5/16/14-5/17/14: Jaffa and the West Bank…aka Palestine
I apologize
for the delay; I have no had no Internet connection in the past 3 days. In the
mean time, we have been adventuring around in Jaffa and the West Bank. I will
discuss Jaffa in my next blog since our adventure in the West Bank was too
interesting to remember the bits and pieces of Jaffa at the moment. I
understand that Palestine is not a state, but for the sake of respect for the
place and for the people, I will refer to the place we stayed as Palestine. I
don’t think I have ever been so nervous in my life. I shouldn’t have been
though, there really is not that much to be nervous about? Politically, yes
there is a conflict here, but no there is not very much of an internal
conflict. We have been told Hebron, if anywhere, would be the place where
violent attacks occur. However, we only went to Sebastiya, a small village near
one of the largest Israeli settlements. The man who we were staying with had a
beautiful place for us to stay. Also, the Ambassador from Australia was there
at the same exact place we were at! Or he was going to stay, we got to meet him
briefly as a group.
The place
we got to stay was named the Al Keyed Palace, a place where this man (I forgot
his name) had renovated everything. The rooms were beautiful and we each got
our own bed with some space. Citadel youth hostel is not necessarily the most
spacious place to be in the Old City. The Al Keyed Palace was only a few yards
from a Mosque, so we got the occasional call to prayer every few hours or so. It
still is taking time to getting used to hearing the call throughout the city. We
only got to stay overnight, but I forget from time to time being away in
another culture how much you can learn in just a few hours.
First off,
Caroline and I were exhausted so we stayed while everyone else went to an
archeological dig site that Harvard had dug up many decades ago. I asked Jenna,
another girl in our group to take picture for me while I slept. I haven’t been
getting the sleep I have needed until now. Anyways, there are so many details I
could say right now, but for the sake of trying to catch up on two blogs I will
keep this short and simple. When everyone came back and we all went to dinner
as a group, me, Caroline, Jenna and Donna (all four girls of the group) were
the only ones at the dinner place we went to. We could not believe it. It was
one of the first things that were noticed by us girls as we sat down. You could
just feel all the eyes upon you as you sat and knew you were possibly out of
place. It definitely was not the norm to see women out at night. We did not ask
questions though; we didn’t have a whole lot of time. We had a traditional
Palestinian dinner of rice, chicken, potatoes, and cauliflower that was served
family style. Along with hummus and pita of course! I love the fact we get to
have Middle Eastern food EVERY day. Compared to when I went to Vietnam, I was
used to having to be careful about what I ordered because I didn’t know what my
stomach could handle, but being here I know almost every single dish so it is
nice.
As we
walked back from dinner, I did get a little nervous walking the streets, but I
had Caroline next to me and we had everyone else behind us. I understand that
being in a new culture it can be difficult sometimes, but as long as you have
the confidence in yourself to survive and not do anything stupid, you will be
fine. I don’t really get the culture shock that I used to get when in Vietnam
or somewhere else; other people really just don’t phase me anymore. The view
from the top of our hotel/room/palace place I don’t know how to describe you
can see pictures on my Facebook was incredible. Palestine is absolutely
gorgeous. You can see so much since Israel and Palestine are such small places.
Palestine has more countryside compared to Israel and the people are incredibly
nice. We had no problems with anyone at all with where we stayed and
interacting with the people; it just is a different culture just like anywhere
else in the world. If there is one thing that I cannot bear to discuss with
people sometimes is how misperceived cultures can be. Yes, there is a political
conflict with Israel and Palestine that includes so much more, but that does
not make the people of the place bad. They welcome you with open arms and want
you to hear what they have to say. After you meet a person and hear what they
have to say, then you can make a judgment as to whether or not they are worthy
of your time. All of the people we have met during this trip so far are open to
finding negotiations within both sides to have a better future. The real issue
is making the connections with one another to have those negotiations. Until
people can attempt to get to know one another, no progress will be made. Steps
have taken, but it still will be far away into the future until anything is
possibly solved. I’m sure most of you knew that, but just to reiterate the fact
that steps have been taken. All these briefings have shown great progress from where
they used to be and how many people have taken part in it. Anyways, back to the
story.
So after
sitting on the rooftop for a couple of minutes, we could hear gunshots in the
distance. From where we were at, it was about northwest of us. I would have to
look on a map to possibly see where, but it was not too far off. There were
only maybe two or three times we heard gunshots. It shocked me for a second,
but I realized that sometimes this even happens in Fresno. Anything can happen
at anytime.
5/17/14 Jaffa, Nabulus, and Ibilin.
Before we
went into Palestine, we briefly stopped in Jaffa, which is a city that is not
too far from central Tel Aviv. It’s hard to remember that Israel is a small,
small state compared to what we are used to living in California. The
populations of some cities that I have been in are smaller than Fresno. It is
mind blowing. Anyways, to summarize the importance of Jaffa, it was a city that
originally was inhabited by Palestinians more so than Jews. Once Israel became
a state in 1948, Jews started coming in as the Palestinians fled. They
basically were pushed out of their homes with no other choice. Then, parts of
the city crumbled in a sense, but I can’t remember why. I think it might have
had to do with the second intifada, but I would have to ask the lady who
explained it to us. Jaffa is slowly
turning into what Tel Aviv has become: a tourist spot. Jaffa in a sense is like
San Diego. Beachfront, good food and shopping, the whole nine yards. Jaffa
today is becoming more populated by rich people around the world who buy these
million dollar homes. However, it’s where the rich meet the poor. From one side
of the street, there are these fabulous million dollar homes. But from the
other side, there are these shanty apartments. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to
ask a local that lived in the apartments as to how their lives in Jaffa are.
The whole
purpose of going to Jaffa was to meet this lady named Rudy and listen to what
her organization does. She is apart of an organization called Windows that
bring Arabs and Israelis together. We got to meet two men that were in the
program since they were in about junior high. These two have remained best
friends ever since. The key is not necessarily talking about who has the better
opinion as to how to solve the conflict, but to actually treat each other as
human beings. The whole key is to getting to know who the person is and what
they like. They become friends, and then from there possibly inspire others to
do the same. This kind of method is referred to as a “grass-roots” method in
peacekeeping. The whole point is to start with the basics, or at the bottom,
then work up. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr are known to use these methods,
and it is evident how successful they were. One of the men, the Palestinian,
was named Aimeal who is from Nabulus. The only real way he can get into Nabulus
is because of the Windows program. Some Palestinians are able to go in and out
of Palestine depending if they have an invitation from an Israeli and other evidence
they are wanted there. I did not necessarily catch everything they said, but
for the most part that is how Palestinians are able to get out of Palestine and
into Israel.
We arrived
at Nabulus this morning greeted by Aimeal to the entrance of a refugee camp. I
am almost positive that was everyone’s first time ever going into a refugee
camp. It was called the United Nations Relief Workers. This refugee camp was
set up by the United Nations in the early 50’s and has been there ever since.
UN workers staffed the camp itself, but as far as the schools, the teachers are
Palestinians, who are staffed by the UN and are paid more for doing so.
Technically, Nabulus itself is considered a whole as a refugee camp. But we got to see within some neighborhoods. Aimeal
took us around and discussed why certain pictures and graffiti were on the
walls within the neighborhood. There are two known neighborhoods that we were
not supposed to go down, but it was early in the morning and it seemed safer
than normal. Aimeal ended up talking us in and little children, being little
children threw rocks at us (broken up stones that are more like pebbles). At first, it seemed fine until I
got hit with a few rocks in the back and realized that they actually were
attempting to “stone” us. The children within that specific neighborhood are
taught at a young age to throw rocks at strangers within the neighborhood
because they could be Israelis. Many posters that are put up around the
neighborhood are dead Palestinians who were shot by the IDF (Israeli Defense Force).
Besides the rocks, everyone was very kind and courteous within the camp. A
young boy who was helping Aimeal invited us into his home and we got to meet
his parents; it was a nice experience.
For the
remainder of the afternoon, Aimeal took us around Nabulus and we got to see the
Old City. It reminded me much of Hanoi; the hustle and bustle of people selling
goods and food. It’s fun to see everyone else in the group react to such hustle
around the cities; however, I feel like I am not as shocked to see it. Vietnam
really exposed me to really how the rest of the world lives. A lot of states
have middle class citizens who work in their own shops and sell everyday
appliances or souvenirs within the big cities.
I could see on some faces taking in and watching how these people live
their lives within their shops and homes right on the allies and streets.
Aimeal
kindly took us into his grandparent’s home and explained the city itself along
the way. We stopped at various places and he would explain what happened in
certain locations such as bombings or killings even. But it wasn’t just
depressing tales al; day, we got to go into a candy factory and get free
samples of this amazing jolly rancher-like candy! Some of the food and spices
within Israel and Palestine are phenomenal. I love Middle Eastern food so it
just makes it that much better.
After
leaving Nabulus, it was time to leave Palestine and go back into Israel. I
regret not taking a handstand picture in Palestine. I have this thing where I
take handstand pictures everywhere I go and it didn’t dawn on me until now that
it probably will never happen again. Anyways, exiting Palestine was actually
nerve racking. Border Patrol between Israel and Palestine is pretty
intimidating. It is easy to get in, but harder to get out. There is a visa you
are given once you enter Israel, but they refuse to stamp passports because you
most likely will never be able to go into an Arab country if you have a stamp
from Israel. Long story, most people reading this blog should actually know as
to why that is. We pulled up to the checkpoint and the IDF just stand there
with their ak47s in their hands. They question as to where you have been and
typically the answer for Americans is to see Jackwall, which is a Greek
Orthodox Church within Nabulus. If you lose your visa that you are given at the
airport in Palestine, or in Israel, the chances of getting out are slim. And I
thought our border between Mexico and California was strict. Once we got out,
our next destination is Ibilin which took a while to get to, but the purpose of
this visit is to learn about the school which I can’t remember the name right
now. The dude who wrote blood brothers was the archbishop here. The importance
of this school is that there are Chrsitians, Jews, and Muslims studying here
together. Each learns about religion by learning about the others religion.
Christians learn about Islam, Jews learn about Islam, vice versa. You get the
point. There is a really nice lady named Nancy here that teaches French!
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