cultural Centers in Ramallah; and the ongoing occupation of the Bethlehem Peace Center, and of the Ministry of Culture's Ramallah headquarters.
Since the start of this invasion, Sakakini staff have continued working under siege, with the gathering and posting of testimonies about daily life under siege, letters and drawings by children, appeals to the media, and an open letter to George Bush. All these documents may be found at: Http://www.intertech-pal.com. The other website featuring these documents has been hacked: http://www.alnakba.org/siege
The method of the Sakakini break-in fits the pattern of other Israeli army break-ins into homes and institutions in the past two weeks, summarised in two words: terror and criminality. This pattern demonstrates a clear intent to vandalize concrete Palestinian institutional achievements, accompanied by quasi-systematic petty thievery.
We are not surprised that this Israeli army that has no respect for human lives as epitomized by the barbaric Jenine Camp massacre, or for holy places as symbolized by the continuing medieval siege to the Nativity Church in Bethlehem, also shows no respect to the dignity of human cultural heritage.
A. Laidi, KSCC Director.
Further information may be obtained by replying to this email, or by contacting Mr. Mazen Qupty, head of the Sakakini board of directors (972 2 627 66 67), in particular, about forthcoming legal action.