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The following are excerpts from a TV report on the Lebanese village of Al-Naameh, which aired on Future News TV on January 24, 2010.
Reporter: When the village in which we grew up becomes an alien place, in whose streets and neighborhoods we are afraid to walk, and when political and military interests take precedence over the rights of citizens, who are denied the right to refuse – security and stability become a demand for which they thirst, and a right caught between the rock of the military posts and the hard place of the Lebanese officials. This is the condition of the houses of the people of the Al-Naameh village, which is located above the tunnels of a Palestinian military base.
Al-Naameh resident: It is like we are under arrest in a big prison. There is nowhere to go.
Al-Naameh resident: We are suffering. We can't go in or out. Our children are afraid of them. We feel like the village isn't ours.
Al-Naameh resident: Of course, its' not our fault, but... You want me to say something? The leaders should say something.
Al-Naameh resident: Their very presence scares us. We live in constant fear.
Al-Naameh resident: We have no freedom, you understand? We cannot go anywhere.
Al-Naameh resident: They pose a threat to the entire region, not just to Al-Naameh. We are not allowed to go up. We are forbidden. They have weapons, and they say: "You're not allowed to go up." Those are weapons for the liberation of Palestine?
Al-Naameh resident: This is an industrial region, but all the plants are shut down. But we don't say a thing. If they come up with a solution, it will be okay.
Al-Naameh resident: Why is there a military post here? They can't liberate Palestine from here, or anything. They have a military post here so they can hide corrupt people. They hide thieves and killers here.
[...]
Reporter: The villagers are always paying the price for the wars of others. Their village is constantly being bombarded by Israel, which follows the military posts closely. Their security has become linked to the Israeli raids, waiting for the next war or for the bombardment of the military posts, which are located on their lands, and beneath the homes of the innocent villagers of Al-Naameh.
Al-Naameh resident: Because of them, the planes come and bombard us. Our homes are cracked, our furniture destroyed, and nobody cares about us.
Al-Naameh resident: When Israel comes and bombs us, it is very harmful to us. Every time, our homes are destroyed.
Al-Naameh resident: Because of them, the [Israeli] planes come, and our homes are destroyed.
Al-Naameh resident: We are sick and tired of this situation. It's not just the bombardments – it's enough to hear the planes. We have children. I am from Beirut. The first time I came to Al-Naameh, there was a bombardment. I was pregnant, and I went back home.
Al-Naameh resident: When the planes come, there is nowhere to hide. If there were no Palestinians here, nobody would be bombing us. Let the army come in, or the police, or whoever. It doesn't matter.