Greetings once again,
It's time for me to finally get down to sharing with you about my wee trip to Palestine. I went as a participant in the Journey for Justice that was being hosted by the East Jerusalem YMCA. It was probably one of the most intense, shocking and deeply moving experiences I have ever been through. At the time I thought this is going to take at least a month to process - it's been about that - hence the delay.
There are kinds of two threads to the experience - one of walking where Jesus walked. The life of the person I have followed for years is really real! Now the names of the places in the Bible have a real-life image to go with. I think it was this aspect that provided the sanity for the rest of the experience we were to have. First there was the church of the Nativity, seeing where our Christmas story all takes place. The Mount of Temptation - just outside Jericho. (Did you know that Jericho is the lowest point on earth - something like 30 m below sea level - not being too much of a general knowledge person - I might have that all wrong.) But for me, the most intense moment was being at the place where he was crucified - the centre point of our faith. Almost unreal!
The other bit was to experience a little of what the Palestinians are going through. I seriously could write a 10-page essay on all we experienced. So, if you want more - let me know - I'll share more with pleasure.
First was the grand entrance into Tel Aviv, Israel. For whatever reason, I got picked out of the crowd going through immigration. For about an hour I got seriously interrogated about why I was coming etc. The thing here was not to mention the word "Justice". That would have put me right back on the plane. Obviously the security is all Israeli's and are therefore a bit suspect of those going to Palestine. First there were 3 girls that asked all the questions. Then I got passed to a fella who began to shout - telling me not to lie, saying they'll send me home, that I had told someone I was here to work etc. he went on like this for a bit. I kept my cool - not saying too much and not sure whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of all of it. Then I got passed on to the next fella, who was very "sweet" - seeing if that would get me to share more info - about what I'm not sure. He then opened all my bags and everything was scanned in detail.
Anyways, I got off fairly lightly. Others go through worse and Palestinians are not even permitted to go through. I have nothing to complain about. (Jamie, I think my entrance into Canada was good practice for this). A friend of mine that is currently working there was once held at gunpoint as he was going through one of the border posts.
During the journey we taken around to see various places and meet different people. I have to say that much of these experiences reminded me too much of Apartheid in South Africa with this being more advanced and modified causing the Palestinians much oppression and suffering and therefore aggravating the hate and anger that exists.
Perhaps it would be appropriate here to mention that we got meet with President Arafat. All the ladies had their hands kissed as he exercised his charm. A really great encounter, as he is quite a character. We were probably one of the last groups to have been able to meet the man. Bit of privilege really. Let us pray that this is an opportunity for lasting peace.
First is the Apartheid wall that is being built by the Israeli's in the name of protection. Anyways, it's quite shocking to actually see. What is happening is that is being built on what is now confiscated Palestinian land. This wall is 9m high and hundreds of kilometres long. Something else to create more animosity between the two groups.
You can see from this picture how the wall is dividing the village from their olive farms (income).
Another good picture showing the wall dividing a small town and thus the community from one another. If you had friends or family on what is now the other side of the wall. Visiting them is now going to be near impossible. www.stopthewall.com
Another experience was trying to go to see certain places. Many times the Palestinians were not able to join with us, as it was not permitted for them to be in those places. To do so would mean prison. So many times for us to go anywhere, often it meant taking the long way round. What should have taken 20 minutes would take 2 hours.
With the travelling comes many check points. Every time you get stopped and passports checked. Every time the Palestinians get singled out - especially the ones with Muslim names. They get checked and checked again. Really its dependant on the mood of the young Israeli soldiers as to whether they are permitted to continue or not. The impact of this on daily life is detrimental. There are some church groups who are now working there as accompaniments for the children who need to get to school. Having an international often helps. When going through the checkpoints it's the emotions you must feel. The Palestinians can never be sure what will happen to them - they may get beaten or sent to prison. In fact at one check, we did see one fella being beaten. There is no consistency in the system.
On one occasion we were party to the inconsistency. We had walked past a checkpoint to go and see the village. Literally 20 minutes later we came back the same way. The soldiers would not allow us to go through. Not today, you can come tomorrow he said. After much polite arguing, they allowed us through.
Then there are the roadblocks that have been created blocking the Palestinians access to main roads. The truth is that these guys are being forced to live in a type of prison. Each time we were to go out of the Bethlehem area, we would have to take a bus to one point then walk down the hill and over the roadblock to get another bus that had been arranged for us on the other side. For the Palestinians, although many have vehicles, there is almost no point as they can hardly travel too far.
This picture is of walking through the old village of Hebron. What you can see is the bottom level where the Palestinians live. The upper level has been occupied by the Israeli settlers. They have had to put a fence between the 2 levels as the Israeli's throw their trash down onto the Palestinians.
There are so many stories of pain and suffering. Literally each person has a story. No one is ever Whoa is me because each person knows that there is someone else who has had to suffer more than they. What never ceases to amaze me, both in South Africa, Sri Lanka and now in my short Palestinian experience is the magnanimity of the people who have suffered and been tortured most. Despite their circumstances, they are the ones who seem know more than others what real life, joy and peace is all about. For me, this is not only about the structures, like the checkpoints, the house demolitions (we heard from too many people how their houses have been demolished by bulldozers) and the Apartheid wall, it is about what this does to a person, a family, a community and ultimately to humanity. Having ones house destroyed three times is terrible but what is even worse is the family that is destroyed through it - that a young girl should no longer find security in the presence of her father. It is also about how our own humanity is treated - turning people into things - at the whim of a youth soldier, fuelled by out-of-control fear, deliberately created and manipulated; it is about a part of us that is being massacred, and what is worst of all is that all of this, like in South Africa, is being done in the name of God!
Finally, let me share with you one lighter moment - although the occasion comes out of another story of human degradation. We went for a swim in the Dead Sea. It is like something you have never imagined. The buoyancy is weird. You can't swim because your legs just pop out the water. You can seriously read a book with no problem. What took place before we entered was pretty sick. With us were some of the Palestinians but on arrival we weren't going to be allowed to enter because "No Palestinians allowed". Anyways, they saw how much money they would lose out on and soon let us in.
Ok, so that's a few snapshots of what took we saw.
I have to end with my trip through the airport. On arrival, because I was with a Palestinian driver, we got pulled out of the traffic. Again, everything had to be checked. First all the bags scanned and then a No. 35 sticker put on them. Then they did a thorough check of the vehicle. As I say, it's not the actual checking; it's the dehumanising of the people. As we sat outside, waiting for the scanning to be completed, I could feel my anger levels reaching new heights as we watched streams and streams of vehicles filter through with no ado - Israeli status made them OK. That was not all. Next was entering the actual airport. Before I could check in, I had my bags checked and another sticker put on. They then went through a scanner after which everything had to be opened - again. Again, another thorough scanning. With me I had some olive oil (as that is what they are famous for). This was a real stumbling block. It must have been at least 10 minutes before they decided it was really olive oil and not something else. With all the stuff checked and another sticker added - it was my turn to be scanned. Survived that one OK. Only then could I go and check in. For the check in I had to be accompanied by a security person. Bags went and I was chaperoned to the departure lounge where I was wished a pleasant trip.
You might say that yes, they must do all those checks because of the suicide bombing that is taking place. Yes, maybe so. Do you see how all of this is just adding fuel to the hate and anger that already exists? It is all a vicious circle of death. Until something changes I fear that it is going to get worse.
For me the question remains of how does one respond and not react? Having become friends with some of the people and experienced a tiny piece of their everyday existence makes me the question of myself as to my responsibility. What principles from the oppression of the SA Apartheid should be learnt and applied to this situation? One of the lessons is that in such circumstances it is both the oppressor and the oppressed that are the victims. That means that there is freedom for nobody - all are living in the prison. As a poster in the East Jerusalem YMCA read: pray not for Arab or Jew, Palestinian or Israeli; pray rather for ourselves that we might not divide in our prayers but keep them both together in our hearts.
There's tons of info on this stuff. I have already given you one website to look at. Another that might be worth looking at is the YMCA one www.ej-ymca.org Also to let you know, the YMCA there hosts a "Christmas in Bethlehem". Think about going sometime. The experience would be so worth it!
I know that there is a huge and complicated history to all of this. What I have tried to share with you is a bit of my own experience. I would love to hear some of your feedback. It was an extremely emotional experience. At one stage I would have loved to just block my ears to all of it. The thing is though; we must hear the stories that people are going through. For whatever reason, the Lord allowed me to experience all of this. He knows what he is doing so I look forward to the road the lies ahead.
Shalom and Shukran, Cathy |
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Cathy In Sri Lanka
Cathy on the tsunami aftermath
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