One Thing At A Time

I've always been guilty of over-committing myself. I take on enough work and extra-curriculars for three people, then drive myself - and others - crazy with my efforts to get it all done to perfection (or at least what I saw as perfection) and/or watching things slip through the cracks.

My role at the Friends School was not particularly defined when I accepted it, I just knew that it was going to be a mix of teaching English, after-school programs, fundraising and curriculum development. Turns out, any of those areas could employ a half-dozen people, and I'm still only one woman. I also want to: learn Arabic, organize AVP workshops, develop an after-school program model/curriculum that uses the arts, education and community service as a medium for resolving conflict, and travel around Palestine and get to know the people, culture and history, so that when I come back to the U.S., I have lots of stories to tell. I would also like to coordinate a group of Palestinian educators and get them to develop a social studies curriculum on Palestine that meets the NCSS standards.

Anyone else developing an ulcer or migraine from reading this list?

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This weekend in Hebron we held the Alternatives to Violence Project advanced workshop. Overall, there were ups and downs to the workshop, but for me, the highlight of the weekend was going to the action at Qiryat Arba, a settlement near Hebron. (Settlements are not legal). I'm not sure "action" is the best word, but perhaps it works. I would call it a pragmatic act of peaceful resistance organized by Palestinians with solidarity from international volunteers. That's a wee bit cumbersome to say. There's a reason why I didn't wirte the slogans for demos!

Qiryat Arba is a settlement on the edge of Hebron. At the top of the hill near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, there are several buildings that have been taken over by settlers. In between the settlement and the buildings, there is a Palestinian family home and plot of land. The settlers want to confiscate the land in order to connect the settlement at the bottom of the hill with the buildings at the top of the hill, and are doing whatever they can to push the family out.

I spoke with several of the activists who were in solidarity with the family, and heard from them about the daily harassment of the Palestinian family. They tried to plant some olive trees there, but the settlers came and uprooted the seedlings. The settlers have also erected a structure on the land that they claim is a synagogue. According to some Israeli law, if the structure remains there for 10 years, it is considered a permanent structure.

To be honest, I didn't do much at the action. I took photos to document the events and was an international presence (often the presence of internationals reduces the probability of violence). Others helped with the removal of stones and other debris that the settlers have thrown onto the land, made simple repairs to some of the stone walls and terraces, grazing animals (another way to demonstrate proprietorship), and breaking up the land in preparation for planting.

The result was a clearing of the field, all done peacefully. Apparently before I arrived a crowd of settlers came to try to get the Palestinians to leave, but the Israeli police got them to leave. There were no altercations while I was there.

Lots of good work done.