Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Lost in translation - I hope

I am not sure Ynet News really meant to suggest that the IDF has been busy chasing down Palestinian activists but it would go a long way in explaining the lack of an IDF response to the continous kassam fire on Sderot. Taken from Ynet News:
Twenty-one-year-old Anaas Subhi Hashaash is tired of playing cat and mouse with Israel Defense Forces soldiers every night. After talking to his family and friends, Hashaash, an activist from the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades from Nablus, packed a little bag and turned himself in to IDF soldiers at the Hawara checkpoint.

Hashaash family said that they were constantly afraid for Anaas' life and that their house was raided by the IDF several times in the last few months. They added that they encouraged him to make the decision. Hashaash also seeked advice from his friends. Salah al-Jarami, a Fatah activist from the Balata refugee camp told Ynet: "I told him that it might be a wise decision. He'll go to jail for a few years, but he'll save his life and stop his family's misery."

Al-Jarami said that other activists, including his own brother, have been surrendering themselves recently. "I tell all of these young men in their 20s that if they have not gotten into real trouble yet, nobody will be angry at them if they turn themselves in. I tell them: 'You are young and you have your whole life ahead of you. It is your right to save yourself.'"

A high-ranking commander of the al-Aqsa Brigades told Ynet that the life of a wanted man was full of hardship, unbearable at times and not everyone is up to it. "We back our activists, whatever their choice may be," he said.

Maybe it’s just one of those weird cultural/linguistic things whose meaning gets lost in translation. On the other hand, I have been using reading glasses in the last few years, so I am unsure if it’s the words or the lines which have just gotten blurred. Somebody please explain to me what constitutes an al-Aqsa Brigades activist and how does that differ from an al-Aqsa terrorist – preferably using the Queen’s English.

1 comment:

Michael said...

Kate:
You said Somebody please explain to me what constitutes an al-Aqsa Brigades activist and how does that differ from an al-Aqsa terrorist – preferably using the Queen’s English.

I hope American English will do:

They are the same thing.