Not Quite in Ramallah yet, but some FAQs answered

I leave tomorrow morning for Ramallah, and today is destined to be a flurry of activity for me. (This entry is probably my mode of procrastination!)

Many people have asked me variations on "what on Earth possessed you to want to go to the Middle East?"

There are a number of reasons--in no particular order:

1. I'm an advocate for peace and human rights, two things sorely lacking in most of the world from what I can tell, but the spotlight has been shining on that part of the world most of my adult life, so I'm a bit more tuned into it there.

2. I've been involved in peace activism both professionally (as the Development Coordinator at United for Peace and Justice from June 2005-Jan 2007) and at the personal/grassroots level (seems like my whole life in some capacity or another) for some time, and I'm a bit weary of resistance in the form of demonstrations. What I think the world really needs is a shift of conciousness and beingness that leads to peace, and I think that education is one of the necessary paths. If my colleagues and I could shed a little light on the Israel-Palestine conflict--which really is just a mirror for all conflicts in some way--it might be helpful in creating a paradigm shift towards peace. My blog--and some of the extra-curricular things that I do (both within the school community and the larger community) will be part of that process, I hope.

3. I feel a responsibility to see what my tax dollars are doing in the Middle East and what the direct results are of U.S. foreign policy choices and to report back on what I see. And yes, I could say this for many other places in the world--but as I mentioned above, the spotlight is on the Middle East, so that's my first stop.

4. I've been wanting for a very long time to find a way to merge my interests in peacemaking, the arts and education into a program, and my appointment with the Ramallah Friends School will be a great place to develop such a program.

5. It seemed like a great opportunity to work with kids, do something of service, and to experience living in a different part of the world, and the Friends school seemed like an ideal place to do this.

---

The other questions that comes up over and over again are: "are you scared?" and "will you have to cover your head/are you nervous about how women are treated?"

Mostly no. I'm a little bit scared of being on the wrong side of the Green Line hanging out with a lot of people that frequently find themselves with big guns pointed at them, and about the danger that could put me in. I'm nervous about that because the technology of warmaking doesn't allow much room for dialogue, and seldom do people with guns see the people on the other side as human. My passport may buy me some privileges, but in some ways, since working and living with Palestinians is viewed as an act of solidarity, it could also put me at risk because it's a powerful political statement, which could be threatening in certain circles. As individuals, I'm not too concerned about Israelis (as long as they're unarmed)--I have quite a few Israeli friends and am planning to spend time in Israel when I can to get to know people better--but I am a bit scared of the Israeli government.

That response always seems to surprise people.

Lest some people think I'm targeting Israel alone, I am not...I am also a bit scared of my own government, too, as I watch the "leaders" of the U.S. government tear the Constitution to shred while the general public watches--and seldom speaks out against it. I'm a little bit wary of any government that puts military might and economics ahead of people and human rights. However, in this particular location, the government of primarly concern is Israel, although it's only with the support of the U.S. and others in the international community that Israel can do what it does.

What I'm not afraid of is what most of the questioners are really asking when they ask if I'm scared...the subtext being "are you afraid of the Islamic militant-types we see on the news?" No, I'm not afraid of the tiny fraction of people that might wish to do harm to someone carrying a U.S. passport. I trust that most people are smart enough to distinguish between an individual from the U.S. and the policies of the U.S. government. I trust that anyone who spends two minutes talking with me will know that I'm not there to do any harm. I trust that if, God forbid, something did happen, that there are a lot of people--inside and outside Palestine--who would advocate for my safety. Some people may think this is a naive perspective, but I have faith in the goodness of people and their innate desire for justice, and I have hope that people can set aside their prejudices or dislike for U.S. foreign/military policy and be fair with me.

As far as the head-covering/oppression of women comments go, I'm not really sure what to say. Ramallah is fairly progressive and I don't anticipate needing to cover my head. There may be some circumstances that I would--out of respect for someone's personal beliefs, perhaps. It's not my personal practice of part of my cultural belief system to cover my head, and I don't want to feel obligated to do so, but I also recognize that there are times that we dress in a way that is outside our typical manner in order to fit in socially and demonstrate respect for other people's customs--wearing a suit at an interview or black at a funeral, for example, or taking off your shoes when you enter someone's home.

Stilleto heels are more oppressive to women than a hijab any day of the week, and I don't see a mass revolution against high heels in the making. It's really all a question of scale. I personally think that people should be free to walk around naked and that there's nothing at all wrong with women's exposed breasts (whether they're being used for nourishment or just part of the beauty of the human form), but I suspect that quite a few people would balk at that idea. Yet I don't think that tank tops are oppressive.

Sometimes when I see women in hijab on the subway in New York, I think to myself: "how nice it must be to not be a slave to fashion trends or to have people hit on you because they're checking out your body?" It sounds more liberating than oppressive in some ways. People tend to stick with what is within their social customs, and it's always hard to change the status quo. There was a time when women were expected to wear corsets, too. Also, as writer Karen Armstrong noted in her book Battle for God, “The veiled woman has, over the years, become a symbol of Islamic self-assertion and a rejection of Western cultural hegemony.”

It makes sense to me, given the long history of colonialism in the region, that there might be some socially-driven reasons that people would choose to emphasize customs associated with their culture. I have American Muslim friends who have started wearing hijab since 9/11, for similar symbolic reasons. It's also not dissimilar to the choice of Amish to reject modern fashions and maintain their traditional dress, yet in all of the years I lived in an Amish area, I never heard people wonder if the women were oppressed by their bonnets and long dresses.

As far as oppression of women is concerned, 1 out of 4 women in the U.S. experience sexual abuse at some point of her life, domestic violence is common, and we are still a long way from gender equity, so it's a bit like the pot calling the kettle black to point out oppression of women in the Middle East. I'd be interested to see a comparative analysis of how many women die from domestic violence in the U.S. and how that compares to women killed in domestic violence in the Middle East. Domestic violence may be higher there than here (I don't know the stats--someone please enlighten me), but I imagine that if rates are higher, it probably has more to do with the stress of living in a climate of a long-term, frequently violent political conflict, poverty, and limited economic opportunity, rather than something wrong with Arab culture. My somewhat limited personal experience of men from Middle Eastern countries is that there machismo and some well-defined idea of proper gender roles (not so different from other men from other cultures), but also a great deal of respect, warmth and kindness towards women.

So, in essence...very few worries at this point.

Stay tuned!