At-Tuwani (Stories & Photos)

At-Tuwani is a little village in the hills just south of Hebron. A Christian peacemaker team (CPT) lives there in the village to accompany the shepherds as they graze sheep on their land as well as the children as they walk from neighboring villages to go to school in At-Tuwani. CPT is there to deter any violence that might be committed upon the shepherds or children from some settlers in the surrounding Israeli outposts and settlements.

Children, shepherds, livestock, and CPT workers have been physically attacked on several occasions throughout the years. CPT's goal is to prevent violence - not physically but by their presence, connections, and cameras. If acts of aggression do happen then they are immediately reported to the Israeli authorities who may or may not do anything about it. Several media sources are also notified. Most occurrences are caught on video tape to be used to create awareness of certain unfair situations in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Long before the CPTers were invited by the locals, 12 small Muslim peace keeping villages in the area formed a council and committed to non-violent resistance. Resistance to the wrongful taking of their land and to the unnecessary demolition of their homes by the Israeli government. The Israeli Committee Against Housing Demolition (ICAHD) is an organization that peacefully protests and fights against the illegal destruction of over 18,000 Palestinian homes throughout Palestine and Israel - including this area. In At-Tuwani, the presence of the foreigners with video cameras has only been recently added as a tool to further insure peace in the process. The people of At-Tuwani have a wonderful story of creative resistance and resilience that does not include violence.

One example is when they were building their school. During the construction, they received demolition orders from the Israeli military. The villagers managed to keep the school from being destroyed during the building process through resourceful means. The same day the school was finished, the children of the town quickly filled the classrooms and the teachers began teaching. Soon after on that day, the Israeli soldiers came with bulldozers but when they arrived they were surprised to find that the school was in session. Knowing that it would not look good to destroy a school while the children were attending and while foreigners were there with cameras, the Israeli government did not bulldoze it. The school still has demolition orders on it for unknown reasons but so far the villagers have found ways to keep the building from being destroyed.

As we spent our day there, hearing the stories of the village from the CPT workers, talking with the people of At-Tuwani, and meeting the children, we were prayerful that these small villages would one day find the peace that they have sought after for many years.

Below are a few photos of our time in At-Tuwani:


Some homes in the village of At-Tuwani.


Children who were so anxious and happy to meet us. As we walked up the hill toward their house, we saw them waving at us in the distance and holding up papers. We found out when we greeted them that the papers they were waving were pictures that they had drawn for our group.


Misty meeting the children who gave us such a warm and inviting welcome.


Brothers who live in At-Tuwani and are sons of the women who took the time to speak with our group about life for the women in this Muslim village.

Aaron looking into the well where these young girls and the rest of the village draw their water. The village is not allowed a water, sewer, or electric infrastructure. Although the outposts (which are illegal under Israeli law) and the settlements that you can see on the hill right next to At-Tuwani are granted these basic needs. The peace seeking village was resourceful and resilient though. They dug a well and obtained a generator. Each family takes turns running it daily.

These are the inspiring stories of At-Tuwani that instill hope in those who hear them and meet the people of this village.