Samia Yasser Musa Jwaida

‘It's all nonsense’

When I finished my meeting with Diana in Damon Prison in the upper reaches of the occupied Carmel, prisoner Samia Yasser Musa Jwaida (born 10 January 1976) from the village of Ska/ Dora/Hebron, and was shocked to see her in the courtyard, handcuffed and shackled, her eyes covered with a black screen, being dragged by a female prison guard and accompanied by two other guards, procedures implemented after 7 October.

‘On 27.02.25, at 1:30 a.m., about 20 soldiers stormed the house, just for the thrill and action. I didn't expect them to come, and I didn't know who they were. I said to them, “Am I that important? If you had called me on the phone, I would have come myself.”’ They took me to a camp and left me outside in the cold. After a few hours, they took me to a very cold room, and at around 8 a.m., they transferred me to Kiryat Arba, and from there to 22 days of interrogation in Maskoubiya, all on trumped-up charges, and then to Damoun.

She told me about her cellmates in cell number 6 (Reham Musa and Sanaa Daqa), her fellow detainees, and the harsh conditions in Damon. Today there was an uproar, a crackdown in the morning, they brutally beat Um Khalil, a woman in her seventies from Gaza, and for three days they made us kneel!

Suddenly, she said, ‘I miss Ashraf (her husband) and everyone. I dreamt that he wrote a two-page poem, and I was very happy with the dream.’ I smiled and read her his comment on my page:

‘To my wife Samia Jwaida in Damoun
O Damoun, you have a beloved
She wiped away the torment of the wounded man's chest
She told my Lord in Haifa about the wound
That tells of the bleeding of his youth
Haifa, we wanted to visit you free
With victory, not with chains... How strange’

Her eyes lit up, ‘I am happy to hear that, I am becoming more and more cheerful.’

I told her that Ashraf had planted three trees for her, a grapevine, a fig tree and a peach tree, and that they had borne fruit, thanks to God, and were waiting for her to come out to harvest them. She laughed and said, ‘No way, what's the story, they've borne fruit?’ I said to her, ‘The poet is entitled to what no one else is entitled to.’

She is pained by the way the prisoners' cases are being handled. ‘We need to take a serious stand. Why are we here? Why are the lawyers delaying the cases, postponing them all the time? This treatment is a crime.’

Reassure my family a lot; Shams is holding on, her ordeal will turn into a blessing, God willing, and she will change our lives a lot. Let her take responsibility. Nour: God willing, I will attend your graduation (medicine) and Shams's graduation (computer engineering) as well. Muhammad: Stay strong. Fares: Enjoy the holiday and take courses if there are any.

I miss school (biology and medical laboratory teacher).

Her brother Musa (chemistry professor at Khadouri University) conveyed her greetings: ‘My soul mate, may God fill your hearts with joy with Abdulrahman's success.’

She asked to convey warm greetings to her brothers and sisters: ‘My sisters: Save me some green grape leaves in jars.’

She requested that Salamat be delivered to her family.

Reassure them about me.

My dear Samia, I send you my warmest regards, and freedom to you and all the free women of Damoun.

Haifa, 10 June 2025