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.

Busy Weekend in Hebron

Too tired to post, but if a picture speaks a thousand words, this should count for a novella.

Action at Qiryat Arba, AVP

I'm just popping in quickly to say that the action at Qiryat Arba was declared a success by the family being affected by the settlement.

We didn't end up planting olive trees because it was too dry, but we did start getting the land prepared (clearing brush, removing rocks, doing some small repairs to the terraces). No conflict with the settlers or the Israeli police.

More details tomorrow evening -- and photos. Right now--off to start the AVP advanced workshop!

Advanced Workshop

I'm heading off to Hebron/Al Khalil again this weekend for the Advanced AVP workshop. I am hoping to snag some internet access somewhere so that I can stay on track for NaBloPoMo, but no guarantees. I'll be back in Ramallah on Sunday evening, insha'Allah.

I'm leaving a little earlier than I expected to in order to participate in an action; there is an area near Hebron that is being encroached upon by a settlement, and we're going to plant some olive trees in an effort to keep the land under Palestinian control.

I'm hoping that we won't have problems with the settlers or the Israeli army.

Stay tuned.

Hebron

Nayef Hahalamoun, prior to being assaulted for taking photos of demonstrations in Hebron. He is recovering from being struck in the hip by the soldier with the butt of his gun. - http://www.palestinetoday.org

Last weekend, I went to Hebron (Al Khalil, as it is called in Arabic). It is the largest city in Palestine, and one of the oldest. Hebron/Al Khalil is where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Leah, and Jacob are buried, aka the "Tomb of the Patriarchs" and as such, is sacred to people of all three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam).

There is a small Israeli settler population in the Old City of Hebron (of about 700 people, compared to some 166,000 Palestinians) that have illegally occupied buildings there. They are aggressive towards the Palestinians, are ususally armed, and frequently behave in a hostile manner. The Israeli Army maintains forces within the city in order to protect the settlers, usually exacerbating the problems more than helping the situation. You can see hundreds of examples of the situation on YouTube by clicking here

Problems with the settlers in the city and the regular curfews and restrictions that occur as a result have made life in Hebron/Al Khalil very difficult for the Palestinians living there, and there are also additional problems that result from the Israeli settlement, Kiryat Arba that is adjacent to the city, near the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

As a result of all of these problems, there has been a long history of non-violent reistance to Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, home demolitions and land confiscation organized by local Palestinians and Palestinian civil society groups. They are supported by Israeli and international peace groups. Christian Peacemakers Teams, for example, has had a full-time presence there since 1995.

FI went to Hebron/Al Khalil to participate in an Alternatives to Violence Program Basic workshop with 16 Palestinians. I've taken the AVP Basic workshop before, so I got to assist the facilitators, Margaret & Ann. Eventually I will gain enough experience to co-facilitate AVP workshops here in Palestine with Palestinian co-facilitators (In Arabic, with translation in English for my benefit), doing all three levels and building the core team of facilitators.

AVP workshops are 15-20 hour experiential workshops devoted to the non-violent resolution of conflict by the transformation of oppressive power relationships. AVP is a deeply personal and experiential program that encourages participants to explore and express how they engage in violence and non-violence, personally and socially. AVP workshops create a learning environment where participants understand and begin to change their relationship to physical and psychological violence.

It seems like it would be a good fit for Palestinians, both in dealing with - and hopefully transforming and ending - the violence that they experience as a result of living under occupation, and also in dealing with the everyday violence that ALL societies deal with - domestic abuse, bullying, interpersonal conflicts, etc. I am working with the AVP team to help establish a strong core of Palestinian AVP trainers, so that they can bring it back to their communities - NGO’s, community groups, women’s organizations, social services agencies, youth rrganisations, prisons, spiritual communities, schools, government entities and all who would like to work non-violently against oppression. The possibilities are endless.

I thought that the workshop we did in Hebron was amazing, and I think that the other participants could see how it could be used in dealing with community problems that are exacerbated by the occupation. The one thing that I am finding challenging is dealing with the intensity of the occupation itself, and how that dynamic affects the workshop. It is such a difficult way to live, that finding a way to end the occupation is the number one thing that anyone who takes the workshop wants to address. They feel that they could manage social issues within their community if only they could end the occupation. Yet it is the most complicated and challenging experience of oppression to overcome. I think that an argument could be made for using these tools to do whatever it takes to make Palestinian society as strong and united as possible, and them using that collective unity to wage a non-violence campaign a la Gandhi and the Satyagraha against the British. That takes time though, and people are understandably impatient.

Is it possible to overcome a military occupation non-violently? I hope so...and I hope that I can help play some small part in it.