6/26
I arrived in Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv this past Friday an hour later than scheduled, but Walter was still there waiting for me right outside of customs...fifteen hours after his flight had come in. At 4 o'clock Friday afternoon, Shabbat (the Sabbath) had already imposed "rest" onto the public transit system for the night. So instead we took a minibus run by an Arab man to the Old City of Jerusalem to the Citadel Youth Hostel, the view from which is pictured here on the left. This hostel has become our "base" so to speak, as our work with the UN will often require that we spend a night or two in the refugee camps and, this weekend, we will be visiting Tel Aviv so that I may speak with some professors in the psychology department at Tel Aviv University. 6/27
The first day, Walter and I became reacclimated to the Old City, where we had felt so co
mfortable this time last year. To the right is a picture of sunrise over the Mount of Olives from the roof of our hostel, where I sleep. The golden dome is the Dome of the Rock. The Old City is safe, manageable, and even quaint--especially compared to what I dealt with on a day-to-day basis while studying in Cairo, and I am able to practice my Arabic A LOT as most shopkeepers here are Palestinians. I like the pleasantly surprised reactions Walter and I get when we reply to their greetings or business solicitations in Arabic, but one interaction that first day was particularly memorable:
One shopkeeper called out to us, "I decide not to kill you!" Probably hoping to get a scare out of anxious American tourists, he snarked. We retorted in Arabic with some emphatically warm greetings, which gave him a good shock. I was glad to shake-up his stereotypes and expectations.
6/28
The next day, we made our first trip to the Al-Arroub refugee camp that we had visited last summer, many more pictures to come.
We crossed the ever-growing Wall (hauntingly reminiscent in size and appearance to the Berlin Wall) dividing Israel from the West Bank since 2002 with relative ease, passing Palestinians who with drawn faces were robotically maneuvering the cue lines past military observation towers, armed IDF (Israeli Defense Forces), permit-checking, etc. I am not allowed to photograph any IDF or IDF-managed operation. Hopefully, however, pictures will eventually make their way to this blog. ; )
On the way to Al-Arroub, we stopped in Bethlehem to grab lunch and see
a few famous sites for the Christian faith. Limited access to Bethlehem due to the Wall, as well as the threat of violence from
the rapidly growing Jewish settlements on all sides make Bethlehem a ghost town today. Shown to the right is Shepherd's Field, yes, where the shepherds kept watch over their flock on the night Jesus was born, now circled by new Jewish settlements. The owner of the restaurant we ate at mourned the death of his hometown, and our cabbie, who we invited out to lunch with us, said that he hadn't been to Jerusalem in 10 years, though he lives only 20 minutes away.
A tourist came up to the front of the open face of the restaurant, and when the owner gently asked her if she'd like falafel in his broken English, she retorted as she struggled to yank her sheer wrap over her bare shoulders and fluff her brittle flat-ironed hair, "Yes, I SEE you have falafel, and no I don't WANT falafel. I will TELL you when I want something." The cabbie leaned over to me and said, "She's so afraid. But of what?"
A man named Hisham, a leader in Al-Arroub and a deputy minister of the Palestinian National Authority, will be our "handler" of sorts as we put together the summer camp for kids in Al-Arroub. Hisham's main interest is in having the kids develop their English, but does not have much of a plan besides that and is looking to Walter and I...the only two volunteers. He kept saying, "We can do whatever we want with this camp. No one tells us what to do." Hisham's favorite word to describe himself as "open-minded" and "crazy," but he emphasizes that "some of crazy is right." He appears to be somewhat of a revolutionary entrepreneur in the area, an "ideas man."
The initial plan is to teach English, conflict-resolution, and communication skills with games, skits, and art projects. Walter and I had a lot of ideas, but Hisham is an ambitious, entrepreneurial, opinionated, and sassy, which made us feel excited and inspired, but overwhelmed and cautious. Hisham's vision for the refugee situation is for people to work hard to get themselves a better life. UN handouts provide little more than the bare minimum in terms of basic needs and education. Hisham feels strongly that Palestinian refugees have the right to return to their homes, but does not believe that refugees have to leave the camp just to make the best life possible until the right to return is given.
Hisham is an inspiration, but I felt stretched too thin after our 12 hour day with him. He has so many ideas and is so well-connected, but I want to be cautious of boundaries with him as he is rather "out there" in every way that one can be. He is very forward and flirtatious with women (though thankfully, not me). He introduced us to some big players in Hebron at a graduation ceremony at Hebron University for a special "women's empowerment" year-long program. He showed us the plans, materials, and lot for the new "revolutionary" wooden-crafted house he is building (all other refugee housing is mismatched concrete). Hisham speaks 50-50 Arabic-English with Walter and I, but uses 75-25 sarcasm-candor, so my read on what's going on at a given moment is about 10-90 clear-no idea.
We bummed a ride home after dark with people who were friends-of-friends-of-friends. This is not particularly safe, and I was very on my guard. But our Arabic always saves us. The men we rode with for one leg of the journey from Al-Arroub back to Jerusalem stopped at their home for tea and invited us in "for 5 minutes only" where they showed off their American Arabic-speaking acquaintances to their 15-person family for 45 minutes. The grandmother complemented me on my Arabic, on my choice in men (everyone here loves that Walter is so gentle and chatty and also so engaging and playful with their children), and on my conservative clothing--shoulders, chest, and hips covered.
6/29
Took a fall down a flight of stairs at breakfast, am still having trouble walking and sitting, but just bruises. Walter and a friend we've made in the Citadel Youth Hostel were having breakfast there, and the shopkeeper just looked at me when I was in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, very out of character for Arabs. When I went outside the store to get some space and some air, every shopkeeper in the surrounding market came up to me to make sure I was ok and to wish me "salamtik" (feel better).
Today we thankfully met Bassam at the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem (also more pictures to come). We have been coordinating this summer with him by email for months now, but with painfully little information on just what we would be doing. Bassam cleared up so many of our concerns which came from the chaotic and overwhelming day with Hisham. The UN appears to be VERY GOOD at making sure that volunteers' are placed in an area where they feel most comfortable and where they can best utilize the skills they already have. After meeting Bassam, I no longer feel stretched, confused, or overwhelmed. Best of all, Basssam emphasized boundaries. He is helping us make a timeline, agenda, and general directive for everything, alhamdo lellah (thanks be to God).
