Here, the sewage comes from everywhere, but mainly from the Ariel colony nearby and from the industrial areas next to the town. Sometimes colonizers come with big tanks filled with sewage and waste water and just pour it out next to my home. Sometimes, they come five or six times a day with big tanks. When it rains, the sewage waters flood out onto the street and enter our home. Whenever it rains, we just know that we won’t be able to leave the house. This sewage water spreads so many diseases. The land around us is really contaminated. No matter how much we try to clean it up, there’s no point because of the amount of sewage we have surrounding us. I’ve never thought about doing any kind of farming around the home; because of how contaminated the land, water and environment is around us. When it floods, we get really scared that one of the kids will fall into the sewage water and die. The other day, one of the kids who is only four years old, fell into the sewage water and I had to go into the water and lift him out. Her husband: I have so many health problems. At first, we thought it was hepatitis but then I was referred to a cancer specialist. We still don’t know exactly what’s wrong with me but the doctor thinks I have a cancer. All of this sewage is coming from Ariel; they are pouring their sewage onto our land on purpose. But how can we complain? Complain to who, to Ariel? And go where exactly? There’s nowhere else I can go; I came here to settle down with my family and now this sewage is killing us. What could be worse than this? I have cancer and my daughter has breathing problems, you should see her, she can’t take one proper breath. I don’t know what to do with my daughter; she can’t leave her room because if she does, she has difficulty breathing. Even at night we can’t sleep because of the bad smell. I honestly don’t know what to do to help myself and my children. I don’t want to keep moving from place to place. I want to settle in one place with my family. I just wish we had no sewage next to us; I wish people would sympathize with us, help us and help my children. These colonizers want us out of our land and out of our house but we don’t have any other options, we have nowhere to go. This is why we’re still here in this home, only because we have to stay. Really, to be honest with you, it’s a dream to build another home away from here, leave this one and never come back.” Y. al-Sharief, Burqeen, Salfit. Interview: 10 February 2017 57

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