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A PERSON WHO loses his homeland is like a child who loses his mother. Syria is our mother.
THE GOLAN HEIGHTS were seized by Israel from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War. Most of the Arab inhabitants fled during the conflict.
Before the occupation there were 136 villages in the area, most of which have been destroyed. In 1982 – in violation of a UN resolution – Israel annexed the Golan Heights, forcing Israeli citizenship on the Arab residents. People refused to accept this and, as a result, their nationality is classed as ‘undefined’.
About 22,000 Arabs remain, as well as 20,000 Jewish settlers.
Since 2005, the Red Cross has facilitated the transport of apples from the Druze farmers of the Golan Heights into Syria. It is the only trade between Israel and Syria.
In Apples of the Golan, two Irish filmmakers – Keith Walsh and Jill Beardsworth – have documented the life of residents of Majdal Shams, one of the five remaining villages, over a five-year period.
Filming began in 2007 and ended in 2012, the year after civil war broke out in Syria.
Walsh said returning to Majdal Shams after the Syrian uprising was an interesting experience as he witnessed first-hand how some families had become divided over the war.
Family dinners would have two sittings: one for members of the family who are pro-regime and one for members who are anti-regime.
Walsh said it would be difficult to put a figure on how many people in the village remain loyal, publicly at least, to Bashar al-Assad – but that it appears to be in the region of 85-90%.
“Israeli occupation wasn’t able to divide the community like the Syrian conflict has,” Walsh noted.
Even when people didn’t agree with Assad, they were still united. They didn’t want to appear divided by the Israeli occupation as this would make them weak.
Many of the villagers rely on the apple trade to survive.
Crossing the Syrian border
The Quneitra crossing is the only way into Syria from the Golan Heights. Before the outbreak of the war four things could cross the border: apples, brides, students and pilgrims. Once a bride went to Syria she could not return to the Heights, and vice versa.
Druze students received grants to study in Syria. They were not allowed to return home during term, but could do so in the summer.
In August of last year, the Syrian side of the border crossing between Israel and Syria was captured by rebel forces including several Islamist groups. Whilst it is in their control, the movement of apples and people has ceased, further isolating the Golan Heights.
Due to their beliefs, the Druze are regarded as infidels and heretics by these Islamic groups. They fear persecution if Assad completely loses power.
“The Druze are a very pragmatic bunch, they’ve been on the fringes of Muslim society for a long time and have been persecuted for it,” Walsh said.
If people in the Heights came out against Assad before the war, their families would have been persecuted in Syria.
More than 76,000 Syrians were killed in the war in 2014 – making it the bloodiest year since the conflict began in 2011.
Beardsworth said she and Walsh are “delighted that our film is being released at a time when the Golan Heights region is at the centre of political discourse, both nationally and internationally”.
Apples of the Golan has been screened in several countries, taking home the jury prize for best documentary at the Baghdad International Film Festival in 2013.
It is currently running at the IFI in Dublin and will be screened in a number of cinemas nationally. The film will be released on iTunes on Monday. More information is available here.
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And how much is that going to cost the tax payer for yet another Government blunder?
@niall:
Our political system has long been drowning in a sea of tribunals, inquiries, commissions, investigations, hearings and probes, all of which stem from gross incompetence and/or corruption. They never amount to anything because new ones keep arriving to swamp the older ones. We tolerate it whilst foolishly trying to eliminate the root cause of it – chronyism – by electing more chronies. We’re just like 5 million hamsters on a big wheel.
The two party FF/FG cartel has to be disempowered if anything’s to change.
Reports, reviews, enquiries are what politicians do to kick the can down the road when they get into trouble, hoping people will have forgotten about the issue when they eventually come out. Lots of political reports, reviews, enquiries in ireland.
Jaysus, Lieo could have to bring Denis and Frances back. Prove them innocent, and big returns.. Who are they kidding..
Its rotten in corruption with a tribunal written all over.FG and DOB have the country destroyed.
All these broadband stories appearing online. Anyone want to send a smoke signal with the update to the rural areas?
What a farce. I wonder have enough politician’s palms been greased to get this over the line. Ireland, sure it’s it a great little island all together.
The “Independent” auditor is the one that is currently employed as the process auditor on the broadband tender for the department/government ?
Procurement and Irish government never works ..brown envelopes are to hard to turn down
If it looks like corruption and smalls like corruption, it is corruption. Shame on you minister.
Another report, yeah I wonder how that will go,Fine Gael and their cronies looking out for their fellow trough dwellers!
Might be a blessing in disguise, fixed broadband is fast becoming obsolete. Even worse if it was monopolised by one player. If the government subsidised 4g transmitters in rural areas i’m sure all the service providers would offer the service much cheaper. Then invest in 5g eventually.
Can someone tell me what he did wrong?
He had dinner with a broadband contractor/supplier which he paid €37 for and he had to leave his job because of it? Is that the jest of it?
Denis Naughton should never have resigned or been made to resign. Instead, the Government should have just gotten on with the task at hand, issued the contract and ensured that the much-needed rural broadband network was built immediately.
Will the report tell us what they had for dinner? Was it a set or tasting menu ? Was there wine pairings to match each course or perhaps a prosecco or a scotch to kick off the evening ? Did they retire to the smoking room for an Xo afterwards ? Oh I can’t wait to see
Can someone tell me what he did wrong?
He had dinner with a broadband contractor/supplier which he paid €37 for and he had to leave his job because of it? Is that the jist of it?
have your say