16 January 2009 – The Shurrab Family | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights

January 16, 2012

16 January 2009 – The Shurrab Family

“Can I go to a court to restore my sons? No”
says Mohammed. “What is the point in bringing the soldiers who killed my sons
to justice when there will simply be more and more after them? When others will
lose their sons as well? Soldiers commit these crimes because they know they
have immunity.”

Mohammed
Shurrab

On 16 January 2009, Israeli forces positioned in the al Fukhari
area, south east of Khan Younis, opened fire on the vehicle of Mohammed Shurrab
and his two sons Kassab, 28, and Ibrahim, 18, as they were travelling back to
their home during the Israeli-declared ceasefire period. Mohammed was injured
and crashed the car, his two sons were subsequently ordered out of the car by
Israeli forces following which they were shot. Israeli soldiers refused to
allow medical access to the area, and Kassab and Ibrahim bled to death on the
scene over a number of hours. There were no military operations in the area at
the time.

For
Mohammed Shurrab (67), life since the death of his sons has been a contact
battle to fight back the memories of the day. “I try to keep busy in every
moment. I read 4-5 hours every day. These books you see on my wall have all
been read 2-3 times each. The rest of my time I work on my farm, tend to my crops
and care for my live stock”, says Mohammed, pointing to the two new born sheep
that arrived only two hours beforehand. Despite his best efforts to distract
himself, however, Mohammed seems resigned to a life of remembering. “Until I
get buried bellow the soil I will continue to suffer, agonising over my sons.”

Mohammed
is adamant that he hopes that time will come sooner rather than later,
“everyday I hope to join my sons. The only question is how I do so. I am a
religious man and believe in God, taking my own life would be against my
beliefs, but I believe it’s better for me to join my sons. I am waiting to
die.”

His
farm, which is on the edge of the Israeli imposed buffer zone along the Gaza –
Israeli border, is a hideout from the sights, sounds and issues that bring
memories of his sons back to him. “I left my wife and my daughters to come here
and live in peace. My wife is very sick. If she is reminded of the incident she
will start to scream like she is not human, she cannot breath, she sometimes
losses consciousness. I cannot bear to be around her when she is like that.”

Despite
his best efforts to escape, however, Mohammed is reminded by the smallest
detail. “This time of year is the hardest. Everything reminds me of that day.
The crisp air, the crops that grow, the dark; everything about this time of
year takes me back to the incident.” Much like the parents of many others who
lost their lives during the Israeli onslaught, Mohammed finds it especially
painful to be around those who are around the same age as his sons. “I was at
the wedding of my young cousin recently. He is the same age as Ibrahim would
have been if he was still alive. I couldn’t stop thinking of all the things
that he could have done with his life if it wasn’t taken from him; education,
marriage, children, now he can do none of this.”

Muhammad
has suffered both mentally and physically due to the stress suffered as a
result of seeing his sons die before his eyes. Shuffling slowly and carefully
around his farm house home, his physical symptoms are obvious. “I have severe
damage to my neural system made worse by stress,” says Mohammed, “my balance is
now destroyed.” Lifting his top to show the long scar running down his back,
where he had surgery to repair his neural problems, Muhammad says his ability
to fight infection and illness has deteriorated since the attack. The stress he
feels as a result of his experience has left him unable to sleep and he is
forced to take sleeping pills to steal a brief 4 to 5 hours of sleep every
night before waking very early in the morning.

Soon,
Mohammed’s remaining sons and daughters will be fully educated and independent.
Mohammed says when that time comes his work is done and there is nothing left
keeping him from the afterlife. “The moment my children say we need for
nothing, that’s it, I have done everything I am responsible for, I can go,”
says Mohammed. “The good times have gone, they will not be back. I hope for
nothing”. When asked what his greatest fear for the future is, Mohammed
replies; “my fear is a future.”

Regarding
the pursuit of justice within Israeli courts Mohammed is scornful. “Absolutely
not; the soldier who killed my sons did not act in a vacuum. He had permission
from his superiors. What is more their crimes are ongoing. Stories like mine
are not isolated incidences.” Any redress in Israeli courts, for Mohammed, were
it forthcoming, would be irrelevant in any case. “Can I go to a court to
restore my sons? No” says Mohammed. “What is the point in bringing the soldiers
who killed my sons to justice when there will simply be more and more after
them? When others will lose their sons as well? Soldiers commit these crimes
because they know they have immunity.”

PCHR submitted a criminal complaint to the Israeli
authorities on behalf of the Shurrab family on 19 August 2009. To-date, no
response has been received.

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The Narratives:

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