Jericho

Jericho is recorded to be the oldest city in the world. It was truly a memorable experience that taught me so much about the people, the history and the landscape. We saw the Mount of Temptations,visited Hisham's Palace, The Jericho Village Resort and off course the Dead Sea which I enjoyed most of all.

Bethlehem

I am on placement visit in Bethelehem.
We visited the village of Nahhalin and shared some interesting thoughts with the women about the occupation in the Westbank and its effect on society. They were clear that the people of Palestine are in need of assistance and that the truth about the conflict should be shared with the world. They are ready to see some much needed development in their village. Thereafter we attended a meeting with Nidal AbuZuluf. He is the manager of the Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI) of the YMCA in Bethlehem. They are also spearheading the Olive Tree campaign. We discussed the Kairos Document in detail. This document is a call from Palestinian Christians to the world churches for support.
I leave Bethlehem tomorrow for Jericho and the Dead Sea.

"Spring cleaning" Tulkarem Church

We went to the local church in Tulkarem and helped the caretaker, Daoud to clean the garden. This town of approximately 50 000 people has only two christian families. Daoud cannot remember the last time they had a service in the church. Normally he travels to Nablus (one hour away) to attend mass. He has very little support and taking care of the church is clearly an overwhelming responsibility for one person. Palestinian christians are in the minority in the Westbank. According to a report by the Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI) around 400 000 Palestinian christians were living in Palestine before the 1948 war when the state of Israel was created. Now this statistic has decreased from 10% to only 2%. Many of them were forced from their homes by the Israeli Military and as a result they emigrated to the diaspora. I heard Dauod say to us while cleaning the garden, "I thank God for you."

Hard at work in Tulkarem

Some days are very busy in Tulkarem. Most activities require special planning with coffee and sweets to ensure effective resolution. Our weekly schedule is normally tight with checkpoint duty,visiting locals, presenting village conversations and monitoring agricultural gates. Once this is complete we have to write reports and publish articles. We do not have time to sit around and be idle.

The story of Ala'a

I met Ala'a today. She is only 24 years old. Her husband Riad is 28 years old. They have three children together. Riad used to work for the mother of Ala'a in their clothing store. This is where they met and fell inlove. One fateful day around 18 months ago while on their way to Nablus to purchase goods for the store he was arrested at the checkpoint. She waited with their one month old baby until late that night begging for his release. Instead she heard from him three days later that he was tortured and deported back to the Gaza strip where he was born. Since then she has tried profusely to be with the man that she loved but to no avail. The forces of politics stood between them. Yesterday we received a message that Gaza is under complete closure and that everyone found on the WestBank who is born in Gaza will be deported immediately. No-one is allowed to leave or enter the area. The situation in Gaza is hopeless and inhumane. Most of the people are unemployed and are living on AID and charity from international donors. This is no place to raise three children.
It is not certain how the story of Ala'a and Riad will end...

Visit to the Mayor

We were welcomed to the town of Tulkarm by the Mayor, Eyad Jallael along with his Director, Abdul Ghalek. During our conversation at his municiple office he mentioned that his vision is for Palestians is to live side by side with their neighbours. "We are all human beings and should be considered as equals" he said.

A few days later we met with the Director in the Ministry of Labour and Economics, Ahmed Drobe. He mentioned that Tulkarem, a predominantly agricultural town showed financial promise and growth before the two Intifadas. Considered as the "food basket" for the West Bank because it was the commercial gate for import and export but today the unemployment rate of the town has increased to 27%. Fewer workers are able to reach the labour market since the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the building of the seperation wall in 2002. It seems as if the West Bank is slowly becoming financially dependant on Israel for its existance because economic liquidity is under control of Israel. Furthermore, the nearby villages are surrounded by Israeli settlers who make movement very difficult for the Palestinians. They have no contact with each other for fear of conflict and intimidation.

Easter Service in Nablus

We attended a blessed Easter Service at the Church of the Good Sheppard (Anglican) in Nablus with Reverend Ibrahim Narouz. The church pews were full with Palestinian Christians and following the service we shared a cup of coffee with the congregation. We were invited for lunch to the home of one of the members on our next churh visit.