Social Worker Fatma bringing counsel to the South Hebron Hills
By Neveen Nasser and Jen Doyle
Fatma conducts Social Work in a region called the South Hebron Hills, a large cluster of villages, each about 2-3 kilometers apart in a rocky desert area, much of which is within Israeli Army Firing Zones. This area is seeing massive expansion of illegal Israeli settlements which are extremely violent.
Fatma usually holds around 5 individual sessions in a given day, and 2 group sessions (usually with 8-15 people per group).
Some of the villages Fatma works in include: Susya, Om El Kheir, Tuba, At-Tuwani, Sha’ab Al Botom, Al Habaleen, Almfaga’a, Almajaz, Junba, Zwedeen, and Zanota.
Fatma grew up here and has worked in this region for many years now. It took a while for her to gain the trust of the people in these villages and now her input and counsel are highly valued.
Last Tuesday in the dead of night - ironically, between Memorial Day and Independence Day - Israel's High Court of Justice posted their decision in a West Bank case that has been underway for 23 years, since 1999. The court permitted the expulsion from their homes of about 1,000 Palestinian residents of Masafer Yatta, in the southeast West Bank in Military Firing Zone 918, for Israel Army training.
This has and will continue to have a tremendous impact on the people who live there, especially the children.
With the children Fatma works on helping them with psychological issues, often through fun activities like painting/coloring. She also helps refer children to organizations such as Doctors without Borders when they need more help.
With adults, Fatma focuses on interpersonal issues such as harassment, domestic violence, and dealing with the violence of the occupation from settlers and Israeli Army
Fatma also often works with the elderly to help deal with feelings of loss and loneliness
In addition, as the chair of the Rural Women’s Association of the South Hebron Hills, Fatma meets with visiting delegations to describe the challenges that women are facing. Her visits to Congress in Washington DC were formative in the way she defines her presentations.