Arabs and Israelis; 104; Stories of Ali Darwish and Hana Meron

Yeah. Tonight in the fourth program of this series we bring the stories of Allie Darwish and Hannah Marone. They're the result of encounters between our teams under Mohammed so Maui and Peter Cook in Egypt are in Israel. With two people caught up in the seemingly endless conflict in the Middle East. To us Allie Darwish and one of our own looked like typical victims of events they did not comprehend much less help to shape. Both were essentially non political. Both only wanted to lead normal lives and followed normal careers. And both of them were rudely reminded that these elementary wishes were not to be so readily fulfilled. While the conflict lasted. The losses suffered by Allied Darwish and one of my own. May be minor by comparison with those endured by many of their compatriots.

But the bewilderment they express is probably shared by many of the war victims of both sides who suffered loss without knowing why. Here now first is the story of Allie Darwish. For six years which included what was called a war of attrition the Suez Canal was the dividing line between the armies of Egypt and Israel. But after the October 1973 war and the signing of the disengagement agreement the following January Israeli forces pulled back. And once again both banks of the can now and all the cities along it were in Egypt and hence. The job of reopening the canal now and reconstructing the canal cities has now begun. And for the first time in six years the civilian inhabitants of those cities who left their homes during the fighting have been permitted by their government to return to port sayit. Ismailia and Suez.

One who went home was released. I. Was born in Suez in 1944 he was educated in Suez elementary and high schools and then attended Cairo University where he majored in English. In 1968 the Army where he remained for six years serving principally as a translator of Russian and English a chance encounter with our Egyptian producer Mohammad Selma whom we had known in school to only return to Suez which he had not visited since his departure six years before. Most of the damage sustained by the city of Suez occurred during the war of attrition between Egypt and Israel after the civilian population had been evacuated and only the army remained.

That for the. 450 you. I was invited already with a good. Number of the remaining of what the garden is just one pretty. Just that. OK. Good. Because. You just like me. I was. And.

This is my house. He would. And nothing. He. Imagined. That was my house. That. Oh this. The wood the Stones and The air was this my house. Here you know we're going to there has been a small alley here. In which I used to play. It

doesn't exist and it's covered with. You know. Wood or systems. Nothing. Probably. There was my. My living room. In my bedroom here. And here. Here. The bathrooms. But then fortunately nothing nothing that's. Just memories. Memories of a dead. Body.

On this guy. Just one day. One night. Everything became into heaps. Of essentially. Has been killed. And became silent. Just silent. Wood does not speak. I hope they would speak. And they did. And they tell you the story. Of my childhood my happy childhood. What I played what I for what I love. And then finally. When I was kicked out of it. Not kick. Much forced to leave. Because I don't want others to. My father and my sister.

I was drinking tea with my family in about four or five. And he is in that same place here. I. See it in the eyes of my sister. She didn't know how to express what she was afraid. And I have I heard shelling the shelling began to happen. In the two houses from. The shell exploded. We left. And we left our house around in fear shaking. And while we were coming down I met I would neighbors. He was carrying two children. And his wife was fumbling with the other two.

I had to grasp one. But I was afraid. I'd grow old when down in fear. In this house we hid. And explosions. After the explosions. Too. And. I try to smile. When he's. Secure. When he when there is nothing to fear. But when there is fear. Your child doesn't grow healthy. There will be the sound of guns in it if you will not hear it. He will feel it in your eyes as his father. He will never be. Happy. You go to school and in school than him. Just be careful. Re do it just happen. Raid might happen.

He would be afraid to go to the beach. He won't play ball. I mean with his friends. My son and all the thousands like most stuff and my son. Threaten to be away from home. It's only been then that identity because. They are from so if. They're not from So. They've been born in other places. Most of them have not seen the sea. Sad to see. That the beautiful sea of sewage. But I have to take. What my father used to take me when I was young and taught me how to swim and he said. Forty days ago before his death just one day he said I hope that he turned to sue

and I'll teach you most stuff by your son. How to swim. As I taught you. Like he never realized that very simple to teach my Mostafa. How to swim again. Like. Nike told me. They have destroyed his sim couldn't return to school with. His hometown in my hometown and the hometown of my child. Do you think it manly to cry. But it is. I have my. Motives. Your life is destroyed. Life. And even future. Is. Secure.

What do you expect. To be if you g isn't known for the feeling. You feel when you Long know where you belong to no one. Whatever money or whatever. Pleasures you enjoy. This is the place you belong to and it goes on from generation to generation the father talks to the son about how beautiful it was. How. What he enjoyed there how he lived how he got grandfather taught him what to do. It's a tradition. The father gets what his father told. And then it goes on from from one person to another. The love of the land. That might explain. How the Palestinians.

Want to go back to living in that. Land in which grandfather lived. It could be miserable for them to live there but it's not happening. It would sound contradictory. I mean just like for me Cairo is. The capital. I have thousands of chances over there. So race is my dream. Just for the Palestinians he would just love to go to I mean to go to Damascus for a visit but not to leave. All the pleasures out in the sky but to go back to village. And live there and and I think peace and he. Is a go. You could just work there with 15 a day. That's great.

And I don't know if you see this is disastrous. War is disastrous. For me. For Egypt and for today. Peace. Religion's of the world have said Peace peace but. We fight one another and so do it with the sun. Just have the same stand and. Just talk the same words I do. Like to go. Live with his wife and try to treat. He would not like he wouldn't like to have another war. He wouldn't like to see so many long years. And the Hawks. Killing. He'd like to work.

And serve society. And others instead of killing So peace. I'll go my go and it should be there. And so everything I mean there will be peace and I can return here again and and. I hope so. Allie Darwish and his thousands of Egyptians and Syrian and Israeli counterparts were hit by the conventional war in the Middle East. A war fought by regular soldiers with tanks artillery and aircraft. A war in which the enemy is impersonal and often unseen. With the story of Allie Darwish we have concluded our presentation of perceptions of the conflict that has pitted Israel against Egypt and Syria with a story of Hunnam our own which you're about to see.

We will begin to explore that other more difficult conflict but one that has pitted Palestinians against Israelis. How Marone was the victim of unconventional war a war the world has variously seen as terror and counter terror. Liberation and defense. A war whose victims on both sides have often been civilians and whose arena has extended to all parts of the world. Hanumant own saw her assailant and heard him address it. But that hardly made her fate more comprehensible. And now the story of Hannah Moran. Hannah Marone was born in Germany as a child. She acted in films and on stage with leading German actors of the time until for obvious reasons as she says her family left Germany for what was then called Palestine. Today Israel she resumed her acting career during the Second World War when she entertained a Jewish volunteers

serving with the British Army. She has been an actress ever since. She says she is not politically active and that until a certain chance encounter she had not thought much about the Palestinian question. I do not want to take it. That's probably one awkward one I was seeing a play I mentioning the fact because the choice of the play had meaning for me. I wanted to do him and not only because it's a wonderful pop but because I was very much involved emotionally with the subject of violence. And I thought that media. Was the put that. I mean you can get more violent than to kill your own children. That's what I

thought it time. And I wanted to do this because of those feelings and I thought that I could put Trey from this and spake of anti-violence of course. So we worked on midday and we were rehearsing the day and I was involved with this subject. And it was very strange because. At a certain point we thought the director and myself that. If we could. Maybe portray midday as a Negro. Is the kind of person. We could give it these sort of extra. Meaning of one culture against fighting against another culture which in a way is the essence of Medea one day I got the call from London. If I could come over to make a film this Fiddler on the roof

they wanted me to do the wife. So there I was on this plane. Going to England via Munich the transit in Munich. And it so happened that it was a very enjoyable trip. It was really. Very nice. The captain the pilot turned out to be a very old friend of mine whom I have known many of them for many years and the bed always is very nice if you know the captain you know gives you a good feeling. And when we came to Munich. I can still hear the voice saying Aap an ample and the captain said. We'll have coffee together and it was a night and we set in

these. Loans and we. Enjoyed this cup of coffee and then they said well now because they announced. And being a friend of the captain I was allowed to stay on linger a little on. Part of the group was already outside in the bus. And. And there I was and we were talking and as we went down. I heard steps. Running steps. Very loud. And then all of a sudden this steps stop. And I heard I noticed that somebody was standing. And I turned around and there was this young man standing just about what you know very close

very good looking young man. I noticed his eyes especially never forget his eyes. And this young man was looking at me and he was saying something that he's thinking. I. Didn't connect it all at the first you know how you think very quickly in these I thought maybe this was some kind of a game or a joke because I knew what it was is the 10th of September and February is like a poor team in Germany of a hot dog of crushing stock something like that where they get all dressed up. So I thought maybe this was something anyway because he was holding something in his hand something. Like a big egg. He

looked at me. I guess he was looking also at the pilot because we were all standing in line but he looked straight at me and suddenly I heard him saying this is in the tank. We're going to kill you. Well that was a very strange thing to. You. And then things happened very fast immediately. And you threw this which turned out to be. Good and made. And then that wish with it was shooting. I was lucky is I came out of it. I lost my leg but I was alive.

And I even managed to go back to the at that. And. At first of course I didn't think I would. But then I slowly started to. Dream about it again and when I finally came to the point that I thought. I could stand it and do it again. After a lot of work and a lot of trouble I I thought I must finish Madame now more than ever. And this time. And that's what I did. I didn't play as a colored person anymore. I tried to put something of the Palestinian problem in there

because all this hate that. Because. I found that I couldn't hate even up to what it and I don't. And I wanted to understand because this was my encounter with this. Before. This happened. I was not concerned at all with the. Palestinian question is it is. No I mean I've. Always lived with Arabs in this country. It's a natural thing. I had never.

Encountered that. I must say that I am not the political person at all. Now I I suppose that. If the Palestinians at this particular moment in history. Feel that they need help. Determination if the Palestinians the real Palestinian One is they and we should find a way to talk and I'm sure it can be achieved I don't even think it's as difficult as people try to make it out. And I'm sure that everybody is here you would welcome it. And we would find a way. Lenin. Would find a way but the base is to get and talk about it. And find a way and I'm sure that. I it could be that it could be a marvelous place for this horrible

Middle East. It could be a marvelous place we could give so much to these two cultures which. Which could grow together and could really create things create instead of destroy. There is so much talent and so much. Wonderful I'm sure and on both sides in both these these two Semitic people can become something marvelous. It must be possible there is no sense any in any other way.