'Amer Mahmud, student, aged 19
I am a high school student. I am now studying for the matriculation exams, which began on 17 June 2002. As of Thursday, 20 June, we managed to take two exams. That was when the Israeli army reinvaded Bethlehem. We were supposed to take the exam in English that day, but we couldn't because of the invasion and the curfew that the army imposed. On Saturday [22 June], the curfew was lifted from 11:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Around 11:00 A.M., following a great deal of confusion about the curfew, I went to the examination hall. The many students who lived far away did not take the exam because they couldn't get to the hall.
The exam was scheduled to take two hours instead of three. During the exam, we were tense and frightened. An hour after the exam began, Israeli soldiers came to the school and made us leave the rooms. They checked our documents and had us all stay in the yard for a full hour. They released us at 1:00 P.M. Because the curfew started again at that time, we had to leave the school and go home. If we didn't, the soldiers would have shot us. We left for home having completed only half the exam. We felt miserable, thinking that we wouldn't do well on the exam and not be able to get into university and improve our chances in life.
On Monday [24 June], we were supposed to take the fourth exam, which was mathematics. But the curfew was still in effect. There was great confusion as to whether the exam would take place. The Ministry of Education and Culture requested the students to go to the school near their homes, where the exam would be given. We tried to do that, even though we were afraid that the soldiers would shoot us because the curfew was still on. I reached the al-Khulafa al-Rashdin school in Duha. The school is about one hundred metes from my house. Very few students reached the school and took the exam. We feared that the soldiers would come to the school, take us out of the rooms, and arrest us because we had violated the curfew. We were lucky, though, and the army did not come to the school. Emotionally, taking the exam was very difficult. After we finished the exam, we went home.
We have two more exams left. The Israeli invasion and curfew continue. My elbows are infected and I have suffered sharp pains in my leg for about a year. I receive treatment at the health center in Beit Sahur. On Friday {21 June], I had an appointment for tests and X-rays at the health center. Because of the invasion and the curfew, I couldn't keep the appointment.
'Amer Mufid Hamdan Mahmud is 19 year-old and single. He is a high school student, and a resident of Duha, Bethlehem District. The testimony was give to Suha Zeyd at Mahmud's home on 25 June, 2002.