The Airport and Nahalin
I've been in Bethlehem (Beit Sahour) for about four days, and things are going well. I haven't run into much trouble with the Israelis thus far. I didn't have any trouble at the airport at all, they didn't even ask me why I was visiting and let me go through. Unbelievable. The other guy from Chicago, got interrogated and deported a few hours before I arrived, and we lost two others from Cyprus due to deportation. At the airport I met with a driver who drove me near Ramallah, where I picked up a taxi to Beit Sahour. He pointed out all of the villages that had piles of dirt or concrete blocks in front of their only entrance and exit road and all of the settlements in the area. It made me angry. We also saw a Palestinian woman by the side of the road by a spring selling fruit. When we got there, the Israelis had just arrived and told her she had to leave. Anyway, otherwise the only trouble I've had with Israelis is that I did get stopped for two minutes at a checkpoint on the way to Beit Sahour later that day, but this is relatively minor considering that it can take several hours to get through them. I am a little surprised they haven't given me more trouble.
On Friday all the Palestinian and international volunteers went to a demonstration against the wall and occupation in the main area of Bethlehem. It was awesome to march with Palestinians through an occupied city against the injustices perpetrated by the Israel's policies. Afterwards we had a presentation from a representative from PENGON, an organization working to inform people about the effects of the wall in effort to prevent its construction. They have excellent material and resouces at: www.stopthewall.com You should definately check it out, its creepy.
Anway, for the past two days, my group and I (the other volunteers were divided into six groups) been working in a village a few miles away from Bethlehem named Nahaleen. The economic and social situation in Nahaleen is catestrophic. It is surrounded by four (maybe six now because I heard the Israelis are building two more) settlements, which through expansion have taken approximately 70 percent of the village's agricultrual land. There is some speculation that it the village will be on the Israeli side of the wall once it is finished, which will make things even more difficult. The village is also surrounded by an electric fence and has only one gated exit and entrance. The people in the village say gate is supposed to be open between 7am and 7pm, but often doesn't open until noon. The village has a lot of other issues, such as harrassment from settlers and soliders. Many of the people my group talked with do not seem to have much hope for the future.
Today we were working in a village named Houssan, building a retaining wall of sorts for their hot springs. It was really hot, and I am exhausted from working in the sun all day. I might go swimming later though. We'll see.
All of the Palestinians I've met are very friendly and hospitable. Most speak some degree of English.
There is a lot more to say, but I'm at an internet cafe and I think my time is about up. I'll try to post again later.
On Friday all the Palestinian and international volunteers went to a demonstration against the wall and occupation in the main area of Bethlehem. It was awesome to march with Palestinians through an occupied city against the injustices perpetrated by the Israel's policies. Afterwards we had a presentation from a representative from PENGON, an organization working to inform people about the effects of the wall in effort to prevent its construction. They have excellent material and resouces at: www.stopthewall.com You should definately check it out, its creepy.
Anway, for the past two days, my group and I (the other volunteers were divided into six groups) been working in a village a few miles away from Bethlehem named Nahaleen. The economic and social situation in Nahaleen is catestrophic. It is surrounded by four (maybe six now because I heard the Israelis are building two more) settlements, which through expansion have taken approximately 70 percent of the village's agricultrual land. There is some speculation that it the village will be on the Israeli side of the wall once it is finished, which will make things even more difficult. The village is also surrounded by an electric fence and has only one gated exit and entrance. The people in the village say gate is supposed to be open between 7am and 7pm, but often doesn't open until noon. The village has a lot of other issues, such as harrassment from settlers and soliders. Many of the people my group talked with do not seem to have much hope for the future.
Today we were working in a village named Houssan, building a retaining wall of sorts for their hot springs. It was really hot, and I am exhausted from working in the sun all day. I might go swimming later though. We'll see.
All of the Palestinians I've met are very friendly and hospitable. Most speak some degree of English.
There is a lot more to say, but I'm at an internet cafe and I think my time is about up. I'll try to post again later.
posted by Ben at 4:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home