Budrus By Julia Bacha Essay

“We won’t leave our land, it’s our land not your land,” Budrus Women yell at the Israeli soldiers in the documentary Budrus by Julia Bacha. It is incredible to see women from different ages confronting their enemy with no fear of the consequences. They have a strong determination and hope that the enemy would leave their land. This reality scene is not very common but is definitely found in Budrus Village in Palestine showing how brave a woman can be defending her country.

There are some unique ways that the people of Budrus use in their demonstrations. The most appealing one is that they have nonviolence marches against the Israeli army. In addition to this, Israeli activists participate in these marches against Israeli army! This is something that is hard to believe because Israeli activists are standing with Palestinians in civil disobedience against their own country. The music in the film appeals to me especially the sound of the Oud, a popular Arabic instrument. It is very

compelling because it sounds as if the people are full of hope but are sad at the same time.

Budrus is a documentary film about the Palestinian citizens of Budrus village who are demanding nonviolence movements with the help of the community organizer, Ayed Morrar.

Their main request from the Israeli army is to leave their land and not build a separation barrier. People of Budrus are courageous and do not give up their land no matter what the army does to them. They gather and motivate each other to demonstrate in peace to save their land from occupy.

In the film it is very obvious how wise Ayed Morrar and his people are because they are not trying to hurt anyone but they want peace. They are even willing to live in peace with Israelis as long as they do not occupy their land by destroying their olive trees to build a wall. Olive trees are very important source of living to them because they grew up planting and taking care of them their whole life. When Israeli army uproots their tress, they feel depressed and full of anger yet they react with nonviolence

demonstrations.

Israeli army acts like a machine controlled by its government. They follow the rules; they are unable to feel pathetic towards the people of the village so they continue uprooting their valuable trees. However, some Israeli activists support Budrus’s approach of demonstrating by participating with them against Israeli army. People of Budrus realize that not all Israeli people are bad but there are many who support their rights and beliefs. They feel very proud and happy seeing Israeli activists helping them to reach their goal.

Unity plays a big role in every achieved goal. In the film, people of Budrus are connected to each other in everything which is the secret behind their unit and success. They are strong because they work together men, women, and children. Their strength and fearlessness is very unique and will lead their determination to a success. People of Budrus love each other and live as if they are one big family. When a guy was arrested by the Israeli army for throwing stones on them, people of Budrus all helped and wanted him free. Iltezam Morrar, Ayed’s fifteen-year old daughter explains how proud she is of her family members who have been working together against the enemy for a long period of time.

Women are very strong that they can lead to a change and success of a country. Iltezam Morrar comes up with the idea of participating in the marches along with men because she feels women have duty towards their country too. She starts marching with a group of women believing that they can prevent the enemy from hurting them and leaving their olive trees alone. They have a fear but they do not stop. They also have their ways of teasing a squad commander as they call her by names such as Yasmina, an Arabic name. Bacha, the film producer wants to show us that women are as important as men impacting a success or a failure of a movement.

In brief, Budrus is a very well-produced documentary by bacha and drags people’s attention to the importance of being united to achieve a goal. People of Budrus are very brave, patient, strong, and wise. The music goes really well with the film as it represents a traditional sound and a tone of sadness combined with a little hope.