Option
CONTRIBUTION IN ORIGINAL LANGUAGE
Write for Rights 2021: Israel OPT - Janna Jihad
Janna Jihad just wants a normal childhood. "Like any other child ... I want to be able to play soccer with my friends without having tear gas canisters rain on ...
Janna Jihad just wants a normal childhood. “Like any other child… I want to be able to play soccer with my friends without the tear gas canisters raining on us,” she says. But 15-year-old Janna lives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Life under systematic discrimination is anything but normal.
When Janna was seven years old, the Israeli military killed her uncle. Jana used her mother's phone to record and show the world the racist brutality her community is experiencing from the Israeli forces. At the age of 13, Janna was recognized as one of the youngest journalists in the world, documenting the repressive and often fatal treatment of the Palestinians by the Israeli army.
These include night raids, the demolition of houses and schools, and the destruction of communities that stand up for their rights. Palestinian children are particularly hard hit. Many were killed and injured by Israeli forces. Israel signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but failed to extend this protection to Palestinian children in the West Bank. In contrast, Israeli children are protected - including those who live in illegal settlements near Janna.
Today, Janna's principled journalism marked her for harassment and death threats. She won't give up. “I would like to know what freedom means in my home country, what justice and peace and equality mean without experiencing systematic racism,” she says. Let's help her get there.
Tell Israel to protect Janna from discrimination and violence.
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