A day at the Golan Heights

On Wednesday, we had the tremendous opportunity to visit the Golan Heights.

 

On the ride to the Heights, Osama gave us a play by play of the sights around us. Enormous mountains, covered in snow, rose in the distance. These are the Jabal al Shaikh Mountains, Osama said, which translates to old man, as the snow resembles a beard. Mount Hermon, the tallest point in Syria, is a part of this range.

 

We also saw fields of olive trees. Syria has 87,000,000 olive trees, said Osama, making it the fifth largest producer in the world after Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

 

Upon arrival in Qunaitra, the city given back to Syria after Israel’s partial withdrawal in 1974, we were ushered into an ornate sitting room for a meeting with the mayor. He told us a heart felt story of how his people had suffered from what he referred to as needless violence at the hands of the Israelis.

 

“The destruction was deliberate and intentional, and it was complete destruction… they destroyed everything, man, stone and tree.”

 

 

As for Syria’s support of Hamas, the mayor felt that the group’s actions are justified.

 

“These people are defending their own rights in their own land.”

 

 

He went on to say that there are 30,000 Syrians under occupation, and that these people have been denied healthcare and business opportunities. Syrians in the occupied land are, however, allowed to enter Syria to attend university.

 

 

He told the story of a couple, from the occupied territory, who met at Damascus University. While there, they got married and had a son. When they returned to the occupied territory, the child was put under house arrest for being born in Syria.

 

Landmines left behind when the Israelis pulled out of the region continue to harm the few that still reside there. Two months ago, the mayor related, landmines killed two young men while they herded cattle. There are 400 surviving victims of landmines in the community, he said.

 

The mayor then made a plea to our journalistic sides.

 

“We wish as journalists, that you will convey the truth that you see. We wish for you to convey this to your society”

 

 

After our meeting we were brought to a hospital destroyed during the occupation. The concrete building was riddled with bullet holes, and the walls were in crumbles. Our guide from the Mayor’s office explained that the hospital was used as a training area during Israel’s occupation.

 

The city has been left in essentially the same condition as when the Israeli’s withdrew. The officials said this was to serve as a reminder of the suffering endured there.

 

 

After the hospital, we visited the last standing church in the town. No glass remained in any of the windows, but the church was largely intact. All around it lay piles of concrete that appeared to have once been houses.

 

 

Next we were permitted to visit the United Nations protected border crossing that serves at the only link between Syria and the Israeli occupied territory. In the distance we could see Israel’s flag and a sign the read “Welcome to Israel.”

 

Along the road to the gate lay a line of barbed wire designating the demilitarized zone between the territories. According to our guide, the land is filled with landmines, a sharp contrast to the visibly serene field of billowing grasses.

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