Well today is my last evening here and I’m spending it as usual in the internet cafe as the connection at the guest house never got sorted.
I decided to stop teaching on Thursday as Friday is of course holiday day here.
On Sunday I went out on a field trip with Oxfam food and livelihood workers to their projects in the Jordan valley. We visited individual families who rely on goats or grow vegetables/ Both areas of work have been affected by the occupation as water supply is difficult (diverted to the settlements) and the grazing land is vastly reduced as the Israelis have taken most of the village land and designated it a military zone. Now the goats cannot graze properly and rely on fodder which is expensive.
On Monday morning I visited Mike Bailey the Oxfam PR manager in Israel and Palestine. Apart from dealing with the Gaza blockade and crisis he described some of Oxfams projects such as “rabbits on the roof”. Gaza is very densely populated and people live in highrise blocks so do not have gardens or land. Oxfam has introduced breeding rabbits and growing some vegetables on the roof tops.
On Weds a.m. I went to a child protection conference/seminar in Ramallah with Dr Huda where I spoke about child protection in UK. Afternoon teaching girls and women.
On Thursday morning I went to Ramallah again, saw Huda briefly working at her UNWRA medical centre in the Amari refugee camp in Ramallah and then went to meet with Abdullah Abdullah Jerusalem representative to the Palestine legislature (Parliament). Although he is elected by them he does not have a permit to visit his constituency and needs to ask for a special pass from the Israelis when he has an important meeting in Jerusalem he wants to attend. So even the Government ministers are controlled by Israel. Afternoon teaching boys, girls and secretaries.
Yesterday I went into Jerusalem to post all my photos and films, my contacts and notes from all my meetings as I can not risk taking them through the airport in Israel. I then went to the British Consol to advocate for the visas of the Beit Furik people who are due to visit south London next week and to collect the visas if possible for the Abu Dis people who are due to come to England also next week. In the evening I had a nice meal with Dr Huda who works for UNWRA and the AbuDis mental health clinic. Her eldest son was in an Israeli prison at 16 for 18months for throwing stones at the IDF vehicles and she could only see him once a month.
Jerusalem to Jericoo road.
Today I decided to have a last relaxing day being a tourist and visited Jerico. I got a local bus and found my first foreigners here in the West Bank visiting travelling independently from Jerusalem where they were staying. They were a couple from South Africa and I now have an invite to go there – perhaps my next Blog will be SarhinSouthAfrica? I like Jerico and it seems a calm fresh place so close to Jordan and the Dead Sea. We got a cable car up to the monastry on the Mount of Temptations which is carved high up into the rock.
Mount of Temptation Monastery
On the steps leading up to it we met some Palestinian Christians from Taybeh which is nearby. One man was Father Constantine from Taybeh a sixth generation priest who now lives in Oregon, US. Also with him was the Mayor of Taybeh who is also the manager of the Taybeh brewing company! He used to export to UK to the Alternative Brewing Company but they couldn’t continue, so if anyone wants to start a beer import business, I have his details! The two of them tols tales from their childhood. I asked if people could walk over the mountain but they said there is an Israeli checkpoint on the top so it is no longer possible!
We also saw the Zachaeus tree (or one of them as there are apparently two!)
Tomorrow I will catch a bus to an East Jerusalem hotel and from there catch an airport service taxi to Tel Aviv airport. I’m not really expecting too much hassle apart from bag search as I never get stopped at customs anywhere – well not until this summer when me and the boys went to France. They looked in my boot and aske where I was going and I said I didn’t know which was true at that point but I think I will have to give a better story tomorrow! I already told the airport bus service that I’m staying in a room that doesn’t actually exist(I hadn’t expected them to ask so I gave the first number that came to mind). When the other Sarah went home two weeks ago she was searched and questioned for two hours and all her laptop etc examined. Anyway I think I’m as prepared as I can be.
I bought a new memory card for my camera and have some non controversial photos of Jerico on it so being a religious destination it helps my tourist story.
My tour has been fascinating. I have met with so many people from children in orphanages to human rights lawyers and mental health specialists, from farmers to politicians and visited so many places from the Garden of Gethsemane to the demonstration in Hebron, and everyone has taken the time to talk about their and their county’s story and situation. I have eaten wonderful food and met wonderful people. I have never travelled anywhere on my own before, and although I was on a tour for part of my time and there were people here I could call on if need be, I have travelled to some extent on my own and came here on my own and not knowing anyone. I now have more confidence in maybe visiting and trevelling to other places on my own. Some people in UK if not most people are concerned about coming here because of perceived danger. In my experience I never felt unsafe and certainly felt that London is a more dangerous place to live than being a foreigner here. Of course I did nothing to aggravate the Israeli soldiers and most of them are trained to be polite to foreigners. Of course it is a different story for the Palestinians, that goes without saying. As I’ve said before I found the Palestinians to be very helpful and easy to meet particularly in the non tourist areas so if anyone is thinking of visiting let me know and I will give you more information.
Now I return to London and read stories of the US and finance instituions cutting off charitable funds to Hamas related areas, even though Hamas is the democratically elected party in Gaza and the people are in a desperate situation. I knowm it will be difficult to relay to people back home who may have no understanding of the situation here about the occupation, the wall, the settlements the strangulation of the Palestinian economy, independence and life in general but I shall prepare my films and photos for the talks I have been asked to give and hope that this and the blog will in some small way make a contribution to people’s understanding of the situation and the need to exert political and economic pressure through our Government and Europe on Israel for change. When I was young I supported the ANC and anti apartheid campaign, the South Africans I met today agred that the situation here also warrants peoples attention and action. When I see the rapid expansion here of the Israeli settlements, wall and infrastructure which continues contrary to UN regulations I feel urgent action is needed. When I say to a Palestinian that I hope things will improve for them, they say they also hope but that they have been hoping for sixty or more years.
Men with shisha in Jerico.
