Well today is my birthday, and I’m in Palestine. Hmm… In my experience, it has seemed to me that frequently people become slightly more interesting than normal on their birthdays. Therefore I decided to make a preemptive strike and answer some of the questions I figure might come up.
[Anticipated] FAQ’s and their answers
What am I doing today?
Today will be somewhat normal for me at least in the morning. I am going to my volunteer placement from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. (or whenever we finish). However, today is different because instead of going to Arabic class in Bethlehem, I am going to head to Hebron and meet with some CPT (Christian Peacemaker Teams) folks. This meeting is kind of an “interview,” though I’m not sure that is quite the correct term for it. I am interested in spending some time (about a week) with CPT following the end of my summer commitment with PAIDIA so I contacted them and set up this appointment to discuss my possible involvement with them. After that meeting I will be hanging out with them I assume, and then I’ll be spending the night in an orphanage in Hebron with some of the CPTers and other internationals. *(For an explanation of why, see the news release below.) I really can’t think of a better way to be beginning my 22nd year of existence than to be actively engaging in an effort to combat injustice here with the great people of Palestine. I’m very excited about the possibility of working with CPT more, but I will give more updates later about what that will include if it does work out. (For more information about CPT, visit www.cpt.org)
How am I doing?
Tayyeb. (I’m doing fine.) My back hurts a lot because I haven’t been able to get it adjusted by a chiropractor, but other than that, I am physically well. I get plenty of great food (sometimes forced upon me because the Palestinian hospitality demands that guests eat, eat, eat), and I am getting a fairly decent tan, though it is definitely only on my face, neck, and forearms because people dress conservatively here. I definitely miss people from school and home quite a bit, but I am trying to not let that interfere with fully enjoying my experience here. I am rather perturbed currently because I am facing another potentially huge mess, this time concerning my plane ticket back to the States. Hopefully somehow I can get things worked out without being charged hundreds of dollars more to correct someone else’s error. I feel very comfortable here and am really enjoying living here for the most part, but I do indeed look forward to being back in Bluffton.
How are things going with my program?
The PSE program has been going well. It is amazing how quickly it has actually gone; I have been here for longer than two months (including my Cross Cultural trip), and the second session of PSE is ending next week. Things with my volunteer placement have been going rather slowly, and this has been a major frustration of my summer. We were finally supposed to start summer camps this week (I have been helping plan and prepare for them the entire time leading up to now, which while it is important, feels like I’m not really accomplishing anything), but things did not work out to start because we could not get enough kids signed up to come. The problem is just a financial problem—PAIDIA is currently very low on funding and therefore can’t subsidize the cost of camp for the kids; therefore, the kids’ families can’t afford to send them, and we don’t have any campers. These camps are well-planned, and I think they could have a very positive impact on the “future leaders of Palestine,” so it is very unfortunate that we haven’t been able to implement them as we had planned to this point. I’ll quickly just give a shout-out that if anyone reading this is interested in sponsoring a kid for camp, it is relatively inexpensive (just 100 NIS, about $30, for one week), and PLEASE let me know. PAIDIA’s camps focus on leadership training, conflict resolution, problem solving skills, and environmental awareness through games and experiential initiatives. The week of camp includes hiking, swimming, rock climbing, and camping, and the goal is to provide a positive, fun, and encouraging environment training the leaders of tomorrow how to impact their world for the better. God knows this is definitely an important cause, especially in this region. (If you are interested in sponsoring a child for camp or making other contributions toward the costs of camp, please contact me at strjma@bluffton.edu, and I will tell you how it is possible to do so.) I’m really hoping that my time here volunteering doesn’t go to waste and that we can actually carry out these camps because I think they would be a very good thing to have in this community.
Have a question I didn’t answer? Feel free to e-mail me with it or leave a comment at the bottom of the blog, and hopefully I will have time to get to it.
I definitely need to get some sleep now, so I’m going to wrap things up. Happy birthday to me and maع salaame to all of you! : )
*Take Action: Israeli Military is trying to close Palestinian orphanages
Middle East Children’s Alliance, May 10, 2008
HEBRON: International NGOs rally to rescue Hebron orphanages
Representatives from CPT, UNICEF, UNOCHA, Save the Children UK, Defense for Children International, the YMCA, Relief International and other human rights organizations met in Hebron on 8 May 2008 to help Hebron’s orphans and students now living with the fear that the Israeli military will close their homes and schools. The representatives selected a core group of Palestinian and International NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations) to halt the Israeli attack against Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) orphanages and schools. The core group will also develop programs to ease the anxiety that has been part of the children’s lives since the Israeli military stated its intent to shut down the facilities.
Since issuing closure and confiscation orders against the ICS on 26 February 2008, the Israeli army raided its central warehouse, taking away school buses, clothing, food, stationery, equipment, and other supplies intended to fill the needs of the children and their families. Soldiers have welded shut the gates of the nearly completed $2,000,000 Al-Huda girls’ school, raided and looted bakeries that provided bread to the orphanages and on 1 April, raided the sewing workshop in the girls’ orphanage, carting away sewing and processing machines, fabric, finished garments and office equipment—all of which they brought to the city dump.
Responding to an appeal filed by Jawad Boulos, attorney for the ICS, an Israeli general said that regarding the schools, orphanages and kindergartens, he “gives himself the complete right to take all necessary measures...if they continue to work in these facilities."
Action Alert from the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs:
Israel has killed 1,020 Palestinian children since 2000 and Palestinians have killed 124 Israeli children. Too many precious children have suffered and died as a result of politics. Another outrage is about to occur and you can help stop it. On April 23 a program on French TV Channel 5 highlighted a tragedy that may occur at any moment. This news is not even discussed in the United States.
The Israeli military is about to close down schools and orphanages run by the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS) in the West Bank city of Hebron. More than 240 boys and girls, aged 5-18 live at the orphanages, while thousands of other children, many of whom have lost at least one parent, receive schooling, food and clothing from the charity. The Israeli military has already seized $157,000 worth of goods - including rice, oil, sugar, clothing and first aid kits - from the ICS warehouse.
Israeli soldiers entered the Rahma Bakery, owned by the society, on April 14, destroyed the oven, and confiscated more than $43,000 of equipment, including all the display cases, refrigerators, fixtures, and most of the inventory. Upstairs, the soldiers destroyed heating ducts. This bakery provided bread for the orphanages.
The charity has appealed to the Israeli High Court of Justice. The Israeli army claims that ICS is supporting the Hamas movement, which started in 1987. The society, founded in 1962, argues that ICS is a Palestinian charitable organization, with no political agenda, which is monitored regularly by the Palestinian Authority.
Israel and its supporters in the United States and Europe have targeted almost every charity that is trying to keep Palestinians fed, clothed, and educated. By closing this charity and others, Israel will complete the economic strangulation and even ethnic cleansing of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel's wall and checkpoints are already preventing Palestinians' access to jobs, fields, medical care and schools.
If the Israeli army shuts down the ICS and its projects in the city of Hebron, nearly 300 orphans will have no place other than the street to sleep.
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1 comment:
happy birthday, love. see you nearer to mine!!
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