In her essay “Hidden Spring,” published in May/June 2017 in the Orion Magazine Emily Raboteau gives a vivid image of the situation in the border between Israel and Palestine. She argues that in spite of the differences in religion between the communities living around the two borders, peaceful co-existence is still possible as witnessed by efforts by some groups such as Palestinian-Israeli nonprofit organization ‘Community Energy Technology in the Middle East (Comet-ME). Raboteau begins by describing the hot environmental conditions with temperatures of thirty-seven degrees Celsius. She also introduces and gives a brief introduction of her guide, Ahmad S. In the paper, Raboteau can be felt profoundly leaning towards the Arabs as she only mentions briefly about an attack on Jews by Muslims.
My thesis
As a journalist, Raboteau has successfully acted as a voice to the people living around the borders especially Arabs in Susiya, “I hope we will find some measure of justice through your pen.” And towards the end, she depicts a picture of hope shown by children playing oblivious to the harsh living conditions. Emily Raboteau brings out the issue of discrimination throughout the essay and shows how efforts are being made to strengthen the bond in the community. Water being the primary root of the conflict she emphasis this by saying that Ahmad (her guide) had to remind her to take water (Raboteau, 5). The people around this region survive on hope as said wisely by Ahmad “we have resources deep within ourselves like a hidden spring.” The target audience for this author is the international community and the local communities living in the regions of conflict. The International Community should intervene and pressure the Israeli military to end illegal eviction and rampant killings of Arabs in Susiya.
Direct Arguments
In her piece, Raboteau draws a comparison of her experience with discrimination and what her son may go through. Arab children are subjected to searches in their bags and being patted down while this does not also apply to Israeli children who go through checkpoints without hassles. The racial discrimination of kids of African-Americans in the USA and discrimination of children in Arab settlements near Israeli border will have a long-term negative effect on the kids who will grow to hate and resent the so-called superior races. It will continue to create a division for the future generations unless so is done urgently. The actions of the nation of Israel through Israeli army is share similarities to colonialism. In such ways as the creation of checkpoint and making it a requirement for Arabs to have permits to pass through checkpoints, for example, permit to see a doctor, to own a tractor or goat, to go to the mosque, to visit family among others. They are forbidden to construct structures such as houses without permission from the Civil Administration and they could also be evicted without prior notice.
Throughout her article, Raboteau uses many respected and trusted sources from members of the community to strengthen the credibility and build her argument, as well as appeal to ethos. The sources include her guide Ahmad has a university degree, and Nasser Nawajaa an unofficial spokesman of Susiya, Comet-ME staff such as Noam D. and Elad O., both are physicists. Quoting and using these people enhances Raboteau’s credibility by proving that she has done a lot of research and has given facts and as well as expert views to support her claim. She also uses her examples from her life in the USA to further expound her issues, which proves she has experienced the problem first-hand.
Together with strong logos appeal, Raboteau successfully makes appeals to pathos in the middle and ending sections. Her beginning does not evoke strong emotions, but her story develops well in the middle and concludes towards the end. Her middle and ending parts are enriched with emotionally-charged phrases and words that create sympathetic and sometimes angry feelings. Raboteau notes that “There was also a stone monument to Ali Dawabsheh, an eighteen-month-old toddler burned alive the previous summer when a firebomb was lobbed into his parents’ dwelling, allegedly by a group of masked Israeli extremists.” The picture she evokes of the inhuman treatment of the population and ruthlessness of the army brings out the argument and its seriousness. She aims to make the reader feel compassion and sympathy as well as angry a bit for the non-action and lack of intervention. Adding to this notion are phrases and words such as, “indignity,” “donated by the EU,” “permit,” “the bulk of their land taken away,” “expelled,” “demolished,” “scraped,” (Raboteau). All of these phrases and words create negative emotions amongst Arabs and leads the reader to feel pity for them.
However, the final part of the article lacks the bitterness and negativity experienced in the previous paragraphs. She concludes on a mildly happy tone, with a vision of hope for better things to come. For example, Raboteau notes that when the sons of Mahmoud came out to play their imaginations and happiness made the present bleak situations disappear for a moment. By watching the kids play Raboteau could not help but smile to herself realizing that in that fallen world, children found ways to play even with limited resources and in the process lifting up the mood of the adults around.
Conclusion
Emily Raboteau conclusively shows the racial discrimination of the Arabs in the Israeli-Palestinian border and she also briefly compares it to racial discrimination of African-Americans in America. In a way, she is concerned about her kid being discriminated against due to the colour of his skin. She makes a compelling argument heavily supporting her research work by including direct quotations of varied inhabitants and whom each have a different story to tell through their personal experiences. Depending mainly on her logos appeal, Raboteau also utilizes the pathos and ethos appeals to sure that her article will appeal to the reader wholly; that is conscience, mind and heart.
Works Cited
Raboteau, Emily. “Hidden Springs.” The Orion Magazine, May/June. 2017.
