The Bus Trip

Dialogue list – English

English
Swedish

Polish
Text

00:00:01:00 During the summer 2014, Israel launches a military attack called
Operation Protective Edge.
More than two thousand people in Gaza died as a result of the Israeli attacks.
Most of the victims were children and civilians

00:00:13:08 Four weeks earlier…

00:00:26:11 One day, I came home from work and someone had sprayed a
swastika outside my window. I thought to myself, “I hope no one has seen it and
gotten upset” Then, I sprayed over it with a red X and a circle
00:00:48:17 Hallo?

00:00:49:08 Hi dad, I’m going to a film festival in Tel Aviv in Israel!

00:00:52:19 Good luck on your trip! You travel everywhere all the time.
00:00:56:19 Yes, it’s going to be fun this time.
00:00:58:11 I’m sure it will.

00:01:01:08 But I thought we would go there together?

00:01:05:03 But you know that’s not possible.
00:01:07:21 You’re dead.

00:01:09:00 Yeah yeah…

00:01:18:19 THE BUS TRIP
00:01:45:16 I’m on a bus with other film students. We’re going to show our films
at different locations around Israel.
00:01:50:07 I’m looking forward to discussing film and learning more about
Israel and the occupation of Palestine

00:01:56:01 When I was a kid I had a book called, The Girl with the Star. It was
about a boy in the Hitler Youth.
00:02:03:23 I also had another book called, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. It had drawings,
photos, and Bible passages that praised Israel.
00:02:13:14 I think it was written by a woman in a Christian cult
00:02:17:12 I think back to the swastika and realize it was meant for me and my
Menorah that is in my window
00:02:28:03 before the park we’re going to meet and get to know each other cus
not everybody knows each other, so everybody will say their names, and what
else, the park, and after the park it’s party time, that’s it

00:02:43:09 My dad, Jozef, was born 1946, one year after WWII. He grew up in
Szczecin in northern Poland

00:02:51:08 One day, when he came home from school, he told his mother that
he’d been in a fight with a Jew kid
00:02:57:00 My grandmother then told him that he was also Jewish

00:02:59:19 My mother is Catholic.

00:03:01:03 We went to church every Sunday. On Saturdays, I had Bible school, I
was taught about Jesus with all the other kids. I thought it was fun
00:03:08:16 I even served as an altar girl and helped the priest with incense,
candles, wine, and communion wafers
00:03:15:21 So where are you from?
00:03:17:17 Eh, I’m from Sweden, Stockholm
00:03:20:11 Oh, you’re so dark for a Swedish

00:03:23:01 Yeah, I know, my parents are from Poland, so…

00:03:27:06 OK
00:03:28:06 My dad never told me why he had to leave Poland with his family
and move to Sweden in the early ‘70’s. This was because of the Polish anti-
Semitic campaigns that caused my grandmother to lose her job as supervisor of
all the National Communist Preschools in the city
00:03:43:00 Jews were called Zionists and thought of as a unified, wandering
group who conspired on behalf of Israel and the United States
00:03:52:13 The Jews were accused of both cosmopolitanism and nationalism

00:03:56:18 So why don’t we visit a Palestinian city?

00:04:00:00 It’s impossible!
00:04:01:00 Why?
00:04:02:09 It’s complicated and illegal, and I don’t feel like talking about it!
00:04:09:00 I don’t understand how my grandmother, Franciska, could hide her
Jewish identity in Poland during the 1950’s. Everyone must had known she was
Jewish

00:04:16:21 She raised my dad who was an only child

00:04:20:05 My grandfather would disappear for long periods of time without
my grandmother knowing where he was

00:04:23:19 He would then come back as if nothing had happened

00:04:25:22 One time, it turned out, he had been to Italy to get himself a new
Borsalino hat
00:04:30:07 When I ask about Palestine and the occupation, I get sarcastic
answers and the other film students start to avoid me
00:04:36:09 I feel lonely and isolated
00:04:39:01 I worry that no one will talk to me
00:04:42:21 I asked my mom about the anti-Semitic campaigns in Poland during
the late 60’s. She said that all the Jews had the opportunity to leave the country
00:04:50:17 It was said that they where going to Israel and that it was excessive
to call it ‘anti-Semitic’
00:04:57:12 She then remembered when her family lived in a town outside of
Warsaw. Her brother was bullied and called a Jew, even though my mom’s family
wasn’t Jewish

00:05:03:18 They’d taunt him and say, “You’re a Jew, so soon we don’t have to
see you anymore!”

00:05:08:21 The year 1884, the Jews in Eastern Europe don’t have a future
where they live, if they want to seek for dignity they have to seek an entity for
themselves, reclaiming the land.
00:05:23:23 Each day is packed with activities, lectures, trips to art museums,
and outings to national parks and the beach
00:05:28:22 In the evenings, there are film screenings and parties
00:05:34:14 I think it’s more to the right, and keep still.

00:05:38:02 Well…
00:05:38:23 Do you see them?
00:05:39:14 No.
00:05:40:12 Okay, hold it more like this.

00:05:42:08 Like this?

00:05:43:06 No, wait.
00:05:44:11 Now?

00:05:45:15 Yes, exactly

00:05:47:10 You are a partner and it doesn’t matter where you live Someone in
Eretz Israel is reclaiming the land for settlement. This is offered to Jews all
around the world.
00:06:01:03 Even though they are educated and very modern, the Jews have a
hard time…
00:06:03:23 Don’t listen, it’s brainwash.

00:06:05:15 What is this? I didn’t know we where going to have this.

00:06:07:15 I’ve heard this all my life and I’m so sick of it!
00:06:09:19 This is keeping old stuff fresh and infected
00:06:15:14 All around the world…

00:06:19:05 The festive party atmosphere and the nearby occupation of the
West Bank are in stark contrast

00:06:25:02, just around the corner, the siege of Gaza has caused a humanitarian
crisis. So under these circumstances, the last thing I want to do is party

00:06:33:05 Now, hardly anyone talks to me on the bus. I’m always alone, even
though I no longer discuss Palestine
00:06:39:21 This is not uncommon. One Israeli film student tells me about a
classmate who was ostracized for being an activist
00:06:48:02 I want to learn about the places we go to, but no one tells us
anything. The guides don’t tell us that the national parks were built on top of
Palestinian villages that were destroyed, even though there is rubble everywhere
00:07:00:22 Now it’s important that everyone uses these. It’s very important
that you protect yourself against the Arabs

00:07:08:00 At home, my dad always had chocolate, nuts, and grapes. When I
was at preschool, there was always a parent who’d dress up as Santa Claus
before Christmas. He would call out the children’s names. When your name got
called, you would get a Christmas present; such as a tangerine
00:07:22:18 I was sure that it was my dad who was Santa Claus. I could tell by
his accent

00:07:27:13 The other kids didn’t believe me because all the parents had accents.
So we would get into fights

00:07:36:12 This show is outdated and racist

00:07:27:13 Typical Swedish Television. I haven’t seen these Jewish stereotypes
in 15 years.
00:07:45:10 Sarah’s young and might not understand, but this could still affect
her. What do you think?
00:07:53:00 When I was 12, my dad disappeared. No one knew where he was. I
used to call him on the phone, over and over again, even though no one would
answer
00:08:01:05 Hello Sarah, how are you?

00:08:03:08 I don’t want to stay at this film festival. They act as if this occupation
doesn’t exists. We look at Gaza from a hill and our guide jokes about how
cowardly Hamas acts when the Israeli army launches military operations; as if
people’s vulnerability was a joke. And the next moment, we’re supposed to have
a beach party. No one even want’s to talk about this situation.
00:08:24:20 But have you been to the Dead Sea? It’s supposed to be beautiful.

00:08:31:17 I’m going to travel to the West Bank.

00:08:33:12 What? The West Bank!?
00:08:35:11 First Hebron and then Ramallah…

00:08:37:04 But I’ve told you to not befriend Germans or Arabs! Do you want to
get killed? My child, are you crazy?!
00:08:44:07 I know you’ve said that but you’ve never been here, dad. You don’t
know what it is like.
00:08:47:17 I know how it is. I read the paper. I talk to people. Have you
forgotten about grandma?
00:08:55:11 No I haven’t

00:08:56:22 All she had to eat was bread and grapes they found on the mountain.
She was the only one who survived.
00:09:04:13 You never told me this

00:09:06:07 Do as you like but remember what I said!

00:09:09:08 Uh’huh
00:09:10:05 Here is really bad for us. We are not equal by law. As Palestinians,
we are under the military law. He is under the Israeli law. That’s why he has the
gun. As Palestinians, imagine, we are guilty until we prove the opposite. If he
says something to the police now I will be arrested as guilty. But if I file a
complaint against him, he is not guilty. He is innocent until the police proves the
opposite…
00:09:35:00 In Hebron, Issa Amro, a Palestinian human rights activist, tells us
about the violence and harassments against the Palestinians by the illegal Israeli
settlers. He explains how the occupation and military laws discriminates and
destroys the lives of all Palestinians who live there
00:09:49:03 …without camera we can’t live and survive in Hebron. They can do
whatever they like to us
00:09:56:04 When I was 23, I found out that my dad was in a coma and was in a
hospital in Gdansk. By then, I hadn’t seen him in over 10 years
00:10:03:10 I go there and find my way along the hospital corridors to the ward
where my dad is
00:10:06:20 By his bed there’s a red backpack with all his belongings, glasses, a
watch, passport, a wallet with 72 polish zloty, and photos of my sister, her kids,
and one of me from fifth grade
00:10:19:17 His arm is cold a damp

00:10:21:20 Goodbye dad, I say

00:10:23:17 The physician shows me X-rays of my dad’s brain. She tells me it’s
not looking good. She then asks me to buy some necessities for him
00:10:30:22 I go down town and buy water and some T-shirts
00:10:34:15 On the main square, loudspeakers play Polish techno. I rush back-
and-forth between different pharmacies to find big enough adult diapers
00:10:51:06 Then I leave Gdansk. A few days later my dad dies.
00:10:59:22 I travel to Ramallah in the occupied West Bank to visit a
documentary film class at Birzeit University
00:11:06:10 When I introduce myself and tell them about the bus trip, the
Palestinian film students ask me what the Israeli film students say about
Palestine and their views on the occupation? “What is their discussion like?
What do they say about us?”
00:11:19:19 I then visit Deheishe: a refugee camp outside of Bethlehem, where
Palestinian refugees have been living since 1949
00:11:27:10 It’s now the third generation of Palestinians living there.

00:11:36:14 I find an old photo of me and my dad. It’s from when we went on a
car trip through Europe. I think we’re in Belgium. We’ve been driving all day and
in the evening we stop in a city and take a walk
00:11:48:18 I’m in front of my dad and he’s holding my arms; I have my hands on
his. Dad looks happy and focused . I look happy and jumpy. I must have felt his
big belly against my back

00:12:01:02 So, how do you like it here, in Ramallah?

00:12:03:15 I really like it
00:12:04:13 But you’re Jewish, right?

00:12:06:00 What? Yes, how could you know that?

00:12:10:13 I mean come on, eastern European, your hair..
00:12:13:12 Yes, I guess it’s quite obvious
00:12:41:11 We’ll soon arrive at Stockholm Central, but first two stops…

00:12:47:00 Hi, was your trip all right?

00:12:48:17 Yes, I’ll soon arrive.
00:12:49:23 That’s great Sarah, because I want to hear all about it.

00:12:54:11 Yes, I’ll tell you about everything. I promise.