On thursday, we went to the Jenin refugee camp in the north of the west bank. I knew that a friend of mine spoke of Jenin as being his home, but other than that I knew nothing about the situation there. We arrived at the camp, and we walked into their community building. The camp is confined to an area of one square kilometer for around 13,000 people, so it's pretty densely populated. A bunch of kids stared at us like we were aliens, but they were nice. I don't think they see Westerners a huge amount.
We were given a history of the camp, and what villages the displaced families were from. Some were from what is now Israel, and every family tells the children stories about the villages they left/were forced from in 1948 when the Israeli state was created. What I didnt know was thatI was about to hear a story that would break my heart.
Around 2002, there was an attack by an individual on an Israeli target which killed about 20 people. As horrible as this is, the Israeli were about to respond with something even more dreadful. They assembled 3000 soldiers and 600 tanks and invaded the refugee camp of Jenin. Perhaps there were some people they considered criminals, but the invasion was not necessary. If they wanted them, they could have extracted them. Out of the 13,000 people, less than 100 resisted. The tanks destroyed many of the homes, and killed 86 people, many of whom were civilians. They injured many more.
One story that made me very sad was this old man of maybe 70 years or more. He said the Israelis had invaded the town for 13 days I think and blocked water and food. He was walking to try and make it into his home, but a sniper shot the old man in his han. The sniper then yelled at the old man to get up, but te old man was in shock and did not have the strength to push himself up. He tried, but was then shot in the foot for not complyin immediately. He started to cry and said that he thought he was going to die. Ambulances were completely blocked, and most of the town's residents were made to walk around naked in front of everyone else. If you understand the culture of properly covering yourself in more traditional Islam that is practiced in the refugee camps, this is one of theworst forms of humiliation possible.
The United Arab Emirates paid for the rebuilding of the refugee camp after the people's houses had been destroyed, but when we got to see the new houses, we got to see te bullet holes in the walls and buldings done by Israelis after the attack on the camp. They apparently come into the town every day usually and sometimes when they are bored they shoot a bit at the new houses.
The images we saw of what the Israelis did to the people they killed were appalling. True, some of these men were fighters in a situation of war, but few of these had been involved in the attack on Israel. They were doing what anyone would do if a tank was about to destroy your house and everything you had worked for, they resisted. Many were also civilians. The only time in history I have seen bodies as badly destroyed as these was in photos of the Holocaust. In Exodus it talks about an eye for an eye I think, and that law is not meant to suggest that that is the proper punishment, but it is the limit of punishment for something done against you. I believe that is part of the Torah as well. There seems to be a pattern of violence that is dramatically disproportionate on the side of the Israelis. This story is a minor example compared to Gaza's 1300 dead to Israel's 13 or so.
After that experience, we were given lunch and we had a stimulating discussion about the state of the world with one of the refugees. He had his own perspectives because of his restricted access to books and internet and such, but some of his stories were somewhat revealing. I didn't really think about it, but he talked to me about the fact that if I was in an Iraqi refugee camp, I might be killed because US soldiers were the ones that helped create that situaton. We fund the weapons that were used against the camp 6 years ago and he said that we were welcome to the camp in the spirit of peace. Some of his thoughts on the US I disagreed with, but he was an interesting person.
After lunch we went to do volunteer work at the children's center, and this is where I had a moment that really bothered me. We painted peace symbols and signs of love on the walls where the kids play. I made a sign saying no to violence. On the other side of the center, men were installing a sign celebrating men that were being held in israeli political prisons for different things they have done, some of which was violent resistance against the occupation. So we were creating two different messages: one was peace is the way to go, and the other indirectly celebrating violence. I was really torn, and felt that it was wrong to try and make the kids think about the conflict even as they play soccer, but it was their decision to make, so i decided to make my anti violence sign a little clearer.
After that, we went to this little church where Jesus performed a miracle, the description is in Luke chapter 17 I think. There re 20 Christian families living in Jenin right now, and there were many more but they left because of easier access to visas. The church was on top of a hill, and it was very nice, the women could not enter the altar area, which was strange, but it was some kind of orthodox church too so i dont know what is normal for them.
After this experience, we went back to our camp at the university here, and me and my friend hung out in downtown Ramallah and ate scwerma.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Palestinian Jews
There is a community of Jewish Palestinians living in the north of the West Bank. They do not consider themselves Israelis.
They have lived here for hundreds if not thousands of years, and do not identify with the state of Israel. I was shocked to discover this. There are not many of them because the benefits of just becoming an Israeli, but it is interesting to note that these people are brothers of Palestinian Muslims and Chrisitians. The difference is that they are not Zionists, but they are every bit as religious as their fellow Jews in Israel.
They have lived here for hundreds if not thousands of years, and do not identify with the state of Israel. I was shocked to discover this. There are not many of them because the benefits of just becoming an Israeli, but it is interesting to note that these people are brothers of Palestinian Muslims and Chrisitians. The difference is that they are not Zionists, but they are every bit as religious as their fellow Jews in Israel.
Going to Jerusalem
I made it through the infamous checkpoint at Qalandia on Wednesday. I try to wear my cross to try and keep them from treating me badly. My friends and I were sent through this tunnel that literally looked like something from a slaughterhouse. We walked through the tunnel like cattle and were caged in together until the soldiers gave us permission to go through the chamber where they scan you, one by one. I started singing a song to myself, which confused them. I went through the iron doors and was scanned and asked for my passport and visa. I don't need a visa since I am not Arabic, and so they let me go. Apparently for Americans with Palestinian origin they lose their American rights in the eyes of Israelis. They are treated very differently, which is something that smacks of the Jim Crow laws of the Southern US.
We made it to Eastern Jerusalem, which is supposed to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. We were greeted by actors from each period of the city's rule, who explained how life was for the people under that period. Now in East Jerusalem, there are numerous settlers who have taken over 4 Arab neighborhoods for their own housing. We got to see many of them walking on the streets. It seems like the relationship between the orthodox Jews and the Arabs is a little better than that of the more ideological Zionists from Hebron.
The best part of the day was when we got to see the place where many people claim Jesus was crucified. No one knows for sure, and the way some of the Orthodox Christians claim that so many of the stations of the cross like the burial, embalming, and tomb were right next to each other seems a little doubtful, but it was a wonderful experience. I prayed for the time that I had, and then got to go see a rooftop view of the city. If the saying is that every street corner in the south has a church, then every ten feet there is a church or mosque or synagogue in Jerusalem. I counted i think like nine or ten churches in the immediate vicinity of me. One moving story was when we went to the church of the holy sepulcher, we saw a mosque right next door, which was named after the man that went to pray next to the church, and not inside it, for fear that his actions might encourage his Muslim followers to take the church for themselves.
Most of the mosques and churches here seem to be right next to each other. There is a level of comfort between Muslim and Christian communities that I have never seen between people of two faiths. The vast majority of the Muslims I meet tell me that they respect Jews and Jewish people. They call Jews people of the book, and emphasize in their holy texts that they are one of the three base religions that all Muslims should respect. They mention that the people they do not like are Zionists. They emphasize that any beef they have with Israel is not religious in nature, it is political. Even the hardest core Palestinian supporters say that there are many many Jewish people that have an inalienable right to live in Palestine.
We made it to Eastern Jerusalem, which is supposed to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. We were greeted by actors from each period of the city's rule, who explained how life was for the people under that period. Now in East Jerusalem, there are numerous settlers who have taken over 4 Arab neighborhoods for their own housing. We got to see many of them walking on the streets. It seems like the relationship between the orthodox Jews and the Arabs is a little better than that of the more ideological Zionists from Hebron.
The best part of the day was when we got to see the place where many people claim Jesus was crucified. No one knows for sure, and the way some of the Orthodox Christians claim that so many of the stations of the cross like the burial, embalming, and tomb were right next to each other seems a little doubtful, but it was a wonderful experience. I prayed for the time that I had, and then got to go see a rooftop view of the city. If the saying is that every street corner in the south has a church, then every ten feet there is a church or mosque or synagogue in Jerusalem. I counted i think like nine or ten churches in the immediate vicinity of me. One moving story was when we went to the church of the holy sepulcher, we saw a mosque right next door, which was named after the man that went to pray next to the church, and not inside it, for fear that his actions might encourage his Muslim followers to take the church for themselves.
Most of the mosques and churches here seem to be right next to each other. There is a level of comfort between Muslim and Christian communities that I have never seen between people of two faiths. The vast majority of the Muslims I meet tell me that they respect Jews and Jewish people. They call Jews people of the book, and emphasize in their holy texts that they are one of the three base religions that all Muslims should respect. They mention that the people they do not like are Zionists. They emphasize that any beef they have with Israel is not religious in nature, it is political. Even the hardest core Palestinian supporters say that there are many many Jewish people that have an inalienable right to live in Palestine.
At the mercy of a kid
So on the way back from Hebron on Tuesday, we had to pass another checkpoint. This time I was more careful, sort of. I put on the cross I had purchased in Bethlehem, hoping that I would at least not have my life threatened after the frightening experience I had last time.
The soldier got on the bus, stared straight at me, and I waved at him and gave him a sincere smile. He then started to approach me with his M16 raised higher and he told me to "Ta'al!"
Which apparently in Arabic means come here now. As I don't speak Arabic, I didn't do what he asked of me because I didn't understand. My friends who do speak Arabic were afraid for my well being so they started speaking loudly he doesnt speak Arabic!!! He walked up to me, and I said nice to meet you. Then he turned around and said have a great day you can go and got off the bus. My palestinian friends said that he must have liked me. He went over to his soldier friends and pointed in my area and said that I was crazy, as we could tell from his hand gestures. The reason they aren't used to people wishing them a good day as I did was that it is extremely risky for a Palestinian to do. My friends told me last year a guy was beaten and detained for several hours for smiling at a soldier like I did on the bus. Perhaps my Americanism did protect me. I was grateful not to have to wait on the bus for many hours again. However, my British friend from Oxford pointed out how horrible this experience was. I asked him why, and he told me it was because the last experience at a checkpoint I was treated as if I was threatened with violent action against me and this one the guy smiled and told me to have a good day.
He said that meant that the actions at checkpoints are completely unstandardized. This opens the door for crimes against human beings. A soldier who must stand in one place for 10 hours a day, and gets very bored, and who is a teenager most of the time, can simply say or do whatever they want to. They can hit you, let you have a good day, arrest you, hold you for hours, or do anything else they would like. We have heard stories about ambulances being held up at checkpoints for hours while the people inside the ambulance die because they do not receive treatment. They hold 80 year old women sometimes at checkpoints for hours, where they are not allowed to go to the bathroom and must sit in 100 degree heat, which can be fatal to soemone that old. Women have gone into labor at checkpoints and have had miscarriages because they were not allowed to go to the hospital. Are these deaths not murder? Who is responsible for their deaths? They would have lived if they had not had to experience the checkpoints, so whose fault is it? Should you blame the air, the conflict, terrorists, the soldiers, who? No one holds the soldiers responsible for the deaths that happen at these checkpoints. Are these not crimes against humanity?
Another observation. A checkpoint in the American way of thinking about them would be a place to check people, see if they are carrying any contraband, and to let ones that are not go through. However, I do not believe that this is the purpose of the checkpoints. It doesn't take hours to check people to see if they are carrying something. They claim it takes 3 hours to look at someone's passport, but there is no way that is the case. The goal of the checkpoints must be what their effect is: which is to make travel around the west bank a terrible, sometimes dangerous experience. It is to keep Palestinians from having contact with each other, and to prevent the formation of civil society necessary for statehood. The purpose must be to make the Palestinian economy come to a standstill. When you can't get your vegetables to market because of a checkpoint that prevents movement, why bother growing them. The estimate is that the Palestinians lose $2 billion from their economy because of the checkpoints, which by the way are illegal under UN law.
Governments are not stupid, usually. When security is involved, there are always deeper reasons to what people are doing. The fact that we made it through the checkpoint easily was not a reason to celebrate. It is a time to reflect and know that he could have just as easily made our life hell, just because of how his mood was.
The soldier got on the bus, stared straight at me, and I waved at him and gave him a sincere smile. He then started to approach me with his M16 raised higher and he told me to "Ta'al!"
Which apparently in Arabic means come here now. As I don't speak Arabic, I didn't do what he asked of me because I didn't understand. My friends who do speak Arabic were afraid for my well being so they started speaking loudly he doesnt speak Arabic!!! He walked up to me, and I said nice to meet you. Then he turned around and said have a great day you can go and got off the bus. My palestinian friends said that he must have liked me. He went over to his soldier friends and pointed in my area and said that I was crazy, as we could tell from his hand gestures. The reason they aren't used to people wishing them a good day as I did was that it is extremely risky for a Palestinian to do. My friends told me last year a guy was beaten and detained for several hours for smiling at a soldier like I did on the bus. Perhaps my Americanism did protect me. I was grateful not to have to wait on the bus for many hours again. However, my British friend from Oxford pointed out how horrible this experience was. I asked him why, and he told me it was because the last experience at a checkpoint I was treated as if I was threatened with violent action against me and this one the guy smiled and told me to have a good day.
He said that meant that the actions at checkpoints are completely unstandardized. This opens the door for crimes against human beings. A soldier who must stand in one place for 10 hours a day, and gets very bored, and who is a teenager most of the time, can simply say or do whatever they want to. They can hit you, let you have a good day, arrest you, hold you for hours, or do anything else they would like. We have heard stories about ambulances being held up at checkpoints for hours while the people inside the ambulance die because they do not receive treatment. They hold 80 year old women sometimes at checkpoints for hours, where they are not allowed to go to the bathroom and must sit in 100 degree heat, which can be fatal to soemone that old. Women have gone into labor at checkpoints and have had miscarriages because they were not allowed to go to the hospital. Are these deaths not murder? Who is responsible for their deaths? They would have lived if they had not had to experience the checkpoints, so whose fault is it? Should you blame the air, the conflict, terrorists, the soldiers, who? No one holds the soldiers responsible for the deaths that happen at these checkpoints. Are these not crimes against humanity?
Another observation. A checkpoint in the American way of thinking about them would be a place to check people, see if they are carrying any contraband, and to let ones that are not go through. However, I do not believe that this is the purpose of the checkpoints. It doesn't take hours to check people to see if they are carrying something. They claim it takes 3 hours to look at someone's passport, but there is no way that is the case. The goal of the checkpoints must be what their effect is: which is to make travel around the west bank a terrible, sometimes dangerous experience. It is to keep Palestinians from having contact with each other, and to prevent the formation of civil society necessary for statehood. The purpose must be to make the Palestinian economy come to a standstill. When you can't get your vegetables to market because of a checkpoint that prevents movement, why bother growing them. The estimate is that the Palestinians lose $2 billion from their economy because of the checkpoints, which by the way are illegal under UN law.
Governments are not stupid, usually. When security is involved, there are always deeper reasons to what people are doing. The fact that we made it through the checkpoint easily was not a reason to celebrate. It is a time to reflect and know that he could have just as easily made our life hell, just because of how his mood was.
Hebron and a frightening situation
On Tuesday I went to the city of Hebron, the burial place of Abraham. We wanted to go to the citty center, but we had some major difficulties. One problem here that seems quite unfair is that foreigners are routinely allowed to go to places that Palestinians are forbidden to enter. One of the holiest places for Islam is the mosque that is next to the burial site of Abraham. It is also a holy place for Chrisitians and Jews. The sad part is that Israeli soldiers have restricted access to this holy place, and sometimes restrict entry to a day of the week that is not the day for prayer, which is supposed to be Friday. It's like someone surrounded the Vatican or something like that and said you could go in on Saturdays but not Sundays.
What really broke me heart was when we walked through the streets of inner Hebron. Settlers have taken the top floors of buildings here and occupied them, often throwing out their inhabitants. The Palestinians have put in place fishing nets to catch all the garbage the settlers throw out the window on people passing by. The settlers throw feces, urine, and rocks on top of people passing by. We got to see some of the bags thrown down, and it definitely was human excrement. In case we were in doubt of the veracity of this experience for palestinians, one of the girls in our group (who is a blond tall female) was hit in the head by a rock from above where the settlers live. She was relatively unhurt but a little shaken up as one could expect. There are 500 Jewish settlers here and 10,000 Israeli soldiers stationed to protect them. The settlers walk around with machine guns and generally make life miserable for the people surrounding them. We got to see photos the people of the city had taken of men that had been shot by Israeli soldiers that were bleeding to death and being dragged through the streets by the soldiers while they were dying. We got to see the Jewish settlements and saw the children of settlers digging up olive trees that were hundreds of years old to replace them with palm trees. We were helped out by a local Arab shop owner, who convinced the soldiers to let us through to see more of the situation.
After this experience, we got to go up on top of one of the roofs of a Palestinian and saw the extent of the security. We saw dozens of fortified positions, sniper stations, plenty of barbed wire, and more. The children in this building were living in appaling conditions. We learned later that Israeli soldiers had set the building on fire when they suspected a wanted man of being in there. The result was that many children were burned alive. On top of the building, we saw the water tanks for the settlers. They were massive, and were filled with water. The Palestinian water tanks had bullet holes through them so that they could not hold water. There only option is to catch rainwater, and some of the soldiers have a habit of shooting up their water tanks, for whatever reason they would like. We saw a fortified position, and when the guys saw us, they started singing loudly. I sang along, which they were a little surprised about.
A little Palestinian boy was on top of the roof, and a little Israeli settler boy was also on the roof. The Israeli boy walked over to the edge of the barbed wire, as did the Palestinian boy. Then they started talking as friends would. The soldier motioned for the kid to get back, but the Israeli boy ignored him. The kids told us that many of the kids from the different sides are good friends. However, they can never touch each other or shake hands or hug because of the barbed wire on top of the roofs. This wanted to make me cry. These kids care about each other even though their parents hate each other. I think this shows the capacity of the human heart and that hate is an unnatural state.
We were given some propaganda about how terrible the life is for Jews in Hebron. The worst pictures they could show us were an Arab woman giving them the finger and a jewish girl escorted by Palestinian police. The Jewish community existed in Hebron for hundreds of years, and left with all the conflict in the Zionist period, then came back. The settlers here are not neighbors, they are dominating. It is interesting to see 500 people make life hell for hundreds of thousands of people here in this city. They have taken the site of Abraham's grave and turned it into a war zone.
After Hebron, we went to a ceramic factory where they let me have a pot that had a defect for free and let me paint it to take home. Then we went back home to our campsite.
What really broke me heart was when we walked through the streets of inner Hebron. Settlers have taken the top floors of buildings here and occupied them, often throwing out their inhabitants. The Palestinians have put in place fishing nets to catch all the garbage the settlers throw out the window on people passing by. The settlers throw feces, urine, and rocks on top of people passing by. We got to see some of the bags thrown down, and it definitely was human excrement. In case we were in doubt of the veracity of this experience for palestinians, one of the girls in our group (who is a blond tall female) was hit in the head by a rock from above where the settlers live. She was relatively unhurt but a little shaken up as one could expect. There are 500 Jewish settlers here and 10,000 Israeli soldiers stationed to protect them. The settlers walk around with machine guns and generally make life miserable for the people surrounding them. We got to see photos the people of the city had taken of men that had been shot by Israeli soldiers that were bleeding to death and being dragged through the streets by the soldiers while they were dying. We got to see the Jewish settlements and saw the children of settlers digging up olive trees that were hundreds of years old to replace them with palm trees. We were helped out by a local Arab shop owner, who convinced the soldiers to let us through to see more of the situation.
After this experience, we got to go up on top of one of the roofs of a Palestinian and saw the extent of the security. We saw dozens of fortified positions, sniper stations, plenty of barbed wire, and more. The children in this building were living in appaling conditions. We learned later that Israeli soldiers had set the building on fire when they suspected a wanted man of being in there. The result was that many children were burned alive. On top of the building, we saw the water tanks for the settlers. They were massive, and were filled with water. The Palestinian water tanks had bullet holes through them so that they could not hold water. There only option is to catch rainwater, and some of the soldiers have a habit of shooting up their water tanks, for whatever reason they would like. We saw a fortified position, and when the guys saw us, they started singing loudly. I sang along, which they were a little surprised about.
A little Palestinian boy was on top of the roof, and a little Israeli settler boy was also on the roof. The Israeli boy walked over to the edge of the barbed wire, as did the Palestinian boy. Then they started talking as friends would. The soldier motioned for the kid to get back, but the Israeli boy ignored him. The kids told us that many of the kids from the different sides are good friends. However, they can never touch each other or shake hands or hug because of the barbed wire on top of the roofs. This wanted to make me cry. These kids care about each other even though their parents hate each other. I think this shows the capacity of the human heart and that hate is an unnatural state.
We were given some propaganda about how terrible the life is for Jews in Hebron. The worst pictures they could show us were an Arab woman giving them the finger and a jewish girl escorted by Palestinian police. The Jewish community existed in Hebron for hundreds of years, and left with all the conflict in the Zionist period, then came back. The settlers here are not neighbors, they are dominating. It is interesting to see 500 people make life hell for hundreds of thousands of people here in this city. They have taken the site of Abraham's grave and turned it into a war zone.
After Hebron, we went to a ceramic factory where they let me have a pot that had a defect for free and let me paint it to take home. Then we went back home to our campsite.
A comment about my experiences
Please feel free to comment about my posts. I understand that someof them may seem radical to some of you, but please read each post with some things in mind.
1. Everything I write about is from my own personal experiences here. The comments I make are from my own eyes and my own body. I do not pretend that I don't have biases, but please read them as they are intended: personal experiences.
2. I am a person of peace. I hate war. It is one of the most appalling crimes imaginable to shoot someone that in another place or time could be your best friend. Only in the most extreme circumstances is war or violence an option.
3. Please do not take these comments personally. I am trying to edit some of the stuff that I say just in case someone is reading my blog and decides to do something to me, but to remain truthful to my self, I must convey everything that I feel that I see. The comments in no way refer to my friends, whose friendship I value very much.
So look at my blog and decide for yourself what you think. Feel free to comment, but know that I am not reading a textbook or a news clip or propaganda about the conflict here, I am seeing it.
1. Everything I write about is from my own personal experiences here. The comments I make are from my own eyes and my own body. I do not pretend that I don't have biases, but please read them as they are intended: personal experiences.
2. I am a person of peace. I hate war. It is one of the most appalling crimes imaginable to shoot someone that in another place or time could be your best friend. Only in the most extreme circumstances is war or violence an option.
3. Please do not take these comments personally. I am trying to edit some of the stuff that I say just in case someone is reading my blog and decides to do something to me, but to remain truthful to my self, I must convey everything that I feel that I see. The comments in no way refer to my friends, whose friendship I value very much.
So look at my blog and decide for yourself what you think. Feel free to comment, but know that I am not reading a textbook or a news clip or propaganda about the conflict here, I am seeing it.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
War, Refugees, birthplace of Jesus, and the Pope
Yesterday I got the chance to go to the birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, and I must say it was an overwhelming experience in more than just a religious way. We were heading towards the checkpoint to Bethlehem from Ramallah, and it was taking a while, and the grade of the road was really really steep. We made it up thankfully, and then we had to deal with the checkpoint. We made it there, and two Israeli soldiers boarded the bus. They looked at us, and then demanded to see the passports of all the males on board. I showed them mine, and then they proceeded to take the Palestinian men off the bus. They were held for three hours, and so were we. I went off the bus to see how they were, and an Israeli soldier approached me. Apparently the checkpoint had a reputation for being one of the most violent and worst checkpoints in the West Bank. I showed the soldier my passport and red him the line that asks that US citizens be allowed to pass without delay or hindrance and he certainly did not like that. What happened next frightened me somewhat. He started screaming in my face to get on my bus immediately, and he took my passport, and then he gave it back to me and screamed louder in the tone of voice that undoubtedly says I'm getting ready to kill you. He pointed his M 16 a little higher and he made me walk in front of it. My friends told me that if I wasnt American he likely would have beat me or at least detained me for several hours. I view this military presence as a desecration of the holy birthplace of Jesus. Anyway, after they let the last palestinian friend of mine go, the guys told me that they had been selected for special interrogation where they would try and bribe them to be spies for Israel. If they did not show at the time given to them by the soldiers at the given location, they could be arrested. They also told me that guys who become spies for israel often get killed by the Palestinians for being spies. After we made it through, I discovered that I had not only asked that an Israeli soldier respect my right to visit a holy place, I had asked the commander of the checkpoint. Everyone was shocked that I spoke to him, but very proud of me that I had at least tried. They held us up for three hours without water in maybe 100 degree heat without the ability to use the bathroom or exit the bus. The bus was burning so much gas trying to stay cool we just turned it off.
I finally got to go to the holy city of Bethlehem, and I was able to visit the church of the nativity. It was such a wonderful feeling, but I had a knot in my stomach knowing how israeli men with machine guns were just a few miles away. There are three parts to the church: the roman catholic, the greek orthodox, and the armenian part. I saw the place of his birth and the manger. Apparently it is the oldest standing church in the world at around 1700 years old. I was also able to see the place where Joseph had his dream about going to Egypt. We also learned about the siege of the church of the nativity, where some palestinians, some combatant and some not, seeking refuge from the Israeli invasion into Bethlehem in 2002 fled for sanctuary. Apparently neither side respected the special status of the church. I saw the bullet holes in the top part of the church from the Israeli machine guns. The priests and other were surrounded for three weeks, 2 without food and water, until they reached a ceasefire.
It seems appalling that not even the birthplace of Jesus prince of peace is immune to violence from human hands.
Next we traveled to the Idaa refugee camp, and I wanted to cry. The Israelis have built a 30 foot high concrete wall with sniper positions on top walling in the refugees. The people are positive despite this. The artwork on the wall is incredible, and can only be described by showing it on facebook. The Pope was supposed to come to the camp, but the Israelis forced him to stay away from the wall to try and keep it out of the international spotlight. If I have ever seen apartheid, this is it. Arabs are treated as inferior human beings, and walls are built to make them live in cesspools so that they will be encouraged to leave. The refugees are descendants of people who were kicked out of their homes in 1948, and many people thought i summed up the israeli strategy when i asked what would happen when in 20 years there are no people alive who lived on that land. Then people will try and claim that they have no right to live on the land they were thrown from. The new generations of children are becoming less connected with their original villages every day. Also, just for good measure, the israelis threw up this horrible 30 foot tall wall right in the middle of a christian cemetery. Christians and Muslims suffer together under Israeli military occupation. It is also interesting to note that these people live 7 miles from Jerusalem, but are not allowed until they are about to die to go and pray at their holy sites in that city. If that's not apartheid, what do you call it?
I finally got to go to the holy city of Bethlehem, and I was able to visit the church of the nativity. It was such a wonderful feeling, but I had a knot in my stomach knowing how israeli men with machine guns were just a few miles away. There are three parts to the church: the roman catholic, the greek orthodox, and the armenian part. I saw the place of his birth and the manger. Apparently it is the oldest standing church in the world at around 1700 years old. I was also able to see the place where Joseph had his dream about going to Egypt. We also learned about the siege of the church of the nativity, where some palestinians, some combatant and some not, seeking refuge from the Israeli invasion into Bethlehem in 2002 fled for sanctuary. Apparently neither side respected the special status of the church. I saw the bullet holes in the top part of the church from the Israeli machine guns. The priests and other were surrounded for three weeks, 2 without food and water, until they reached a ceasefire.
It seems appalling that not even the birthplace of Jesus prince of peace is immune to violence from human hands.
Next we traveled to the Idaa refugee camp, and I wanted to cry. The Israelis have built a 30 foot high concrete wall with sniper positions on top walling in the refugees. The people are positive despite this. The artwork on the wall is incredible, and can only be described by showing it on facebook. The Pope was supposed to come to the camp, but the Israelis forced him to stay away from the wall to try and keep it out of the international spotlight. If I have ever seen apartheid, this is it. Arabs are treated as inferior human beings, and walls are built to make them live in cesspools so that they will be encouraged to leave. The refugees are descendants of people who were kicked out of their homes in 1948, and many people thought i summed up the israeli strategy when i asked what would happen when in 20 years there are no people alive who lived on that land. Then people will try and claim that they have no right to live on the land they were thrown from. The new generations of children are becoming less connected with their original villages every day. Also, just for good measure, the israelis threw up this horrible 30 foot tall wall right in the middle of a christian cemetery. Christians and Muslims suffer together under Israeli military occupation. It is also interesting to note that these people live 7 miles from Jerusalem, but are not allowed until they are about to die to go and pray at their holy sites in that city. If that's not apartheid, what do you call it?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
More time in West Bank
So I'm at Birzeit University camping right now, and its absolutely a blast. It's probably some of the best fun ive had in a long time. Everyone here is fairly open minded about everything, and we're watching movies, volunteering, studying the conflict, and even swimming in a pool and eating watermelon.
Tomorrow we will visit a refugee camp and will speak with one of the officials from the Palestinian Authority. The day after we are visiting the town of Bethlehem.
Life is good, everyone wants me to compete in Palestine's Got Talent tomorrow, so i need to spend some time figuring out something to do for that.
The situation here is getting tense, as Obama is openly opposing the illegal settlements proposed by Netanyahu, and the Israelis are ignoring him. We will see what becomes of that.
Tomorrow we will visit a refugee camp and will speak with one of the officials from the Palestinian Authority. The day after we are visiting the town of Bethlehem.
Life is good, everyone wants me to compete in Palestine's Got Talent tomorrow, so i need to spend some time figuring out something to do for that.
The situation here is getting tense, as Obama is openly opposing the illegal settlements proposed by Netanyahu, and the Israelis are ignoring him. We will see what becomes of that.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I've had it with Israeli security
Today I woke up at 7am and caught a taxi to the central station to go to King Hussein Bridge to go to the West Bank again. Little did I know that it was the beginning of a day that would try my patience and temper to the limit. The Jordanian side of the border was very hospitable and kind. Everyone pointed me to where the terminal was and guided me through the process. They took care of my luggage and made sure I understood the steps in the process, even though I do not speak Arabic.
Then I boarded the bus and went to the Allenby bridge terminal, manned by Israel. It is between the checks for the Jordanians and the Palestinians. I got off the bus, and waited to have my backpack go through security. I met some Spaniards and spoke with them a bit, and they helped guide me through the way they check baggage, which is nerve racking as they take your passport without telling you where it is going.
Then I went into the terminal itself, and little did i know that the next hours were to be a nightmare. First I went up to the counter where they check your passports. I told them the truth about my entire trip and where i was going. they apparently didnt like my explanation, so after an intense interrogation, they sent me over to wait in a holding area. I waited, and waited, and waited some more, all while people with other passports like jordan, palestinian authority, spain, etc. were passing by. Every hour or two I would ask what is going on, and they would tell me to go sit down, mind you they have my passport because they take it from you, so i had no id that showed i was american. After two hours, an alarm went off, and they sent everyone who had been through passport control back to the beginning because of what someone told me was an "emergency in a bag." After half an hour, people started going through again. Maybe after three hours of waiting and filling out a detailed paper questionaire about my whereabouts over the past several months, a woman came up to me and told me she would be asking more questions. As soon as she started, they hit the alarm again, and everything stopped once more. The lady disappeared and I had to wait for another hour for her to come back. Then some undercover Israeli agents, probably Mossad actually, started running around me and one shoved me out of the way to detain this old woman. I still dont know what her crime was. They interrogated her for a while and let her go. After 4 or 5 hours of waiting, the lady came back, and as if the first two times of interrogation weren't enough, she proceeded to ask me even more detailed questions and interrogate me further. This is after going through an air blast scanner to check me for bombs, which apparently they suspect me a lot here for some reason.
After that interrogation was over, I had the opportunity to make friends with an Israeli soldier who was originally from Virginia who seemed very chill and apologetic for the things he was being asked to do. It just so happened that he was the guy who called my name an hour later and had to demand information about the people I was staying with in Palestine. I sort of upset one of my hosts because he thinks I gave the soldier too much information that they could use against him, but I think he is being a little paranoid. I had to tell them something, and it's a good thing I told them good info because they then called the numbers to verify my story.
After this round, I waited another hour, and saw the soldier again, and I asked him what the deal was, and he told me that he had completed the paperwork and that i needed to go back to the waiting area again. I waited and waited, and finally they called my name. I waited in the line to get out, and got to the front and was about to pass through when one of the security people told me to halt and go to another detention area. The last round was the final straw. Everyone except the soldier had generally been very rude and unkind to me. I was interrogated again, this time in a ridiculous way. I was asked to recount my story for the fifth time in detail. I was also asked to give my opinion on the conflict and how I would solve it, which i took to be a trap to get me to espouse some negative views about israel and wait all night, so i dodged it with an its complicated line. She asked about every detail in my life. After this trial by fire, she asked me what religion I was and I replied Christian. She then asked me about my Muslim and Jewish friends, and I responded that I had many Arab friends, as well as a former Gaza jewish settler and a zionist roomate (i hope thats accurate if you're reading this Jamie, i figured it couldnt hurt to name drop random jewish friends of mine). Then she told me to start telling her everything I knew about the Jewish and Muslim religion. So I decided to give her what she asked for. I proceeded to start naming the books of the old testament in their relation to the Torah as well as the historic basis for rabbinic law in the Talmud. I also discussed the five pillars of Islam and the belief in the revealed word of the Quran to Muhammed by the angel Gabriel. I kept naming facts and I think she was sorry she asked the question. She then asked me about any weapons I was carrying. I told her none. Then finally, after 9 hours, she let me through to get my bags.
I restrained myself well I think. I wished I wanted to scream in her face and every other hateful israeli who questioned me. I wanted to yell that this is how you treat American citizens and a grandson of a man who died fighting nazis in world war two? I wanted to demand to speak to the US consul because US passports on the first page have a declaration requesting no delay or hindrance to us nationals, which they gave me as much as possible. I did my best to turn the other cheek, and i did. It seemed that Americans were being disproportionately singled out for interrogation, as many of the guys i met were americans. Israelis are not stupid. Their system is not innocently and horribly inefficient. It does not take 9 hours for someone to stamp a passport. What they did to me was a calculated effort to make my experience traveling to the west bank absolutely miserable. It backfired however, as now i am even less supportive of their prospective on the conflict. The strategy of the Israelis in the occupied west bank is to make anyone who desires a future for themselves or their children to get out. Once they are out, they make it almost impossible to return. The israelis are constantly taking more land in the west bank, and cutting farms in two, as well as depleting the water supply in the region.
One thing this trip has taught me thus far is that Israel is in no way the shining democracy in the middle of chaos that our lobbied representatives make it out to be. From my personal experience, Israel's representatives have been hateful, racially discriminating, unkind, and inhumane. They have treated old women like animals, and refuse to let little children go to the bathroom while they are forced to wait on buses for hours on end, all in the name of security. Now Israel has announced it is ignoring the US demands not to demolish more buildings in east jerusalem for more israeli settlements. I would vigorously argue that if they go through with this, all $3 billion in aid should be cut off by the US government. I have seen the Israel that they dont want you to see, and I am ashamed and shocked that my government which is supposed to stand for the dignity and freedom of man would stand by a state that is willing to trade 100 palestinian lives for one israeli life. Meanwhile in the US, our politicians lack the courage and the sight to change things here.
Let me be clear, I support a state of Israel. I do not support the actions I have seen them do. I understand the sensitivity and need for a Jewish state from my discussions with jewish friends. However, the most evil wrong in the history of the world (the holocaust) does not justify injustice towards fellow man. Also in the case of widespread maid/slave positions in Jordan as well as here in Israel, it seems that those who have suffered are more than willing to impose suffering on others, and that pains me to no end. I yearn for peace in the land of the prince of peace.
Then I boarded the bus and went to the Allenby bridge terminal, manned by Israel. It is between the checks for the Jordanians and the Palestinians. I got off the bus, and waited to have my backpack go through security. I met some Spaniards and spoke with them a bit, and they helped guide me through the way they check baggage, which is nerve racking as they take your passport without telling you where it is going.
Then I went into the terminal itself, and little did i know that the next hours were to be a nightmare. First I went up to the counter where they check your passports. I told them the truth about my entire trip and where i was going. they apparently didnt like my explanation, so after an intense interrogation, they sent me over to wait in a holding area. I waited, and waited, and waited some more, all while people with other passports like jordan, palestinian authority, spain, etc. were passing by. Every hour or two I would ask what is going on, and they would tell me to go sit down, mind you they have my passport because they take it from you, so i had no id that showed i was american. After two hours, an alarm went off, and they sent everyone who had been through passport control back to the beginning because of what someone told me was an "emergency in a bag." After half an hour, people started going through again. Maybe after three hours of waiting and filling out a detailed paper questionaire about my whereabouts over the past several months, a woman came up to me and told me she would be asking more questions. As soon as she started, they hit the alarm again, and everything stopped once more. The lady disappeared and I had to wait for another hour for her to come back. Then some undercover Israeli agents, probably Mossad actually, started running around me and one shoved me out of the way to detain this old woman. I still dont know what her crime was. They interrogated her for a while and let her go. After 4 or 5 hours of waiting, the lady came back, and as if the first two times of interrogation weren't enough, she proceeded to ask me even more detailed questions and interrogate me further. This is after going through an air blast scanner to check me for bombs, which apparently they suspect me a lot here for some reason.
After that interrogation was over, I had the opportunity to make friends with an Israeli soldier who was originally from Virginia who seemed very chill and apologetic for the things he was being asked to do. It just so happened that he was the guy who called my name an hour later and had to demand information about the people I was staying with in Palestine. I sort of upset one of my hosts because he thinks I gave the soldier too much information that they could use against him, but I think he is being a little paranoid. I had to tell them something, and it's a good thing I told them good info because they then called the numbers to verify my story.
After this round, I waited another hour, and saw the soldier again, and I asked him what the deal was, and he told me that he had completed the paperwork and that i needed to go back to the waiting area again. I waited and waited, and finally they called my name. I waited in the line to get out, and got to the front and was about to pass through when one of the security people told me to halt and go to another detention area. The last round was the final straw. Everyone except the soldier had generally been very rude and unkind to me. I was interrogated again, this time in a ridiculous way. I was asked to recount my story for the fifth time in detail. I was also asked to give my opinion on the conflict and how I would solve it, which i took to be a trap to get me to espouse some negative views about israel and wait all night, so i dodged it with an its complicated line. She asked about every detail in my life. After this trial by fire, she asked me what religion I was and I replied Christian. She then asked me about my Muslim and Jewish friends, and I responded that I had many Arab friends, as well as a former Gaza jewish settler and a zionist roomate (i hope thats accurate if you're reading this Jamie, i figured it couldnt hurt to name drop random jewish friends of mine). Then she told me to start telling her everything I knew about the Jewish and Muslim religion. So I decided to give her what she asked for. I proceeded to start naming the books of the old testament in their relation to the Torah as well as the historic basis for rabbinic law in the Talmud. I also discussed the five pillars of Islam and the belief in the revealed word of the Quran to Muhammed by the angel Gabriel. I kept naming facts and I think she was sorry she asked the question. She then asked me about any weapons I was carrying. I told her none. Then finally, after 9 hours, she let me through to get my bags.
I restrained myself well I think. I wished I wanted to scream in her face and every other hateful israeli who questioned me. I wanted to yell that this is how you treat American citizens and a grandson of a man who died fighting nazis in world war two? I wanted to demand to speak to the US consul because US passports on the first page have a declaration requesting no delay or hindrance to us nationals, which they gave me as much as possible. I did my best to turn the other cheek, and i did. It seemed that Americans were being disproportionately singled out for interrogation, as many of the guys i met were americans. Israelis are not stupid. Their system is not innocently and horribly inefficient. It does not take 9 hours for someone to stamp a passport. What they did to me was a calculated effort to make my experience traveling to the west bank absolutely miserable. It backfired however, as now i am even less supportive of their prospective on the conflict. The strategy of the Israelis in the occupied west bank is to make anyone who desires a future for themselves or their children to get out. Once they are out, they make it almost impossible to return. The israelis are constantly taking more land in the west bank, and cutting farms in two, as well as depleting the water supply in the region.
One thing this trip has taught me thus far is that Israel is in no way the shining democracy in the middle of chaos that our lobbied representatives make it out to be. From my personal experience, Israel's representatives have been hateful, racially discriminating, unkind, and inhumane. They have treated old women like animals, and refuse to let little children go to the bathroom while they are forced to wait on buses for hours on end, all in the name of security. Now Israel has announced it is ignoring the US demands not to demolish more buildings in east jerusalem for more israeli settlements. I would vigorously argue that if they go through with this, all $3 billion in aid should be cut off by the US government. I have seen the Israel that they dont want you to see, and I am ashamed and shocked that my government which is supposed to stand for the dignity and freedom of man would stand by a state that is willing to trade 100 palestinian lives for one israeli life. Meanwhile in the US, our politicians lack the courage and the sight to change things here.
Let me be clear, I support a state of Israel. I do not support the actions I have seen them do. I understand the sensitivity and need for a Jewish state from my discussions with jewish friends. However, the most evil wrong in the history of the world (the holocaust) does not justify injustice towards fellow man. Also in the case of widespread maid/slave positions in Jordan as well as here in Israel, it seems that those who have suffered are more than willing to impose suffering on others, and that pains me to no end. I yearn for peace in the land of the prince of peace.
Last day in Jordan
Last night I had a great time in the old city of Amman. I walked around with friends and had some cactus, along with a juice cocktail. We saw some of the old Crusader ruins, along with some other important sites. Amman is a pretty young city, taking off only after the situation with Israel ensued. Amman has around 2 million people in it I think. I also think I misquoted that earlier in the blog. Again in Jordan, I discovered a vibrant presence of a Christian minority. They used to be a lot more however, and their percent of the whole population has been steadily shrinking ever since the 1948 war over the Holy Land.
Back in the 1960s, according to older residents, people in Jordan were wearing mini skirts and the atmosphere was very relaxed. After the 6 day war, everything changed. Granted, Jordan was one of the perpetrators in this conflict, but regardless the result was a massive influx of poor stateless and homeless Palestinian refugees. They turned to the only thing that you can turn to in a state like that, their religion. Then came the Iranian revolution brought on because of US meddling in Iranian affairs, and society grew even more conservative. Before women could walk down the street how they wanted to, without head covering. Now, you get strange looks even in some places in Amman if you are not modestly dressed as a female. Amman is rapidly westernizing. It is returning to its former self, and is very Western friendly. Everyone with education speaks English for the most part, and the country of Jordan itself is one of America's closest allies in the Middle East. They paid dearly for it too. In 2005 or so, three suicide bombers blew themselves up at three different western hotels in the middle of wedding celebrations, taking scores of victims with them. One of the victims was the distant cousin of my host in Amman. The bombers wanted punish Jordan for signing a peace treaty with Israel and being too friendly towards the US. So I guess the moral is think twice before stereotyping about the middle east, because some people have literally lost family because of their support for America.
Back in the 1960s, according to older residents, people in Jordan were wearing mini skirts and the atmosphere was very relaxed. After the 6 day war, everything changed. Granted, Jordan was one of the perpetrators in this conflict, but regardless the result was a massive influx of poor stateless and homeless Palestinian refugees. They turned to the only thing that you can turn to in a state like that, their religion. Then came the Iranian revolution brought on because of US meddling in Iranian affairs, and society grew even more conservative. Before women could walk down the street how they wanted to, without head covering. Now, you get strange looks even in some places in Amman if you are not modestly dressed as a female. Amman is rapidly westernizing. It is returning to its former self, and is very Western friendly. Everyone with education speaks English for the most part, and the country of Jordan itself is one of America's closest allies in the Middle East. They paid dearly for it too. In 2005 or so, three suicide bombers blew themselves up at three different western hotels in the middle of wedding celebrations, taking scores of victims with them. One of the victims was the distant cousin of my host in Amman. The bombers wanted punish Jordan for signing a peace treaty with Israel and being too friendly towards the US. So I guess the moral is think twice before stereotyping about the middle east, because some people have literally lost family because of their support for America.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Ramtha and the Underground
I went next to the Syrian border yesterday, and did not actually try to pass there because if i did i would never be allowed to go there for the rest of my life because of my west bank stamp, but it's not like i would really want to go there anyway.
I hung out with my friend ali zuaiter from uf, and we sat on traditional style arabic couches, which are on the floor. I then went to some of ali's friends house, where i learned some jordanian dances, as well as the underground culture running throughout jordan, especially among the youth. Here, society enforces the rules of the game. Nobody knows all the rules, but you should know if something is by the rules if you see it. For example, if you live in a small village in jordan, then everyone knows you and your parents. Dating and relationships are not allowed in Islam as they practice it here, so if people see you holding hands with someone of the opposite sex, they will tell your parents as if you just had an illegitimate child. Society here is extremely culturally conservative. People that don't like the rules of the society still enforce the rules, almost subconsciously. Some women obviously don't like the dress code of more conservative Islam, as you see women in the streets wearing the hidjab, or headscarf, along with very provocative clothing. These women simply wear it because their parents demand it. My female friends here in Jordan who are studying arabic have it tough because of gender standards here. The students live on campus, but with a big difference in how they are treated. Men have no curfew, while if women stay out past 10pm, they will be locked out of their dorm rooms and will find their reputations damaged.
Some of these rules provide for stable families and everyone knows who their parents are, which is good in some ways. The divorce rate is not nearly as high as the states, where we date people for months or years before marrying. Here, you ask a girl to marry you and there is a process that goes on for a little while until she decides for sure. It is easy to criticize the culture of others, but there are always positives and negatives. In the US now, 40% of all children are born to unwedded mothers. Not to say at all that these women cannot raise children and have their offspring turn out absolutely fine. However, I suspect that few people would challenge the fact that a child is much more likely to have a good life if there are two parents in the home. It seems as if Jordan's culture might be more effective at getting this to happen.
Even so, some of the aspects of the more traditional residents are appalling by western standards. There is a sort of Montague/ Capulet thing goign on here. My friends at Jordan Univ told me there was a shooting on campus just last week where someone died. The argument was over a chair, yes a chair. The situation with some of the old established families here is not that different than the situation in LA between the Bloods and the Crypts. It is probably worse here though.
Another appalling aspect of the culture here is something called honor killings. This is not defended in Islam but is actually a vestige of culture from a long long time ago that still continues among some groups of people with rather traditional views. It basically says that if you do anything to dishonor the family name, especially anything viewed as sexually impure, the other male members of your family have the right to kill you. So women that have not been pure as they say are sometimes killed by their brothers or even their fathers. One recent case was that a woman was suspected of adultery and her brother took her to the Dead Sea and drowned her. It turns out that she was not having an affair after all, but too late for her. Honor killings in Jordan in extreme cases can even be over something as simple as a kiss. Generally what happens is that honor killings get a slap on the wrist and the perpetrators turn themselves in and get maybe a couple of months in jail.
An editorial comment: It is generally arrogant and judgmental for an academic to criticize another part of someone else's culture, but honor killings are an absolutely horrifying crime against women that must stop if jordan is ever to be accepted as a modern country. Civilizations of the world used to sacrifice their first borns and have relations with temple prostitutes, and I think the concept of honor killings ranks close to these first two concepts.
Another interesting issue is the bottled up sexuality of men here in jordan. They are expected as well to remain pure until marriage, but without the ability to even date or kiss someone, they have a reputation among some women here for being especially perverted. Some friends of mine in Aqaba got asked how expensive they were several times by drivers by. Also, men tend to stare creepily at women if they see them in shorts and a tank top for example. Men will also growl, hiss, bark, and ask women to get in their cars. This behavior may seem strange but someone described the situation to me as a pressurized liquid in a bottle. If you undo the cap just a little, it starts to pop.
Men and women seem to be restricted by the rules of the game here. Women have rules that are supposed to keep them pure, and men have rules that seem to drive some of them crazy. I am glad I live in America. At least you have the right to make the choice on how you want to live.
Sorry for seeming like I'm bashing. Jordan is becoming more and more westernized and more relaxed. Maybe in 10 years things will be changed, as they already have. Jordan is not completely western or eastern. It is stuck in between two worlds, and it seems to be having an identity crisis. I like it here nonetheless, people are more honest and helpful than other places, and their hospitality is unmatched. I will continue to describe my situation here. I think I will attempt to go back to the West Bank tomorrow. Hope and pray that my crossing goes well. It took 8 hours and lots of screaming at me last time I crossed the border. We shall see.
I hung out with my friend ali zuaiter from uf, and we sat on traditional style arabic couches, which are on the floor. I then went to some of ali's friends house, where i learned some jordanian dances, as well as the underground culture running throughout jordan, especially among the youth. Here, society enforces the rules of the game. Nobody knows all the rules, but you should know if something is by the rules if you see it. For example, if you live in a small village in jordan, then everyone knows you and your parents. Dating and relationships are not allowed in Islam as they practice it here, so if people see you holding hands with someone of the opposite sex, they will tell your parents as if you just had an illegitimate child. Society here is extremely culturally conservative. People that don't like the rules of the society still enforce the rules, almost subconsciously. Some women obviously don't like the dress code of more conservative Islam, as you see women in the streets wearing the hidjab, or headscarf, along with very provocative clothing. These women simply wear it because their parents demand it. My female friends here in Jordan who are studying arabic have it tough because of gender standards here. The students live on campus, but with a big difference in how they are treated. Men have no curfew, while if women stay out past 10pm, they will be locked out of their dorm rooms and will find their reputations damaged.
Some of these rules provide for stable families and everyone knows who their parents are, which is good in some ways. The divorce rate is not nearly as high as the states, where we date people for months or years before marrying. Here, you ask a girl to marry you and there is a process that goes on for a little while until she decides for sure. It is easy to criticize the culture of others, but there are always positives and negatives. In the US now, 40% of all children are born to unwedded mothers. Not to say at all that these women cannot raise children and have their offspring turn out absolutely fine. However, I suspect that few people would challenge the fact that a child is much more likely to have a good life if there are two parents in the home. It seems as if Jordan's culture might be more effective at getting this to happen.
Even so, some of the aspects of the more traditional residents are appalling by western standards. There is a sort of Montague/ Capulet thing goign on here. My friends at Jordan Univ told me there was a shooting on campus just last week where someone died. The argument was over a chair, yes a chair. The situation with some of the old established families here is not that different than the situation in LA between the Bloods and the Crypts. It is probably worse here though.
Another appalling aspect of the culture here is something called honor killings. This is not defended in Islam but is actually a vestige of culture from a long long time ago that still continues among some groups of people with rather traditional views. It basically says that if you do anything to dishonor the family name, especially anything viewed as sexually impure, the other male members of your family have the right to kill you. So women that have not been pure as they say are sometimes killed by their brothers or even their fathers. One recent case was that a woman was suspected of adultery and her brother took her to the Dead Sea and drowned her. It turns out that she was not having an affair after all, but too late for her. Honor killings in Jordan in extreme cases can even be over something as simple as a kiss. Generally what happens is that honor killings get a slap on the wrist and the perpetrators turn themselves in and get maybe a couple of months in jail.
An editorial comment: It is generally arrogant and judgmental for an academic to criticize another part of someone else's culture, but honor killings are an absolutely horrifying crime against women that must stop if jordan is ever to be accepted as a modern country. Civilizations of the world used to sacrifice their first borns and have relations with temple prostitutes, and I think the concept of honor killings ranks close to these first two concepts.
Another interesting issue is the bottled up sexuality of men here in jordan. They are expected as well to remain pure until marriage, but without the ability to even date or kiss someone, they have a reputation among some women here for being especially perverted. Some friends of mine in Aqaba got asked how expensive they were several times by drivers by. Also, men tend to stare creepily at women if they see them in shorts and a tank top for example. Men will also growl, hiss, bark, and ask women to get in their cars. This behavior may seem strange but someone described the situation to me as a pressurized liquid in a bottle. If you undo the cap just a little, it starts to pop.
Men and women seem to be restricted by the rules of the game here. Women have rules that are supposed to keep them pure, and men have rules that seem to drive some of them crazy. I am glad I live in America. At least you have the right to make the choice on how you want to live.
Sorry for seeming like I'm bashing. Jordan is becoming more and more westernized and more relaxed. Maybe in 10 years things will be changed, as they already have. Jordan is not completely western or eastern. It is stuck in between two worlds, and it seems to be having an identity crisis. I like it here nonetheless, people are more honest and helpful than other places, and their hospitality is unmatched. I will continue to describe my situation here. I think I will attempt to go back to the West Bank tomorrow. Hope and pray that my crossing goes well. It took 8 hours and lots of screaming at me last time I crossed the border. We shall see.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Aqaba
So the hotel i stayed in was supposed to be the cheap, hold your breath and sleep there for 5 hours kind of place, except that it wasnt. it was surprisingly nice. i would have paid much less if i had someone to share the room with, but it happens. someone told me breakfast was at 7am, so i woke up then after falling asleep at 3 and having gotten 3 hours of sleep the night before. then i was the only one at breakfast, so i heard 9am from someone and i tried to sleep before i went to take a glass bottom boat ride on the red sea. there are so many sea urchins here its crazy, and tons of green brain coral. the coral here is right next to the beach, and surprisingly it is relatively intact. a lot of the coral in mexico is bleached from all the sunscreen, pollution, and touching of it. the coral was right at the public beach and it was ok. i was surprised. so we went shopping for like 1 hour and there wasnt a lot to see that i could afford. then we went to the beach and i swam in my shorts, and i really dont recommend using the public bathrooms. i thought the ones in la public beach were bad.
however, the corals and the beach were spectacular. my only regret is that i did not have a snorkel or scuba to see more. what i saw with my naked eye was pretty cool though. i accidentally stepped on a flounder twice, and was tickled when it tried to swim out from under my foot, it was ok in case someone is passing this stuff onto peta. i also had some tropical fish swimming under my feet. after seeing this, we went to a china town, for more shopping of course, and i had something that i think he said was red snapper, but who knows what it really was.i know it was fish that had a very powerful looking jaw. afterwards, we got on the bus and headed back to amman, the capital. i met a lot of cool people and will try and stay in touch with them.
one more thing, i just got ripped off by a taxi driver. the meter said 1.5 dinars (2 dollars) and we got there and he said it was 10 dinars. i wanted to refuse, but he said that the taxis do not drive on meter at night and he zeroed it before we arrived. i really wanted to say no way am i paying that, but hecould have easily zoomed a distance away from my destination and maybe try to drive away with something in the car, so i paid him. it really does stink that the people who get rewarded monetarily are the dishonest ones while the people that are truthful and dont take advantage do not get materially rewarded for their good behavior, at least in the tourist industry here. also, never ever go anywhere in a foreign country without someone who speaks the native language with you at all times, because on the virtue of your americanism and high per capita gdp, you will be charged at least 4 times the normal price. for example the taxi ride if i had spoken arabic would be no more than 2 dinars. thanks for letting me vent. oh well, it would have been that much or more in new york, so whatever.
even so, today i swam in the red sea, where moses was thousands of years ago. i was also very near the place where jesus was baptized. it really is surreal being in a land where so much happened. it is interesting that one small patch of land is the religious center for 3 billion or more people worldwide.
however, the corals and the beach were spectacular. my only regret is that i did not have a snorkel or scuba to see more. what i saw with my naked eye was pretty cool though. i accidentally stepped on a flounder twice, and was tickled when it tried to swim out from under my foot, it was ok in case someone is passing this stuff onto peta. i also had some tropical fish swimming under my feet. after seeing this, we went to a china town, for more shopping of course, and i had something that i think he said was red snapper, but who knows what it really was.i know it was fish that had a very powerful looking jaw. afterwards, we got on the bus and headed back to amman, the capital. i met a lot of cool people and will try and stay in touch with them.
one more thing, i just got ripped off by a taxi driver. the meter said 1.5 dinars (2 dollars) and we got there and he said it was 10 dinars. i wanted to refuse, but he said that the taxis do not drive on meter at night and he zeroed it before we arrived. i really wanted to say no way am i paying that, but hecould have easily zoomed a distance away from my destination and maybe try to drive away with something in the car, so i paid him. it really does stink that the people who get rewarded monetarily are the dishonest ones while the people that are truthful and dont take advantage do not get materially rewarded for their good behavior, at least in the tourist industry here. also, never ever go anywhere in a foreign country without someone who speaks the native language with you at all times, because on the virtue of your americanism and high per capita gdp, you will be charged at least 4 times the normal price. for example the taxi ride if i had spoken arabic would be no more than 2 dinars. thanks for letting me vent. oh well, it would have been that much or more in new york, so whatever.
even so, today i swam in the red sea, where moses was thousands of years ago. i was also very near the place where jesus was baptized. it really is surreal being in a land where so much happened. it is interesting that one small patch of land is the religious center for 3 billion or more people worldwide.
2 exhausting days
I am going to break up these posts into 2 for the past 2 days since they were so action packed.
First some commentary about the first day i arrived in jordan. When I first made it here, I was greeted by some good friends, I made myself at home, and then I checked out wikipedia to try and get a basic understanding of my surroundings in the country of jordan. I was then asked by a filipino woman if i needed any clothes washed, and i said yes and gave her some. I was shocked to discover that she was a maid, and that she would do what the family asked of her. She brought me tea and coffee, and even snacks without me asking. I felt very awkward of how helpful she was, and found out that many families in jordan have maids. when i did a further examination, apparently even people who would be considered lower class in the us have maids. Apparently there is an agreement with the filipino government to send over the poorest of the poor to work for 2 years as a maid in someone's home. First, you must pay the government for the right to use a maid like 4000 dinars or about $6000. Then you pay her flight to jordan, and then you pay her salary of only 100 dollars a month!!! I think a fair way to describe the conditions of these women's servitude slavery light. I some think it is hardly fair to pay someone 100 dollars a month, and probably amounts to exploitation. Some families beat their maids, and some do worse things to them. Although they come here knowing what they risk and will be paid, so the desire is there. In the US i think the relationship maids have here would be very stigmitized against the host because of the conditions, but then again this is not the US. So there are thousands upon thousands of Malay, Chinese, and Filipino maids here living with families. Now for other info.
On Friday I got on a bus headed for the ancient city of Petra, considered to be one of the new 7 wonders of the ancient world. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed here, as well as Transformers 2 and Tomb Raider, as it is very very impressive. I think it is the most outstanding archaelogical site i've ever seen, and ive seen all the sites in the yucatan including chichen itza. the main building was stunningly beautiful. the nabateian civilization around the time of christ built massive buildings into the side of mountains. they were sort of greek and were powerful because of their trade routes. Like any good tourist location, there were hundreds of locals trying to sell their goods, and some of the people i felt so sorry for i gave them the change i had. of course, i also think that some of these people need to give presentations on how to aggressively sell and market material, as they have their 4 year olds running up to you and saying please buy please buy. so much for child labor laws.
Petra was also used by the romans and the greeks. I walked on a road that was 2000 years old and ran into an ampitheater that seats 4000 people. this is random but i was walking around looking at the sites and i heard a guy speaking spanish with a mexican accent so i talked with him in spanish for a while. it makes me feel better since i dont know arabic that i can at least speak in one other language. they have a joke, whats another word for american, monolingual. anyway, we loaded the bus and drove to wadi rum, a huge desert.
i got on a four wheel drive truck and rode around and i rolled down a sand dune fast, and could not stop rolling at the bottom because i was so dizzy. maybe ill post the video on youtube. we went to see bedouin tents and danced to arabic music, as well as had an arabic meal, then we went to spend the night in the city of aqaba, which is a resort town on the red sea.
First some commentary about the first day i arrived in jordan. When I first made it here, I was greeted by some good friends, I made myself at home, and then I checked out wikipedia to try and get a basic understanding of my surroundings in the country of jordan. I was then asked by a filipino woman if i needed any clothes washed, and i said yes and gave her some. I was shocked to discover that she was a maid, and that she would do what the family asked of her. She brought me tea and coffee, and even snacks without me asking. I felt very awkward of how helpful she was, and found out that many families in jordan have maids. when i did a further examination, apparently even people who would be considered lower class in the us have maids. Apparently there is an agreement with the filipino government to send over the poorest of the poor to work for 2 years as a maid in someone's home. First, you must pay the government for the right to use a maid like 4000 dinars or about $6000. Then you pay her flight to jordan, and then you pay her salary of only 100 dollars a month!!! I think a fair way to describe the conditions of these women's servitude slavery light. I some think it is hardly fair to pay someone 100 dollars a month, and probably amounts to exploitation. Some families beat their maids, and some do worse things to them. Although they come here knowing what they risk and will be paid, so the desire is there. In the US i think the relationship maids have here would be very stigmitized against the host because of the conditions, but then again this is not the US. So there are thousands upon thousands of Malay, Chinese, and Filipino maids here living with families. Now for other info.
On Friday I got on a bus headed for the ancient city of Petra, considered to be one of the new 7 wonders of the ancient world. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed here, as well as Transformers 2 and Tomb Raider, as it is very very impressive. I think it is the most outstanding archaelogical site i've ever seen, and ive seen all the sites in the yucatan including chichen itza. the main building was stunningly beautiful. the nabateian civilization around the time of christ built massive buildings into the side of mountains. they were sort of greek and were powerful because of their trade routes. Like any good tourist location, there were hundreds of locals trying to sell their goods, and some of the people i felt so sorry for i gave them the change i had. of course, i also think that some of these people need to give presentations on how to aggressively sell and market material, as they have their 4 year olds running up to you and saying please buy please buy. so much for child labor laws.
Petra was also used by the romans and the greeks. I walked on a road that was 2000 years old and ran into an ampitheater that seats 4000 people. this is random but i was walking around looking at the sites and i heard a guy speaking spanish with a mexican accent so i talked with him in spanish for a while. it makes me feel better since i dont know arabic that i can at least speak in one other language. they have a joke, whats another word for american, monolingual. anyway, we loaded the bus and drove to wadi rum, a huge desert.
i got on a four wheel drive truck and rode around and i rolled down a sand dune fast, and could not stop rolling at the bottom because i was so dizzy. maybe ill post the video on youtube. we went to see bedouin tents and danced to arabic music, as well as had an arabic meal, then we went to spend the night in the city of aqaba, which is a resort town on the red sea.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
What Israel did not want me to see
Today I embarked on a journey to spend one week in the country of jordan, which is one of america'a strongest allies in the region. It started with me waking up at 4 am to catch a taxi to the port of exit to leave Palestine. For Palestinians, there is only one way to exit the West Bank, and that is the Allenby bridge. If they want to fly to a foreign country, visit relatives in another area like Egypt, or anything involving some place outside of the west bank, Palestinians (including those that are American citizens with Palestinian ethnic identity) must go through a very tedious process. We arrived at some sort of bus station, and I befriended a man who spoke very good English who offered to help me. We had to pull up and get a number, not too bad you would think, except I was number 769 in line. I went in the station and there were hundreds of people, young and old, sitting and standing and waiting. The Israelis only keep the border open from 8am to 5pm or so, so they must be ready and waiting to move when the Israelis open it. If you think it is hard to travel to foreign countries, you have never experienced what can only be described as the misery involved in passing to jordan through the west bank. First, once we finally got on bus, we had to pay a $30 tax or so just for leaving. This tax is on top of the $20 fee the Jordanians require. So the bus goes to the Palestinian checkpoint, they scan you, and let you pass rather quickly. Then you must get back on the bus, and go to the Israeli part of the checkpoint. You get off the bus again and go to their bus station. I followed my Palestinian friend, who helped me navigate the multistep process and the stress that came with people in uniform constantly taking my passport and disappearing for a while. Anyway, I went in the line with the Palestinians, which is the part that the Israelis did not want me to see. They say you are supposed to respect your elders, but I saw people as young or younger than myself treat senior citizens with contempt, disrespect, and rudeness. They shouted orders at people five times their age, and most of the Israeli guards were quite unpleasant, particularly the one who saw my passport i was holding and yelled at me that i had to go somewhere else as my friend was about to get on the bus. She ignored me for a while, and was quite unpleasant. When I asked for my passport back, I received the reply of its not my problem. The girl who finally hepled me out was the only kind person I met at the terminal. She took me to another location, and said that since I was American I had to pay $5 more than the Palestinians. I held my tongue, but I was thinking in my head that it is quite funny that the Israelis want me as an American to pay them $5 more for leaving a territory they occupy when every United States citizen indirectly gives Israel $10 every year in the form of foreign aid. I felt like saying, ok if you want me to pay you more sheckels and you treat me like this, maybe you can return the $3 billion the US gives you every year and we'll call it even.
There were two terminals, one for Palestinians and one for tourists. The one for tourists was quick, no lines, people were nice, and it had a very friendly and peaceful atmosphere. The Palestinian corridor however, was full of downright meaness. I understand that there is a conflict here, but at the same time, it wasn't right what they were doing to someone's grandparents. They wanted foreigners to see the nice, pretty, smiling face Israel, not the intense face they show all the Palestinians. After suffering humiliation, the Israelis then expect Palestinians to get on a bus again and wait in the heat for an indeterminant period of time that can last up to several hours, just because they have the power to make you wait. Finally, we got to the Jordanian border, and I received help from Palestinians on how to get to the central taxi station in Amman, where I connected with my hosts in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. One of their family members goes to school with me at University of Florida. I am glad to be in friendly hands again. Although generalizations are dangerous, for the most part, my positive experiences here in the holy land have been the result of Arab generosity and graciousness, and most of my angst has been at the hands of Israelis, and I only spent one day in Israel proper so far. One thing is for sure, the hospitality I have been shown in the Arab households I have stayed in has far exceeded my expectations. They are probably the kindest people I have run in to, as far as respecting visitors. It's part of the culture here. I am now planning on taking a trip to the historical parts of Jordan.
There were two terminals, one for Palestinians and one for tourists. The one for tourists was quick, no lines, people were nice, and it had a very friendly and peaceful atmosphere. The Palestinian corridor however, was full of downright meaness. I understand that there is a conflict here, but at the same time, it wasn't right what they were doing to someone's grandparents. They wanted foreigners to see the nice, pretty, smiling face Israel, not the intense face they show all the Palestinians. After suffering humiliation, the Israelis then expect Palestinians to get on a bus again and wait in the heat for an indeterminant period of time that can last up to several hours, just because they have the power to make you wait. Finally, we got to the Jordanian border, and I received help from Palestinians on how to get to the central taxi station in Amman, where I connected with my hosts in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. One of their family members goes to school with me at University of Florida. I am glad to be in friendly hands again. Although generalizations are dangerous, for the most part, my positive experiences here in the holy land have been the result of Arab generosity and graciousness, and most of my angst has been at the hands of Israelis, and I only spent one day in Israel proper so far. One thing is for sure, the hospitality I have been shown in the Arab households I have stayed in has far exceeded my expectations. They are probably the kindest people I have run in to, as far as respecting visitors. It's part of the culture here. I am now planning on taking a trip to the historical parts of Jordan.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Going to Jordan
This post is going to be quick because I am catching a taxi to Amman, the capital city of the country of Jordan. I am visiting friends there, partly for recreational purposes and also to learn about the surrounding environment. My gracious hosts could also use a break. Amman has about 4 million people in it, and its absolutely massive.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
The Exodus of Christians in the Holy Land
Well, before I address the title of this post, let me say that I have been going to a bunch of coffee shops lately. It's always fun walking around at night, because there is always activity.
Anyways, today is Sunday, so I thought it might be cool to go to a church service here in the West Bank. I think many Americans have a huge misconception of the type that led to massacres in the Crusades. When the forces of Christendom descended on the Holy Land around 1000 years ago, they indiscriminately slaughtered men, women, and children. They assumed that everyone that did not have the light skin tone of Europe was an "infidel." In reality, what they did was execute thousands upon thousands of Arab Christians. It is far easier to stereotype and label than it is to try and understand complexity.
First of all, Arabs have been diverse in religion for many hundreds of years. In Ramallah about 50 years ago, close to 80% of the population was Arab Christian. Muslims, Christians, and Jews had been living side by side in the Holy Land for centuries before the state of Israel was established. Since the creation of this state, the West Bank has been under varying degrees of military occupation. Now the city of Ramallah, where I am presently located, has seen the percentage of residents identifying as Christians drop to 10%. Muslim and Christian alike have suffered under the occupation of the West Bank here. Regardless of your religion, if your family resides in the West Bank and you have no Israeli ID, you are not allowed to visit places like Jerusalem. What has happened is the Arab Christians have had better luck getting visas to get out, and they have taken the opportunity, while their Muslim counterparts have a much more difficult path to obtaining visas. A man I met in the church today said that because he has an Arab name, he is not allowed to visit the holy city of Jerusalem, which is about 30 minutes away. Another person told me their cousin works at the IAEA, or the international agency that oversees nuclear issues. He landed in Tel Aviv Airport and was sent back to his country of residence because he has an Arab name. It doesn't seem right.
So one of the unexpected consequences of occupation has been a dramatic decrease in religious diversity in the West Bank, which most Muslim Arabs that I have spoken with decry. They say if Israeli occupation continues the way it does now, their will not be any Christians in the West Bank in another couple of decades.
Anyways, today is Sunday, so I thought it might be cool to go to a church service here in the West Bank. I think many Americans have a huge misconception of the type that led to massacres in the Crusades. When the forces of Christendom descended on the Holy Land around 1000 years ago, they indiscriminately slaughtered men, women, and children. They assumed that everyone that did not have the light skin tone of Europe was an "infidel." In reality, what they did was execute thousands upon thousands of Arab Christians. It is far easier to stereotype and label than it is to try and understand complexity.
First of all, Arabs have been diverse in religion for many hundreds of years. In Ramallah about 50 years ago, close to 80% of the population was Arab Christian. Muslims, Christians, and Jews had been living side by side in the Holy Land for centuries before the state of Israel was established. Since the creation of this state, the West Bank has been under varying degrees of military occupation. Now the city of Ramallah, where I am presently located, has seen the percentage of residents identifying as Christians drop to 10%. Muslim and Christian alike have suffered under the occupation of the West Bank here. Regardless of your religion, if your family resides in the West Bank and you have no Israeli ID, you are not allowed to visit places like Jerusalem. What has happened is the Arab Christians have had better luck getting visas to get out, and they have taken the opportunity, while their Muslim counterparts have a much more difficult path to obtaining visas. A man I met in the church today said that because he has an Arab name, he is not allowed to visit the holy city of Jerusalem, which is about 30 minutes away. Another person told me their cousin works at the IAEA, or the international agency that oversees nuclear issues. He landed in Tel Aviv Airport and was sent back to his country of residence because he has an Arab name. It doesn't seem right.
So one of the unexpected consequences of occupation has been a dramatic decrease in religious diversity in the West Bank, which most Muslim Arabs that I have spoken with decry. They say if Israeli occupation continues the way it does now, their will not be any Christians in the West Bank in another couple of decades.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Moutains and Flames
So more surprises today. I went to a barbeque, where I said my first correct complete sentence in Arabic; you could say i pick up slowly. Anyway, while we were eating, a forest fire broke out next to us, and it quickly consumed huge trees and we had to move fast, as it doesn't rain in summer. We had to call the Palestinian fire service, and they made it in like 7 minutes to some remote mountain road. I was quite impressed. They quickly put it out, but not before the fire had consumed a fair number of trees. After that, we ate and decided to hike down the mountain. I got torn up from all the sharp and pointy plants, but had a great time. There were lots of olive trees. I made it up to the top again, although I got a slight burn on my finger from a hot coal that landed on me. Haha, no worries, I am well; it's just funny that I was next to a wildfire today. Go figure.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Travis Dancing the Night Away
So I just got a ride home from some random fiesta in a valley in west bank to my host home in ramallah based solely on my insane dancing skills, or maybe it was because everyone was very amused by the crazy American who danced like nobody was watching. Whichever, and I prefer the former, I am glad I did not have to find my way home in the dark. I'm not sure I would have been able to find it. It's hard to see at night because of the intense fog.
Free Shoes because of the red, white, and blue
I woke up very late today, like noon or so. We went to the university (Birzeit) and met with a professor, who was about 25 years old. She helped us narrow down our applicant pool to a group that we will interview on Monday. I made a huge cultural mistake today. She had to bribe the dean of the college with one of her 2 pieces of pizza so that he would stay later for us to get there. She then offered me her other slice. I had no idea that this was her lunch. She asked me if I wanted it, and I said yes and ate it, all while Jehad had a look of horror on his face. He told me after the fact that Arabs will be more generous than they intend in everyday conversation, and you are supposed to refuse their generous offer 3 times, and if they continue with their insisting after this, it is rude to refuse and you should accept. However, I did not know this rule and said yes on the first time, which is apparently pretty taboo. We then drove to the city and hung out in a coffee/hang out place (which is like being in a cloud of cigarette smoke, the youth here smoke like the 1950s in America). After that we went to meet my host father at a shoe shop. He needed some new shoes, and the Arab owner found out I was American. I knew something was up because in their conversation he started saying Ameriqi, Ameriqi!!! I wasn't sure what to expect. He told me that he was an American citizen and that the West Bank is his second home. He is probably the most enthusiastic American I've ever met. He said "God Bless America!!" and other things. He also asked me if I knew Fairfax County in Northern Virginia, and said "you know Virginia is for lovers," which is the state slogan. He showed me photos of his home in America, and said his path to citizenship was complicated. He then asked me what was on American money, and I replied "in God we trust. " He then revealed a large tatoo on his arm of an American eagle and the phrase in God we trust. He told my host father that since he was hosting an American, the shoes, which were leather and about $25, would be free. My host father did the proper Arab ritual of rejecting 3 times, and the owner forced him to accept the gift. He told him that the shoes were a gift from me. This goes to show you that Americans come in all different stripes and circumstances. The man told me that if I needed anything while I was in Ramallah that he would gladly take care of it for me. Someone remarked that half of the city here is American. Many come here for a summer or something. My trainer in the gym is also American, and seems to know workout terminology better in English than Arabic. The Arab Americans here share a love of peace and their new country. I would not be surprised if I did not see a 4th of July celebration here.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
The Latino Music Scene in the West Bank
So every time I look around me, society in the West Bank is more sophisticated. I went out to Birzeit University with my friend today and met some great people, among them a student who fluently speaks 6 languages. We had a conversation in Spanish; it was a little surreal. We are going out to the university again tomorrow to choose the students. After the experience looking around the university, I went on my own this time to the gym, which is near the top of a nice building in downtown. It is cooler than if it had AC, because of the great breeze here. I got to be friends with the workout coach, Adam, who is an Arab American. He showed me some great new exercises that I had not even thought about before, as well as some muscle groups I did not know existed. After being a little sore from running 4 k and "playing" as my British educated friends call it (weightlifting), I went with a friend to see Chico and the Gypsies, a latino band playing at the Palestinian international music festival. It was crazy. Everyone was dancing like crazy, and few women in the audience were wearing head scarfs. Society here in Ramallah is an interesting intersection of Muslim, Christian, secular, and fun loving. We danced the night away to Latin and Arabic tunes in the middle of the seat of the Palestinian Authority. This city is like New York in a micro version. It has the trappings of an affluent city, but still retains its unique culture. A Palestinian friend of mine told me today "Look at all this man, all we need now is to be free." I am extremely impressed by the level of development here in West Bank. We eat watermelon, hang out at cafes and coffee shops, work out in better than modern gyms, and I've heard that the Turkish baths here are to die for. I bought a huge bottled water for 75 cents, and got my hair cut Palestinian style for about 6 bucks, full service. The price for the concert tickets was also about 6 bucks, and the taxi ride to downtown is 50 cents. Apparently to go to the Jordanian border with a taxi is only about 7 dollars, which gets you a couple blocks in New York. Items are cheaper here for the most part because the population is poorer. One major factor driving the high level of development (like malls with the latest fashions and really fast elevators and escalators) is, ironically, the Palestinian diaspora. I once heard President Clinton say "every Palestinian I've ever met has either been rich or a college professor." This wealth comes bank to the West Bank in many forms. My friend's brother for example is being sponsored by Palestinian nationals to attend a 17,000 pound a year school in London. This kind of spending somewhat counterbalances the $3 billion or so the US gives to Israel every year (Interesting fact, the total aid given to Israel from like 1960-1990 or so is equal to the amount given over the same period to the entire continent of South America and sub-saharan Africa, about $ 62.5 billion). Tomorrow we will choose the students for the initiative, although I'm not sure if I will get to dance to more Latino music in the streets of Palestine. It will probably be some other region of the world.
More surprises in the "City of Peace"
So we have suffered from some disappointing setbecks, at least initially. We had a professional brand done for our economic development initiative, and we advertized it around the college at Birzeit University, one of the West Bank's top higher ed institutions. After 2 days or so, we found out that no one had applied. We were significantly worried. We have to recruit around 3-5 interns and 2-3 project supervisors from the university. We were scratching our heads as to what the problem was. When we went to meet with Asala, the NGO we are working through, they gave us the details of the project as they thought would make it most successful, and my partner told me that we had only 2 applicants thus far, both men. We really need all to be women, as the standards for conducting business in the home of a woman in some places in the West Bank call for the business advisors to be women as well. My friend and I decided to go to Birzeit to plan for a better advertizing campaign in which we would go to classrooms and make presentations. When we arrived at the business admin building, we discovered that the professor for whom we had contact info was not there, but her secretary was. She told us that the applicants had submitted their info to the wrong office, and that in total 16 people, 14 of them women, had applied to be involved in the project. We were ecstatic. We looked through the pile of applications and the students who are interested are quite impressive, with some speaking 4 languages. Now the toughest part of the project is over, and we can relax a little more. I am considering being a part of the international camp at Birzeit University in two weeks or so. Plans are not firm now, and could change, but I am going to try and get in a little of Jordan while I am here as well.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Ramallah the comfortable
Ramallah is a very expensive city, but also a lot more impressive than the city I just came from in the north. It is the seat of government, so one could expect that that fact alone would generate more wealth than the city would otherwise. Walking around, one could at times get confused about whether or not you were in a European city. There are high end clothing shops, coffee shops, electronic billboard ads, and plenty of nice automobiles. I got in trouble yesterday for taking pictures with Palestinian soldiers nearby. The house I am staying in got searched by invading Israeli soldiers during the second intifada a couple of years ago. One thing that is striking about Ramallah is the coexistence of Chrisitans and Muslims. There are churches right next to mosques here, and both communities are primarliy ethnic Arabs. However, the makeup of the city is changing because the Arab Christians have an easier time getting out than their Muslim counterparts. My host showed me the locations where Israeli tanks surrounded Yasser Arafat after the peace negotiations broke down, and the plaza where all the protests occur. Because of water limits placed on the Palestinians, my friend and I have purchased a gym membership, yes a gym membership, in order to shower at night. I will admit that it is extremely impressive. There are flat screen TVs, and American music, and exercise equipment at least twice as good as that at UF's gym. After working out, we walked the streets of Ramallah. The temperature is unbelievably comfortable at night. It is like 72 degrees, and there is a lot of fog blown around by the wind. We bought a watermelon, some falafels, and some arabic coffee and headed home. I think Ramallah is a city I could get used to.
Arrival in Ramallah
I have arrived in Ramallah, West Bank, the seat of the Palestinian Authority. On July 5, I traveled to Ramallah with a high ranking Palestinian official, and we had to stop at one checkpoint on the way. I saw dozens of Israeli settlements, and I heard lots of stories about them. Israelis will go into an area and select a site on top of a mountain for a new settlement, like a neighborhood. They erase whatever is there, and surround the neighborhood with walls and barbed wire, and post military guards at the entrance. They take the water from the Palestinians, often in the valleys below, and use it for their new homes. The settlers sometimes take the olive trees that have been farmed by Arabs for hundreds of years and dig them up to put them within the walls of their new settlements.
These settlements severely limit the movement of Palestinians. Often roads are built only for the new settlers, which makes travel for a couple dozen miles extremely difficult. The settlements seem to be strategic in nature. The people that live in them have taken the high ground, and often displace Palestinians from their homes and farmland. The high level of water use makes it tough to successfully farm, and the inhibition of movement caused by the settlements makes taking farm produce to market very hard because it is not fresh after traveling in the heat for many hours. I am convinced that no peace can happen without dealing with these problematic intrusions into the West Bank.
These settlements severely limit the movement of Palestinians. Often roads are built only for the new settlers, which makes travel for a couple dozen miles extremely difficult. The settlements seem to be strategic in nature. The people that live in them have taken the high ground, and often displace Palestinians from their homes and farmland. The high level of water use makes it tough to successfully farm, and the inhibition of movement caused by the settlements makes taking farm produce to market very hard because it is not fresh after traveling in the heat for many hours. I am convinced that no peace can happen without dealing with these problematic intrusions into the West Bank.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Independence Day in West Bank
I have been on the receiving end of some very shocking perspectives here in the West Bank. The people here are so nice and welcoming, they have been very good to me overall and I am thankful for that. I even got the chance to play a little grand theft auto today at the pool (this was the 5th time they took me there). I discovered why it was such a popular place; apparently the israelis have constructed a wall surrounding the city of qalqilya, and there is only one entrance. This obstruction makes travelling very very difficult. I think it has also radicalized the population more than they would be otherwise. An older man told me today that 20 years ago many people came to qalqilya, then relations with israel deteriorated and the israelis built a wall on the green line and a wall surrounding the city. The residents have advized me to stay away from the city wall at night, lest i be shot. They say it is like living in one big prison, under "city arrest" if you like. Apparently the city I am in is a lot more conservative than other cities in west bank. 20 years ago a cinema was built here and they burned it to the ground in 2 days because the residents deemed it a corrupting influence. Like some places in the south except with churches, there is a mosque on every corner they say. Alcohol is prohibited here, and there are no night clubs whatsoever. The only thing there is to do it seems is to go to the zoo and go swimming. However, I will be eternally grateful for the people here in Qalqilya. I was virtually abandoned in Israel, with the exception of one woman who gave me some help. Here in the West Bank, every person I meet almost who I speak to at any length wants to help me. I think this is in large part because I am staying with one of the town's most respected citizens, but whatever the reason I am grateful. The man I am staying with seems to command respect from all sides, and is negotiating a reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas on a couple weeks to try and get weapons out of the hands of political factions. He is in line to be a national minister very soon. The diet here is some kind of mix between meat lovers and extreme vegan. I know it sounds strange, but I have eaten more hummus than anytime in my life, and have consumed more meat than I do in 2 months.
Zoo
We had the first sweet breakfast yet, with honey. The staples stay the same, bread, hummus, fool, white cheese, and tea. Today I will go to the zoo, which I am looking forward to. I wonder what I will see. I will report back later. Cheers and maa' salaama (goodbye).
Fast and the Furious
So the pool here is THE hangout place. I've been there 3 times in 2 days, and many college age guys sit around tables to talk and listen to music. When we left there the other night, it was a little scary. If you've ever seen Fast and the Furoius 3: Tokyo Drift, that's what I felt we were driving like. The guy was going pretty fast and making tight spaces and turns that I wouldn't have dreamed of trying. They talk about cars here a lot. They tell you what kind of c ar they have, and then they ask what yours is. I tell everyone GM because not many people know pontiac. There are a huge number of Mercedes and BMW, but not many sports cars like Corvette. Every guy under 30 seems to want a Ferrari or Lamborghini, so that sentiment is indeed universal. I fell asleep at the pool and the owners gave me something like an air mattress to sleep on, until I got interrupted in my sleep by a couple of young boys. I am clearly exotic here, I do not think that many Americans have come in this area since the rise of Hamas a couple of years ago. The boys asked me to rate people they named with thumbs up, thumbs down, or so so. They asked about Obama, Bush, Olmert, Abbas, and more. For some reason, I think Shakira is more popular here than almost anyone, probably because she is part Lebanese according to the residents. At night, everyone wanted me to take their picture and make videos. Some had never seen a camera before. One of the really muscular guys challenged me to a swimming match where he would swim with one hand and I could swim however I liked. I told him I'd do it tomorrow if we came again. I learned a lot from the people there, some of which was very shocking and I cannot speak of on this blog. I will tell more when I am in a different location.
However, I was treated to free watermelon at the swimming pool, and the people overall could not be mroe hospitable and welcoming. They give like you are part of the family. There is a lot of cautious optimism about the US right now. The Palestinians are wary of broken promises about a state of their own. I received a new perspective from an old timer about the state of things here, which I will recount later. There are many people walking their donkeys in the streets, and is a very clear Palestinian police presence. They ticket lots of people too, they seem to have a fairly high capacity. My camera was lost and it got reported to the police and I got it back. Also, it seems that societal pressure here is the best enforcement mechanism. To find something that has been taken, you go to the camera shop and tell them to call you if someone asks for help with a particular camera because it will be yours. If someone is treating their wife badly, the society ostracizes the offender and sends food and help to the woman. Society is viewed as being responsible for enforcing law, now with some help from the Palestinian security forces.
However, I was treated to free watermelon at the swimming pool, and the people overall could not be mroe hospitable and welcoming. They give like you are part of the family. There is a lot of cautious optimism about the US right now. The Palestinians are wary of broken promises about a state of their own. I received a new perspective from an old timer about the state of things here, which I will recount later. There are many people walking their donkeys in the streets, and is a very clear Palestinian police presence. They ticket lots of people too, they seem to have a fairly high capacity. My camera was lost and it got reported to the police and I got it back. Also, it seems that societal pressure here is the best enforcement mechanism. To find something that has been taken, you go to the camera shop and tell them to call you if someone asks for help with a particular camera because it will be yours. If someone is treating their wife badly, the society ostracizes the offender and sends food and help to the woman. Society is viewed as being responsible for enforcing law, now with some help from the Palestinian security forces.
3rd of July
So apparently the weekend is holy. On Friday, Muslims go to mosque, Saturday Jews go to ftemple, and Sunday Christians go to church. Only men over 16 are required to go to mosque on Friday. It is optional for others. The thinking is that young children do not understand and women pray in the home because they have much work to do.
We had a late breakfast of olive oil, hummus, pig's kidney, grape juice, and more. I am trying to get used to eating only with my hands, it's kinda tough, but easier than chopsticks. I am happy to have a shower that sometimes uses hot water, though it's sort of like a hose more than a shower. The tap water here is drinkable, or at least that's what everyone tells me and I haven't gotten sick yet.
We had a late breakfast of olive oil, hummus, pig's kidney, grape juice, and more. I am trying to get used to eating only with my hands, it's kinda tough, but easier than chopsticks. I am happy to have a shower that sometimes uses hot water, though it's sort of like a hose more than a shower. The tap water here is drinkable, or at least that's what everyone tells me and I haven't gotten sick yet.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Crazy but exciting day
Wow, so since i was sitting in that shop in downtown Qalqilya, much has happened. I have learned a lot today. I walked around town with my friend who called himself Abu George and we met many of the local merchants. I got picked up later on by my host, who took me to his house for an outstanding dinner. It seems that most every Palestinian smokes, and many smoke several packs a day. I got offered maybe 4 or 5 cigarettes by friends downtown, and 2 cokes, the later of which i accepted. When I went back to the house i am at, we ate d'juj, or chicken, and ruz, or rice, along with ma, or water. Later, we went to the local pool. The owner was related to the family, so we got in for free. I went swimming and my friends made an error, they put my camera down on a table and the next thing we knew it was gone. I was a little sad, but I just played it cool and told them not to worry, and within 2 hours they had located the camera, but how i do not know. I know what it is like now to be the different guy in the pool. All the Palestinian guys (it was a male only pool) wanted to challenge me to splashing battles (i think that's what they wanted) or to have a swimming race. They thought it was funny that the extent of my arabic is assif, or sorry, marhaban, or hello, kuta, or cat. Try and make a conversation with that, it's tough. Anyway, they were nice and I got to make new friends, some a little odd though. A guy downtown told me that palestinians are always trying to get out because of the tough life, and the best thing to have more than gold is an American passport, because it guarantees freedom of movement. I have been drinking tons of cafe, or coffee, as black coffee is very popular here, and I have had lots of tea. They even have teen, or fig, trees exactly like the ones at home. They also have orange, and something called jauwaffa, which I still have not figured out if there is an english equivalent.
If you know of someone who has wanted to know what's going on with me in palestine, send them a link to my blog.
Until next post, i think i will first go get some sleep, it's 6 hours ahead of eastern time zone
If you know of someone who has wanted to know what's going on with me in palestine, send them a link to my blog.
Until next post, i think i will first go get some sleep, it's 6 hours ahead of eastern time zone
Qalqilya, West Bank
I was the first to wake up this morning. I feel like I am in a very safe place. The man whose home I am staying at was the mayor of the city I am in for 10 years. He now works for the Palestinian Authority. He seems to know everyone in the whole city. Everyone waves to him as he passes. I am leanring names for various items in arabic. I had plums, and eggs for breakfast. My host is part of Fatah, as opposed to Hamas. At dinner the other night, we all had a laugh. His wife offered me more hummus for my bread, but it sounded a lot like hamas. As I knew he was part of Fatah, I said "no more fatah." Everyone roared laughing. She said "not more haamas, more huummus." Oh mistakes, they are funny. I am walking the marketplace in Qalqilya, and am using the internet in a store for jawwal, or cell phones. Today I will go swimming and to the zoo. I hope to keep updating, i will do it as i am able.
Chaos, adventure, and comfort
I arrived in Tel Aviv Ben Gurion airport at 3:20 am, and was completely exhausted. I went to the front part of the airport to meet the Israeli who was supposed to pick me up, except he was not there. I was a little worried, but have learned that worrying does little good in international adventures, so I just sat in a chair and relaxed a while. I waited for about 2 hours, then decided that I needed to take some action, so I bought an Israeli cell phone for way too much, but I needed it badly, so I swallowed the hefty fee I had to pay for it. I had written down all the contact info of the people here, and I contacted them. I got in contact with my friend from West Bank and he told me that Palestinians were forbidden to go to the airport, so I would have to take a taxi. I took one to the israeli city of Kfar Saba, and met the people at the office of the mayor there. It is about the size of Gainesville, FL. The man I was supposed to meet did not answer his phone, and I was unable to find him after much searching. I sat down in a park, and just went to sleep. After that, I found that I was hungry, so I went to McDonald's, which was a nerve racking experience. The Israeli guard suspected me of being a bad person, so he tried to tell me something, and I responded "English." Lucky for me, he understood and scanned me with a metal detector, and let me through. I waited there, and went to the mayor's office again, where a Palestinian in a Mercedes with an Israeli passport picked me up and drove me to the checkpoint. I walked through and was questioned intensely before they allowed me to go. I walked a few hundred meters and met my friend in the West Bank, Marouf Zahran, the deputy minister of civil affairs, kind of like the undersecretary of state maybe. He gave me a wonderful dinner and a place to sleep, and a warm shower! I was very content, and slept for 13 hours.
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