Bethlehem
Applied Research Institute-Jerusalem
Welcome
This morning we sat through a 90 minute talk that presented statistics that I had never heard before. Did you know that there are over 200 Israeli outposts or settlements inside the borders of the West Bank? This is in direct violation of international law and after the Annapolis summit where former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon promised that no more outposts would be built.
I just came away with confirmation of the feelings that I have long held about the region. The Palestinians always get the shaft in diplomatic negotiations. It is so infuriating at times. I'm all about being fair and realistic. Is it realistic that Palestine/Israel will be returned to its most recent inhabitants, the Palestinians? No. But is it fair that they are getting such a crappy deal? I mean, damn. Let a sister and a brother live.
Diyar Consortium
The Diyar complex is the third largest employer in Bethlehem, and their main goal is to empower Palestinians in the area. His presentation started out well, but he quickly succumbed to something I couldn’t name. It wasn’t until later that Miriam was able to name for me why exactly this meeting was just as uncomfortable as the first, just in a different way: Dr. Raheb was tired, overcome by sadness.
I can understand. 61 years of occupation has got to be disheartening. Looking around the city as we ride the bus, there’s very little of the vibrancy that we experience in Jerusalem, even in the Old City. A situation like this has to beat you down…but especially for a Christian in this context, letting hope shine through is so important. Dr. Raheb, like many of the Palestinians we’ve talked to, are absolutely against participating in the political process, viewing the whole “peace talking” as he calls it a waste of time. And it might look that way, but surely small steps have been taken, and in a conflict like this, maybe small steps are all we have.
I can understand. 61 years of occupation has got to be disheartening. Looking around the city as we ride the bus, there’s very little of the vibrancy that we experience in Jerusalem, even in the Old City. A situation like this has to beat you down…but especially for a Christian in this context, letting hope shine through is so important. Dr. Raheb, like many of the Palestinians we’ve talked to, are absolutely against participating in the political process, viewing the whole “peace talking” as he calls it a waste of time. And it might look that way, but surely small steps have been taken, and in a conflict like this, maybe small steps are all we have.
Refugee Camp: Deheisheh
Mai
Later in the afternoon we visited a refugee camp on the outskirts of Bethlehem called Deheisheh. First, we had to lose our image of a refugee camp; there are no tent dwellings. Remember this place has been around for 60 years. They have buildings though the first refugee kicked off their land to make way for the new Israeli state lived in a 9×9 room for each family. For the first few years in the camp 125 families shared one toilet. The refugees were not allowed to build and were not given rights to add plumbing for waste and water until the mid 1990s. Even with new allowances to build after the Oslo Accord, healthcare is dismal and classrooms cram in 60-70 children per teacher. Why would the people remain in the hell? Why not try to immigrate to another country? The fact is if they leave they give up their right to return. Isareli government finally said the refugees have the right to return but not the right to enact that right. This means nothing. The refugees refuse to acquiesce to rules of the game as dictated to them and shrink off into historical amnesia. They are refugees participating in the harsh and necessary political act of protest. This is their non-violent protest. We need to see these refugees as non-violent, peaceful, lawful protestors who long to return to their homeland and who refuse to succumb to despair and desolation. In their non-violent act of living in these camps they protest the injustice they live through every day and call the global world to stand up and take notice, to not forget them, to not move on and call it ‘democratic progress.’
In the backyard of one of these ‘homes’ I met Mai, a young girl living in the camp. Many of the children were very friendly to us saying ‘hello’ and ‘welcome’ to us. They need the world to see what is going on (though I’m sure the kids may not think this political part through). I asked if I could take Mai’s picture and when I noticed her goats we spoke as much as we both could with my non-existent Arabic. I remembered hearing and witnessing how connected Palestinians are to their land. They are farmers, artists, craftsmen and women. They belong to the land and know themselves as they are attached to their land and culture. Seeing 8 goats in a 5×7 pin, I thought of the utter preposterous plight of the Palestinian people who live in land prisons-no freedom to roam, to start business or build without Israeli permits (worse than a Guatemalan trying to receive a visa to enter the US…permits go to the Israeli’s and very few to Palestinians). What will Mai’s life be like? This beautiful girl who welcomes me as an American while my government does little to raise awareness of her plight. Who will she become? What will she do with her intellectual and creative boredom? How will she respond to all the discrimination she will face in her lifetime? How will she deal with the demoralizing dehumanization she will face in the name of securing her Israeli neighbor? Will she ever be able to walk through Jerusalem since she is neither a citizen of the town nor a tourist? What does her future possibly hold for her in her own land?
In the backyard of one of these ‘homes’ I met Mai, a young girl living in the camp. Many of the children were very friendly to us saying ‘hello’ and ‘welcome’ to us. They need the world to see what is going on (though I’m sure the kids may not think this political part through). I asked if I could take Mai’s picture and when I noticed her goats we spoke as much as we both could with my non-existent Arabic. I remembered hearing and witnessing how connected Palestinians are to their land. They are farmers, artists, craftsmen and women. They belong to the land and know themselves as they are attached to their land and culture. Seeing 8 goats in a 5×7 pin, I thought of the utter preposterous plight of the Palestinian people who live in land prisons-no freedom to roam, to start business or build without Israeli permits (worse than a Guatemalan trying to receive a visa to enter the US…permits go to the Israeli’s and very few to Palestinians). What will Mai’s life be like? This beautiful girl who welcomes me as an American while my government does little to raise awareness of her plight. Who will she become? What will she do with her intellectual and creative boredom? How will she respond to all the discrimination she will face in her lifetime? How will she deal with the demoralizing dehumanization she will face in the name of securing her Israeli neighbor? Will she ever be able to walk through Jerusalem since she is neither a citizen of the town nor a tourist? What does her future possibly hold for her in her own land?
Posh Dinner Time
I think I have said before it before, I like luxury. On this occasion however, I feel a kinda way about sitting down to a sumptuous dinner with a group of refined and very privileged individuals after the suffering we witnessed today. Feeling kinda funny...
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself and the deep dark truth is that part of me wishes that I could get used to it, but a part of me rebels. How can I eat from the top of the proverbial hog when others go hungry? Ugggggh!
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed myself and the deep dark truth is that part of me wishes that I could get used to it, but a part of me rebels. How can I eat from the top of the proverbial hog when others go hungry? Ugggggh!