Behind the Wall - Ibrahim's Pavement Café (3/4) By Rich Wiles, of Hull and Hebron

(1/4), (2/4), (3/4), (4/4).

"I was active in this small Intifada. I was arrested (by the IOF) and that time they kept me for three months. I was put inside a tiny cell, more like a secure cupboard. I was strung up from a wall with my arms stretched far apart handcuffed to the wall. My legs were also spread apart and my feet chained to the wall, with my feet off the ground so I was hanging from my wrists.

They used a heavy stick to repeatedly beat me on my head and between my legs. They kept saying 'You have guns and you organize people', they tried to get me to talk, but I still told them nothing." Small uprisings continued over the next year or two and in 1983 Ibrahim was again arrested and held for three months. By this time he was working as a writer for an underground Marxist newspaper called Al Talia (the Workers). He wrote regular reports about the situation in Al-Khalil and about workers' rights. He continued in this role until 1992. In 1988, during the First Intifada, Ibrahim was married to the Headmistress of a local girl's school. This was also the year in which his closest friend, a 28 year old father of three children (the three children were named 'Guevara', 'Thouwri' - meaning Revolutionary, and Maysah - the name of PFLP leader George Habash's daughter) was killed when shot in the heart by Occupation forces whilst leading a demonstration in their home village of Darharia.

Watching Ibrahim as he talks I can see that he still clearly feels the pain of this event today, much more so than when describing his own experiences in and out of Occupation prisons. Three months later he found himself locked up and getting beaten again. The following year it happened once more and during these three months captivity he had most of his teeth smashed out with rocks and sticks.

Ibrahim still refused to speak. After his release from prison he opened a small office in Al-Khalil from which to write, and he also began to write for another Communist/Marxist newspaper, Al Khatib (The Writer). Within three years Ibrahim had moved to a better equipped office in the Baba Zawia area of Al-Khalil. He had computers and copy machines and worked long hours producing leaflets and literature supporting the Intifada. Although himself a PFLP activist, Ibrahim produced literature for all Palestinian factions, he is first and foremost a Palestinian and believes in anything that he sees as for the good of his country. 1993 saw the Oslo Accords established. Initially many Palestinians welcomed the Oslo deal believing it could lead to the end of Occupation. Very few people now believe it was ever constructive or beneficial to Palestine, Ibrahim saw right from the outset it was corrupt and was never afraid to voice these opinions:

"I believe in two states, a Palestinian state must be established in the entire West Bank and Gaza strip which is free from Occupation and all Settlements. The full Right of Return must also be granted to all Palestinian Refugees. Oslo did not offer us these rights, anything less than this is just not acceptable and corrupt." Ibrahim continued his work producing literature, and writing against the Oslo Accords.

This was eventually to also bring him into conflict with the newly established Palestinian Authority. In 1996 he was producing literature for Islamic Jihad who, like Ibrahim's PFLP, had never supported the Oslo deal: "I found out many of the secrets of Oslo and I knew it was bad for Palestine even then. I was copying and distributing leaflets for Islamic Jihad in which these secrets were revealed. The P.A. found out about this and arrested me. In their prisons I was beaten on my head and stomach, eventually I collapsed and was taken to Dehaishah Hospital in Bethlehem. I stayed in hospital three weeks."

Continued .... Next Page (4/4)

Articles - The Island By Adam Atkinson

	In August of 2006, Adam Atkinson went missing - he was last seen on a remote island off the coast of Suffolk. All that was found was his log book and a battered camera ... Saturday: No more Monsieur Cassanell, no more ... I woke up with my skin smellin' of Guinness and guilt. Just ave the one and then pack for the island I remember saying Read more...

Articles - Memories of Hull By Lucy Brown

	My earliest memory of Hull was around the age of four years old, true. It was Christmas Eve and I was stood in my cot watching my mam doll herself up for that good ol' booze-up in our local pub. Then she turned to me and said; Ooohhh! Yer little bleeder, get to sleep now, else Father Christmas won't come. I didn't like the sound of this bloke, with a long hairy beard and cloak Read more...

Articles, Obituaries - John Sheridan 28/9/1923 - 24/6/2006 By Martin J Deane

	John Sheridan passed away peacefully Saturday morning last. He had been ill in recent months. Many will remember him for his commitment to the peace movement. All those Saturdays turning out for a stall in Queen Victoria Square, complaining of the cold ("It's bitter, isn't it?!"), handing out leaflets, or engaging even some most unlikely groups in conversation on what Read more...

Articles - Chill Out, Why Don't You? An Impromptu Article About Meditation By Steve Rudd

	Face it - it's impossible to avoid getting stressed-out. Still, have you ever considered that age-old method of meditation that is alleged to help overcome stress to an overwhelming extent? No? Well, neither had I until I decided to pay the beautiful Madhyamaka Buddhist Centre near Pocklington a visit on the evening of Thursday June 15th for a spot Read more...

Articles - Random Mushroom Babbling Bollocks By Sean Davey. Magic Mushrooms: The Truth

	They'll talk to ya and talk to ya and talk to ya about individual freedom. But when they see a free individual it's gonna scare 'em. Not my words, the words of Dennis Hopper. But so what, Hopper sold out a long time ago, not that I blame him, I mean, where do you go from there exactly? Hopper ran out of choices. He ended up as a crippled hack. Just as I Read more...

Articles - The Art of Cow-Tipping By Iain Booth

	The all so regular question asked about cow tipping, are the lengths of devastation it can lead to? The myth of cow tipping can be traced back through generations, proving to be a popular past time, however do we really know the controversy of our cow tipping actions? Cow tipping is an activity allegedly common in rural areas; it includes individuals Read more...

Articles - Practically Political In Every Way By Jo Allison

	A few years ago politics was dull, boring, and for men aged over 40 in grey suits with expanding waistlines and receding hairlines. Now suddenly it's cool. Politics is everywhere, it has saturated our mass culture, and almost everyone thinks they have a political position on something (or other). It's a disturbing fact, or perhaps a reflection on our society's celebrity-obsessed Read more...

Articles - World War III By Sean Davey

	For fucks sake, surrounded by all this teen pop shite that doesn't even deserve to be called music. In my opinion the career of any average manufactured band is far more sinister that that of Slipknot's, Pete Doherty's and Ozzy Osbourne's combined. I'm now convinced that this must be the government's method of keeping the general population under control. Just fill everybody's Read more...

Articles - See No Evil By Bekki Stephenson

	In a society rife with obesity, violence and drug abuse, do cartoons provide us with escapism or are they themselves the biggest danger of all? .. Sir Paul McCartney recently credited Bambi with inspiring his fight for animal rights. Back in December of last year, the former Beatle was quoted in The Daily Mail as saying If you think of Bambi Read more...

Articles - Volunteer Prisoners (Living in the Global Panopticon - Part 1) By Ann R Kist

	Many of us, if not all to a greater or lesser degree, are prisoners. We've allowed ourselves to become such, locking ourselves in our homes for fear of the night, sealing ourselves in metal boxes to move from A to B. We don't need Big Brother, we do quite readily give ourselves over to be watched, tracked, measured, assessed and put under constant surveillance. Read more...

Articles - Canine Partners Opens Station in Hull

	Canine Partners is a national charity with the slogan, Opening doors to Independence, and the basic objective is to train assistance dogs to transform the lives of people with disabilities. The charity is continually expanding. They have many satellite stations down the southern end of England and are currently expanding up the Northern end. One station recently created is Read more...

Articles - Identity Cards by B.Brother

	You may have heard that legislation creating compulsory ID Cards passed a crucial stage in the House of Commons. You may feel that ID cards are not something to worry about, since we already have photo ID for our passport and driving license and an ID card will be no different to that. What you have not been told is the full scope of this proposed ID card, and what it Read more...

Articles - The Restoration of Wellington Street Swing Bridge Part 1 By Tony Waddington Photographs By Tony and Mo

	Over the past 4 weeks work has been underway, dismantling this ancient bridge and after many years out of commission, and derelict, much work is needed to get it back in running order. The first bridge over the entrance to Humber Dock was installed around 1824 but replaced in the 1840's. Due to damage, worn or rotten structures, expenditure on the swing bridge Read more...

Articles - Memories of Hull By Frank Storey

I was most interested to read the article by John Firth regarding the fish shop owned by his grandmother in Redbourne Street. I worked at Gordon Street Police Station in the ranks of Constable, Sergeant and Inspector during the period 1947 to 1966, I well remember the Beatles visit - they used my office to get changed! I had a great leg pull with a young girl who was an avid Beatles fan, - we gave her a cigarette end Read more...

Articles - The Thames Whale By Michelle Dee

Sometime on Friday 20th January a bottle nosed whale was spotted in the Thames River. This unusual event caused quite a stir in the capital later that day the 18ft whale tried to beach itself in the shallow waters by Westminster Bridge. Volunteers and specialists alike tried to encourage the whale back the way it came into the deeper parts of the river. On the Saturday it was thought to have gone back towards the mouth Read more...

Articles - Partners In Parallel At Law Firm By Julian Woodford

	The truth really is stranger than fiction. Who'd have believed that the lives and careers of two young women lawyers could have followed such remarkably similar and parallel paths - and without them knowing it. Claire Ramsden and Jane Longhorn, who have just been made new partners at the Hull firm, Williamsons Solicitors, both started their education at the same Read more...

Articles - More Famous Than Christmas By Jim Higo

	You can guarantee that some things never change. Sickening over-indulgence, excessive eating and drunken abuse of your work colleagues, followed by obnoxious obscenities, mindless violence and the inability to string together a coherent sentence. Yes, that's John Prescott for you. This Christmas I have managed to stay as close as possible to the true and original meaning of Read more...

Articles - Consolation Prize By Lydia Rivlin

I came to Hull at the beginning of the year, to run as the Conservative Candidate for Hull North. I am a Leeds girl and would have loved to have got back to Yorkshire (yeah, I know Hull is supposed to be a separate entity, but as I said, I'm a Leeds girl). Well, I didn't make it. Labour got the seat and what I got was the consolation prize. Although we are all familiar with the expression Read more...

Articles - I'm Dreaming Of A Weird Christmas By Maurice Fairfield

I spent roughly half my life in Hull and the North of England and I could count the number of White Christmases on one hand. Cold, yes. Wet, yes. Bitterly cold, yes, but rarely white. Yet most of the cards featured gabled houses with icicles dangling from the eaves. Horses pulling sleighs, and always masses of that frigid white stuff. Most of the yuletide snow I have seen is artificial Read more...

Articles - Made In Hull: Stories 1969 - 2005 Part 4 By Rich Mills

	Through the large glass double doors I could see a number of other residents. All were transfixed by the pretty flashing lights emanating from the box in the corner, but I knew they were all fully aware of Laura and I approaching. We stood for a moment watching the specimens through the glass, briefly examining their static behaviour as they gave nothing away except a sense of loss. Read more...