Fairouz
Afaf was born in 1948 in the Daraj area of Gaza City. While a student in
secondary school in the 1970s, she was arrested three times and spent a total
of 18 months in the Israeli-administered Saraya prison in Gaza City. Sitting in
an office at the Red Crescent library, where she has been working for the past
30 years, Fairouz told PCHR researchers about her experience as a female
political prisoner forty years ago, how improvements in prison conditions were
brought about by the prisoners themselves, and how she evaluates the situation
of Palestinian prisoners today.

“The
first time I was arrested was on 24 December 1970. I was in high school and
active with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). It was at
night, the Israeli soldiers arrested me like they arrested the men. They surrounded
the house with soldiers and there were even some tanks a little further away.
Then they came in suddenly and told me I was under arrest. Then they
blindfolded me and took me to the Gaza City prison in As-Saraya. On the way,
they shackled me, they insulted me, and beat me. One soldier kicked me in the
neck. At the prison, they put foul-smelling bags over our heads. They were the
same kind you can see in the pictures from Abu Ghraib today. In the cold
weather, they sprayed us with very cold water, and then very hot water, then
cold again… this was one of the ways they tortured us. They forced us into the
‘Shabeh’ position. Sometimes they made us hold heavy objects; soldiers would
stand next to us to make sure we stayed in the same position for up to three
days. They would also tear out the hair of the female prisoners with their
hands – and then hand it to the prisoners.”

A
prolonged period of interrogation followed: “each day a new investigator
came, and each one treated me worse than the one before.” Female prisoners
were threatened: “They said ‘If you do not confess, we will tear off you
clothes!’ Or, ‘We will take and torture your relatives.’ They also had a
particular kind of humiliation for women, the full strip search.” Fairouz
was put on trial and convicted to one year in prison for membership in the
PFLP. “There was no significant difference in the treatment I received
before the trial and afterwards,” she says. “There was a slight
improvement, but the torture continued.” The Red Cross was only allowed to
visit her after the sentence. “We were not allowed to make telephone calls
and only later on did the Red Cross facilitate an exchange of letters. We had
to write our message on a very small piece of paper with a limited number of
lines. Then our relatives would write back to us on the back of the small piece
of paper. But we were not allowed to keep the letters: if the guards found the
paper, they would tear it up in front of our eyes. This was our only means of
communication. It was very hard because we were in Gaza, so close to our normal
lives, our families, but so isolated from everything. We were not allowed to read
books, magazines, or newspapers in the 70s. At 4 pm, we were permitted to
listen to the radio for a bit – a few Fayrouz songs, the news, and that was
that.”

At
the Gaza prison, women were incarcerated separately from the men. “We were
about 60 women who had been arrested for political activities. Twenty of us
were from Fatah and the rest were from the Popular Front. Not all of them were
members. Some were just supporters. At that time, there was no political
fragmentation. The cells in prison were very small. A single cell was about 1
meter by 0.5 meter, a room for up to 30 female prisoners was 5 by 4 meters
wide. There was very bad ventilation, no windows and no sunlight. All the walls
were black and the blankets smelled badly. There was only a very thin mattress
with no sheets or covers. Sometimes they turned on extremely bright lights,
they made me dizzy. The food we were served was very bad. This was before
prisoners were allowed to prepare their own food. Sometimes we did not know
what it was. We were given the leftovers after the soldiers had finished
eating.”

Remembering
the conditions in prison during her time, Fairouz reflects on the fact that
much has changed in the last 40 years, and she attributes this mainly to the
achievements of a prisoners’ movement. “We had to fight for the smallest
rights at that time. For instance, we went on a 15-day hunger strike just to
get a toothbrush. We fought for shampoo, for warm showers. When we got these
things, they were highly rationed. There were developments in this respect in
the 1970s: The first time I was in prison, we were not allowed underwear, when
I was imprisoned for the second time, it was allowed. Thanks to the strikes,
books and clothes are now allowed to be brought in. But it is still not guaranteed
that prisoners can keep them. But even now, when prisoners can have books and
watch TV, they still suffer immensely – both physically and mentally. Many
people continue to suffer from problems after they are released. When I myself
was released, I had bad stomach pains for a long time, and I developed breast
cancer. These were results of the conditions in prison, especially the medical
negligence. Even if some of the conditions are better now, the Israeli
occupation still has the same methods of torture.”

She
was arrested again in 1974 and 1976 and in both situations she was kept in
solitary confinement for three months without a charge or trial. “The
later arrests were like the first one. They came in the middle of the night
from my home.” It was not until after her final release from prison that
Fairouz was able to continue her university studies. She had hoped to attend
university in Beirut but did not receive permission from Israel to travel to
Lebanon. She explained, “This was often the case at the time – if someone
had been in prison, they made it difficult for him to get a job or to get an
education.” She attended Islamic University instead.

In
the days when Fairouz was imprisoned, it was not acceptable for women to take
part in the struggle. “People did not understand. They thought we should
stay at home and have children. At the time, there was very little media
coverage about the issue of prisoners in general, and female prisoners
specifically. This is different today. After prisoners’ associations were
formed, books were written and more attention was given to the topic. There are
many organizations that honor the female prisoners, they organize celebrations
when they are released and give them presents. I have received many awards and
honors from various organizations.” Fairouz herself is part of an
association for female ex-prisoners. “We meet regularly and discuss
different topics. We all keep a diary. I wrote this notebook filled with my
memories of my time in prison. Whenever I remember something, I write it down.
It is important to document all the suffering for the future generations, to
preserve the legacy of the Palestinian revolution.” They hope to publish
their writings one day.

Photo Caption: Fairouz
Afaf at her workplace, the Red Crescent library in Gaza City.