Gaza

My last post was written whilst I was still in the West Bank. The blog had been written to inform my family and friends what I was doing when I was away. Once I returned home the need to continue didn't seem to be there.

A few things over the last week or so have changed this. The major factor being the project I am intending to work on over the next few years. My time in the West Bank effected me profoundly and I now see it as the start of my journey not a one off experience. I am increasingly interested in education in emergency settings and hope to raise awareness about this as well as committing myself to improving it. Another incident that has prompted me to write again is the situation in Gaza today. A desire to do something when in reality I can do nothing.

I was horrified when I turned on the news this morning. Israeli air strikes in Gaza resulting in the deaths of 155 people (the number is now higher as I write this). I never cry but I did this morning. I couldn't believe what I was witnessing. It took me a few hours to realise how naive I was being... My overwhelming feeling was that of powerlessness. There was nothing whatsoever I could do. Swearing at the TV and throwing the remote around the room would change nothing. The commentators annoyed me as much as the footage I was watching. No matter which channel I watched they were patronising, seemed to have no real understanding of the context and were clearly biased towards Israel. Hardly an expert myself after a matter of weeks in the region but I still do not understand how this conflict can be presented as two sided; As if the two sides are equal and that the only difference is the desire for peace.

If you are Palestinian you have two choices: either slowly suffocate to death through the stranglehold imposed by checkpoints, barriers and nightly incursions or you try to fight back and get met with a massively superior force with overwhelming fire power.

Hearing Israeli officials on the TV talk about rockets fired into Israel and human shields is laughable. There are 1.5million people living in the 20sq km of the Gaza strip. They have limited access to medicine and food and cannot escape from the prison they are in. Talk of 'surgically targeting Hamas' in such a densely populated area is absurd. What's worse is that international leaders from the non-existent international community ask for Hamas to show restraint! Not for Israel to stop!

My earlier comment about my naivety... On the day of the US elections Israel attacked the Gaza strip. I have become increasingly cynical about the news and what is presented to us and what isn't. I purposefully look for what is 'really' going on when a story consumes all of the air time on TV. I half expected something to happen on Christmas day when lots of people would be preoccupied with other things and looking the other way.

I put my Palestinian football shirt in my bedroom window as a way of showing my solidarity with Gaza. Not that anyone here will care but like the Palestinians I had to do something and couldn't do nothing.

Leaving

I taught my last classes today and will be leaving tomorrow. I'll spend the night in Ramallah and go to Jerusalem the day after. Loads of pictures were taken today and I'm looking forward to receiving them by email. After my last class I met my group of uni students from Sundays and Tuesdays in the city centre. They took me to the Piano restaurant which was amazing. Everyone had a fantastic time and the present they got me was magnificent. They were the first class that I taught here and I hope I manage to stay in touch with them all. I've been given so many great things I'll be gutted if I don't manage to get them all (and myself) through security.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I will be at Al-Mustaqbal for the day. I probably won't get the chance to post a comment so this will be the last for the time being. Maybe the next one will be written in the UK.

Not wanting to leave

I said goodbye (for now) to three of my classes. Last week I thought I was ready to go back home but now I don't want to leave. The only thing I miss from home is my family and friends. I could live without seeing my house, driving my car or going to do my job. None of these things are that important to me. A lot of the time it is very depressing here as there is little that we can do to change the situation. This week every Palestinian I have spoken to seems have told me about the nightmares that have been keeping them awake. I have never met people with so little hope for their future (to be fair why would they?). I will never forget being told, "If you want to lose all hope, come to Palestine" by one of the most amazing individuals I have ever met.

I think being away from here will be more depressing as I will feel even more detached from the situation. So there will be even less I can do. I have given my email address to my classes and hope that some of the students will stay in touch. I will do everything in my power to come back here next year and will be devastated if I can't make it.

On the way back from our weekly volunteers mean we stopped at the home where most of our fellow footballers live. We went to drink tea for the last time with them, despite there being no football today. It was good to have one of our halting french/english/arabic conversations with everyone still feeling included. One of the other volunteers summed up perfectly what we were all thinking. That our homes whether they been Manchester, Paris or London don't have the same sense of community. We don't know the families that live in our street. Here we say hello to everyone, we get involved with each others activities. People invite us to drink coffee and tea all the time.

This is far from paradise though. More like hell to be honest. For most, but especially the young people, there is nothing to do. There is no where for children to play properly, there is no where for young people to go. Part of the reason why we become familiar with the people we see is because they are always in the same place. Just sitting. Now wonder they want to get an education and leave if they can. The boredom must become immense.

Perhaps I have been here long enough though. Time back home might put things into a different kind of perspective. In my last class today, in which I asked the groups to name items in the home, I immediatley assumed that tank and hummer were of the IOF variety. Rather than a water tank and a mis-spelling of the word 'hammer'.

Goodbye from the kids at MCRC

I've taught these kids for the past 5 weeks and see them in the street on the days that I don't teach them. Compared to my usual one lesson a wek with classes at home I feel that I know these children much better. I will definitely miss not teaching them next week.

Two classes and a family dinner

Today was quite easy as I only had two classes. I still amazes me every time I go to New Askhar refugee camp how well turned out the girls always are. They live in what looks like a rubbish tip but they are always immaculately presented. I will hopefully be able to take some pictures of them on Wednesday if they let me so I can show you all how beautiful they are.

Tomorrow will be different as it will be the last lesson with each of the three classes I will be teaching. So mainly an assessment of the previous 5 weeks worth of lessons and saying goodbyes.

The main thing I was looking forward to today was going to the home of one of my students to eat dinner with her family. I stayed for a good four hours and had some fantastic food. The mother of the household had prepared a special cake of which I was given two slices instead of just one like everybody else. I also had tea, coffee, cola, a different kind of cake, fruit I can't pronounce, water melon, chocolate and much more. That I managed to walk out of the house is a miracle.

It was nice to meet her family though she herself had quite a hard time of it translating for us all. She said she wants to be a translator the first time I met her so tonight she definitely had some practice. From tonights dinner I could see how tough it must be for her having two brothers and living in this society. For example she wanted to show me some places near her home but couldn't because no one was able to chaperone. The whole time I was there we had someone sat with us. I have no problem with the concept of this but being watched for four hours was still a little disconcerting. My friend knew this would be the case but still didn't like it.

I'm hoping anyone reading this will realise why I never name names (as in the last paragraph). Though I would like to as these people are my friends, and it bothers me that I can't acknowledge them properly, it's just better all round if I don't.

What I've learnt

That though cultures may be different that people are essentially the same-
and that this makes the concept of human rights all the more important

That because of the last point school children are school children wherever they are in the world

That I'm pretty good at sign langauge when I'm trying to explain things

That the situation here is complex but I now have a much better understanding of it

That my previous 2weeks wasn't enough time to gain an insight into life here

That my attempts at Arabic are priceless but I need to learn much more

That 'people' and their 'governments' are not the same thing

That power and control are more important than people (to governments)

That what happens in the world often isn't what the majority want

That the reality of the world is different from my previously idealistic view but that doesn't mean we should stop trying to make it better. However little we can achieve we can still improve it.

That because people live under tough circumstances or in less developed countries it doesn't follow that their minds will reflect this

That the UK isn't the centre of the world

Much of this I knew before but being here has reinforced the ideas. To most intelligent people many of these truisms wil be self evident. To most people in the UK they won't be.

Also...

Fairuz in the morning, Um Kulthuum in the afternoon

That instant coffee isn't really coffee

That I should travel more

That I need to go to Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan...

and of course come back to Palestine.

What I will miss and what I won't

I will miss:

The Project Hope staff and local volunteers
The other international volunteers
The smell of coffee in a certain part of the old city
Walking to class
The students in the classes
Drinking tea in a cemetery after playing football
Walking throught the city and seeing someone I know without fail
Kanaffa, Tamrea, etc, etc.
Hearing the sound of languages other than English
Sitting down for breakfast with everyone in the office at Al-Mustaqbal
Knowing that tomorrow is going to be sunny! And the day after, and the day after...

I won't miss:

The checkpoints
Walking up and down countless stairs (Nablus is on a hill)
The squeakey bed I've slept on for the last five weeks
Not being able to have a proper shower
Running out of water

Last week

I can see this week going by in the blink of an eye. The 4 weeks I've been here have disappeared in no time at all. At the end of the first class we had another birthday so time for more cake, wearing of daft hats and the singing of songs. There are pictures of me wearing said hat but not in my possession. Once the festivities were over we walked back to the office. On the way we met a relative of the local volunteer I was with so we stopped to have coffee. I can now politely refuse anything that I don't really want but I never refuse the coffee. Only arabic coffee derserving the title 'coffee' and anything else (instant coffee) referred to as Nescafe so as not to dilute the purity of the term.

This is perhaps the best part of being here as a volunteer and not as a tourist. Everyday I speak to people that as a tourist I would never have the opportunity to interact with on the same level. The gentleman I was talking to today owns a carpet/ rug shop in the old city. He is warm and friendly and speaks excellent Enlgish. I am somewhat surprised to learn that he has a degree in commerce from an Egyptian university but less surprised to hear his shop had previously been attacked and burnt down by the IOF.

That's another point about being here. The importance of language. Sometimes throughout this blog I have used IDF other times IOF. The changing of on letter may appear trivial but it is very important. It defines your position in relation to the occupation. It says who's side you are on. I don't see the Israeli army as a defence force anymore. The clearly take attack being the best form of defence very seriously.

Social justice workshop & visit to Al-Badan

I had been asked to assist with a social justice workshop running this afternoon. Had I been doing this in English I could have thought of something to keep the class entertained for a few hours off the top of my head. Unfortunately (from my point of view) the learning that needed to take place wasn't related to the English language so the session was delivered in Arabic. After a one hour session delivered by a local teacher I showed the group the Amnesty International animated UDHR film clip. After much searching and finally giving up and contacting AI directly I managed to obtain a link to the film in Arabic. I managed to download the film onto my computer and I managed to get the film to play through the projector. When it was time for the group to watch the film the projector would no longer play the clip and we couldn't get it to work (so the same as a usual lesson back home then...) Luckily one of the Palestinian volunteers came to the rescue setting up his laptop and transferring the film from mine.

Though I obviously couldn't understand the langauge in the film I hadn't anticipated that some of the Palestinians might find it difficult to. When I spoke to the translator after the session she commented that the first few points were wasted on her as she was still trying to tune into the language. The Arabic being more Egyptian than Palestinian. The whole point was that the rights are animated so I'm hoping that I still managed to get the point across.

After the film I of course reverted to type and got the group to go through the little red riding hood activity. This was infinitely more difficult than usual as I had to go through a translator with every explanation but we seemed to get there in the end. At first the appeal from both sides was to build a wall but a big cheer went up when the mediator suggested that they learnt to get along and share resources instead. Perfect result!

After the workshop about 40 of us boarded a coach to Al-Badan. The main reason for this being the long term volunteers that are leaving tomorrow. So the group was a mixture of Project Hope staff, local volunteers and international volunteers. We had a good, chilled out afternoon sitting in the sun and eating too much food. There had been a few rumours about what the place was like and a lot of miscommunication. The 'swimming pool' turned out to be more of a pond you could paddle in at a stretch and the 'water slides' were slides on a children's playground. Highly amusing all round.

Bayt Iba

After writing an article in the morning and generally just catching up on things one of the American volunteers asked if I would like to go with him to Bayt Iba. A small town just outside of Nablus. One of the students from his English class had offered to show him around.

It turned out to be a good afternoon and it was nice to visit a place that I wouldn't have gone to otherwise. We watched a football tournament, which the team from Bayt Iba happened to win, and went on a general tour of the area. As is usual we got invited to our tour guides home to meet the family and sit down for a feast. The house was the typical austere concrete grey from the outside but the inside was magnificent with hand made furniture and golden pictures. The house had a balcony with a fantastic view that once again included land that was forbidden to enter for Palestinians and a road demarcating the boundary. Indeed our guide had been imprisoned for 3 weeks as a 15yr old for setting foot on the road. After being shot at he and has friends decided it would be better to surrender. His parents weren't informed of his incarceration and he was dumped at the checkpoint nearest to his home and forced to walk back home in the middle of the night.

Last time I was here I didn't appreciate the extent of the amount of people who have spent time in Israeli prisons. Everyone knows someone who has spent time inside one whether they be a friend or relative. Most people still know someone who is still inside one. The amount of people surprises me but also discovering that many people that I know have spent a very long time in prison. One guy I know for ten years.

No one here can simply ignore the occupation. It infiltrates every part of their lives.

Another teaching week finished, one left to go

I've spent 6 weeks in total in Nablus now and I'm still learning new things everyday. For example as I was walking back from class yesterday an elderly gentleman began talking to me in English. Better English than mine in fact. He is a resident of Nablus and has been all of his life. He remembers when the British were the occupiers and he also remembers when the Jordanians were. Of the three he says the Israeli's are the worst. I suppose that most volunteers here think a little like I do and can't comprehend 60 years of occupation. The Israeli army is in our here and now and as a consequence the visible face of occupation. That this gentlemen remembered so much was daunting but also reminded me that their must be very few people left how can remember a time when there was no occupation.

There are people with parents and grandparents that were born in the same refugee camps that they were. This makes the current 'peace process' and the dragging of heels feel like slow motion to me but to everyone here it is normal. One phrase that keeps cropping up in the things that I read and the words that I hear is that of 'facts on the ground'. Israeli settlements are illegal but they are still there, you can still see them. The longer the pseudo peace processes and accords and whatever else you want to name them continue the more facts on the ground there are. So land that contains settlements with thousands of inhabitants can't become part of a Palestinian state so must be annexed to Israel. The same with the land stolen by the wall or appropriated by other means. It's not in Israel's interests to find a peaceful solution at the present time, not when there is more land to be gained. If peace were in their interests I'm sure it would have been achieved.

I was slightly boosted by reading the interview with the ex-mayor of Nablus, Bassam Shaka. He thinks that international attitudes towards Palestine are changing and that as internationals present in the country we are in a position to influence sentiments back home. This has made me think, especially today, that perhaps I should be trying to make more of my time here and to use it wisely for creating an impact back home. To this end I'm going to devote some time tomorrow to writing some artices and thinking about how I can best utilise what I have learnt in my time here. As I now only have one week left this seems like the perfect time to do it.

Project Hope Volunteers interview ex-mayor of Nablus

Please find below links of an ITV with Bassam Shaka in Nablus.
Picture is by Christian Betheuil.

Here http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14071

and here http://www.imemc.org/article/56523

Best regards

Frank Barat

Andy's arm makes it onto the front page of the Maan news website

The importance of last night's events of course attacted media attention and lots of people taking pictures. As I was at the front, near the candles, and holding a banner I was caught by the camera's:

http://www.maanimages.com/ShowImage.php?photoid=52678

Well, just my arm holding the placard. That would be the one that is different to the other two! We all regard Maan News as our most important news outlet but it is still quite strange to read some of the headlines on there. Things are added as they happen and being here we are often already aware but oftentimes we read about things we had no idea about. This is mainly news about the IDF raids. Nablus at night is a different place from Nablus during the day. As most of the raids occur during the small hours, inside the refugee camps, we are rarely affected in the Project Hope apartment. For this reason we aren't out in the street after 11pm.

This change between night and day is also reflected in the policing here. During the day it is the Palestinian Authority police and at night the IDF. This is one of the many absurdities here. If the IDF have a raid they tell the police to go home and they are then without any authority. Though I have been told that Nablus is much quieter with the new PA police force from what I have seen of them they just seem to do more of the IDF's dirty work. Checking ID cards etc. People have this enough at the various checkpoints located around the city so I don't know why Palestinians are checking other Palestinians as they drive their cars around the city.

'Security' I have discovered is a favourite word of the Israeli's. It's a word that covers every eventuality. If you don't have a reason or more likely don't want to say your reason for doing something just say the reason is 'security'. They are untouchable anyway though so I don't know why they bother. As an article on the AlJazeera news website today clearly demonstrates:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/08/2008813164823716764.html

A tank crew kill a journalist by shelling his car but will face no charges. They weren't able to differentiate between him holding a camera, a mortar or a rocket launcher so they killed him. Perhaps in that case looking at the giant TV and Press stickers all over his care might have helped to clarify things.

At first I thought the situation here was Kafkaesque - mindless bureacracy that ruined and controlled peoples lives without their knowing the reason why. You want a permit to travel- Refused. Why? You don't know. They don't have to give a reason. Now I realise that the exact opposite is true. Everything has been thought out quite brilliantly. From the 'security' wall that now actually traps 200,000 Palestinians in 'Israel' because they are on the wrong side of it (so how exactly does that make you more secure?) to playing the victim when you are actually the aggressor.

It annoys me so much that the only image people have of the region is children throwing stones at tanks. Partly because no one ever seems to ask the question why they would do this and partly because what they get back is much, much worse- tear gas,sound bombs, live rounds. The same with the martyr's or suicide bombers. No one asks why someone might feel so desperate as to blow themselves up. The media has done yet another fantastic job of distorting the reality to serve political ends. How about a picture of settler children attacking a palestinian home or spitting at an old person in the street? How about a picture of their parents spurring them on and then attacking the IDF when even they find the situation too warped? Or how about showing what the Palestinian people and their culture are genuinely like. Not the extremists that don't represent the majority.

I have read a few different books in my time here that have helped me to learn as much as the sitaution here has. I've come to realise, or believe, that things don't change because everything can't be compressed into an easily digestible soundbite or slogan. This is what people want though. Easy, uncomplicated solutions. This is what people want so this is what their governments deliver. So it probably is true that people get the government they deserve. No one wants to look at the evidence or delve deeply to make reasoned decisions they want a quick fix.

Mahmoud Darwish

The Palestinian 'national' poet Mahmoud Darwish died a couple of days ago and will be buried in Ramallah tomorrow. To celebrate his life and work a memorial service was held in the centre of Nablus. The manager of one of the centres that I work at arranged placards and candles for people to hold. I had been informed about the service on my way to the centre this morning and the manager infromed the class during the lesson. He also invited Project Hope volunteers to come along.

I had contemplated playing football after my last class, especially since this has introduced me to the majority of young people (males) in the area but decided that going to the city centre to see something that will only happen once was a much better idea. In the end this turned out to be the case. I hadn't realised that I would be given a placard and candle and still expect things to be like they are at home. The manager was very pleased that I had turned up and endeavoured to include me in everything.

The memorial service was a combination of poetry, speeches and songs. I saw a few of the pupils that I teach as well as some of their families which was nice. Though I didnt understand most of the talking a section was set aside to thank the volunteers of Project Hope and other internationals for their solidarity. A poem was also read in English which was much appreciated. Throughout the service I was a little worried that I might cause offence by my holding the placard as I'm not Palestinian and don't know much about Darwish. As the manager had given me the placard to hold I assumed it was ok though I was still a little dubious. When the ceremony had finished two Palestinian women came to shake my hand and say thanks for giving my support. The second woman commenting that my holding the placard for so long made me more Palestinian than some Palestinian's! She left me saying that she believes me to be Palestinian in my heart. I nearly cried.

I was proud to hold the placard and I am proud to be here with the Palestinian people. On the days when it is hard I think I will be happier back home but I know that I will miss many things when I do eventually have to go back. I'm glad I came here again as the two weeks I was here before really wasn't enough time to gain a true understanding of the situation. I clearly don't understand everything now but I have learnt a great deal.

Being at a service for a poet reminded my of why I wanted to be here so much in the first place. Though the thought had crossed my mind because of the injustices I had heard about the main reason I wanted to come was because of another poet, Nathalie Handal. He words made the situation here more real than any report or document ever could. Now that I have spent the best part of six weeks in the country (this year) her words seem to ring true more than ever. From talking to people about Abdul Haleem and Umm Kulthum to the checkpoints and house demolitions her poetry seems to encapsulate Palestine. I know that when I go home I won't be able to explain what it is like here. To talk about a demolished house is not the same as drinking tea and talking to the people whose home is now gone and seeing it with your own eyes. Instead of telling people to read reports or look on activist websites perhaps I will tell them to read Darwish or Handal. Or better still listen to them.

OCHA

A meeting had been arranged with OCHA (Organisation for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs)for after our classes today. As they are a UN organisation separate from UNRWA (the one set up specifically to deal with Palestinian refugees) I was keen to go along. The first thing I wasn't expecting was the fact that they have just three members of staff based in Nablus responsible for a massive area within the West Bank. They have a huge range of activities but basically they monitor all of the checkpoints and settler violence (protection), they work with all of the other organisations that are delivering humanitarian aid (co-ordination) and they bring all of this information to important actors in the region such as middle east envoys- Tony Blair et al (advocacy). So we were quite lucky to get the briefing from them.

I knew that they wouldn't be immune from the frustrations in the region but yet again I didn't forsee how bad these could be. One thing I had never really thought about unitl today was the 'back to back' checkpoints were the vehicle isn't allowed through the checkpoint but must transfer its cargo from one vehichle to another. (one vehicle on one side of the checkpoint, one on the other). This doesn't sound so terrible but it doubles associated transport costs and is often the case for vehicles carrying human cargo. The last time I was in Jerusalem I saw someone being transferred from a Red Crescent ambulance on my side of the checkpoint to another on the other side. Apparently this is an improvement as up until about a year ago having a Palestinian ambulance on the other side wouldn't have been allowed!

As I had read more testimonies from the 'Breaking the Silence' booklet this morning I wasn't in the best of moods. Reading these things seems to make it so much worse when your actually here and you can quite clearly imagine the places being talked about. Whilst I was waiting for my class to turn up in Balata I was talking to the local Palestinian volunteer about an Israli settlement we could see from the balcony we were standing on. The most prominent feature of the landscape is a big hill, in front of this two roads and then Balata camp itself. The road nearest the settlement is for Israeli's only. For some reason this annoyed me much more than it ever has before. A road that only people of a certain ethnicity can use. It's absurd. It's apartheid. That I could see it only a couple of hundred metres in the distance was so frustrating and I was tempted to go and stand on the road just for the hell of it. Non of the Palestinians I was with would contemplate going near the road as they know full well that they would be arrested immediatley if they did.

This total injustice and insanity and the fact that there's nothing that you can do about it is frustrating beyond words. This is the word that everyone who works here uses 'frustration'. Knowing that it is obvious and immoral that the things are the way they are but also knowing at the same time that nothing will change any time soon. In some ways though I was slightly boosted by the OCHA talk. The main guy giving the briefing said that he can't change everything and that it will take a very long time to effect real change but it was better to be here and doing something that not being here. Yes, lots of injustice does happen but perhaps there would be more if they weren't here. I know that that is the way I ought to be looking at things. That I can't possibly hope to make a big change but can make small differences. It's the kind of thing I always say to my classes back home ("you might not be able to save everyone in the world but the people you do help will be grateful, etc") but it's much harder to believe it being here.

The apartment on Saturday

It was quite good to be in the apartment on Saturday when most of the other volunteers were away as it gave me time to think about the tour yesterday as well as the rest of my three weeks here. I read the Breaking the Silence booklets we had been given at the end of the tour. These contain testimonies from soldiers that have served in the Hebron area. A very grim read really but also quite surprising in many ways. I was expecting tales of abuse of Palestinians but I also found stories of settlers abusing the IDF as well. Some of the IDF soldiers clealy wanted to be as humane as possible but often the reality of a situation took over. They weren't in a position to influence every action in a given situation.

For example a platoon commander that fired over the heads of fleeing suspects to get them to stop inadvertantly encouraged one of his soldiers to fire directly at them by the same action. It would be easy to become polarised being here but it is often reassuring to hear Palestians say that they don't dislike or hate Jews it's the Israeli government that they have a problem with (the same with America). I know there will be many here that won't make that distinction but I suspect they would be the more extreme minority. Most people, like the farmers we met at Susya, just want to get on with their lives and looking after their families.

Though I don't condone the actions I read about in the Breaking the Silence booklets I think that I can appreciate how many of the situations may arise. Boredom leads people to creating their own entertainment and a culture of impunity for crimes committed by soldeirs will not help to reduce them. I do think that regularly attacking and disrutping the lives of innnocent people wil make them more likely to become militants if they weren't before. Precisely what the 'war on terror' is achieving. You cannot constantly terrorise a population (like the IDF do) without deeply affecting their pysche for years to come. I have always been amazed at how normal people here turn out and how nice some of the children are knowing some of the things they have witnessed. This is even more the case now I have a greater understanding and awareness of the area.

This is not to say the Palestinians are perfect. Far from it. The infighting between Hamas and Fatah must be music to the ears of the Israeli government. Whilst they squabble over power, money and control the IDF take more of their land. I can't help thinking of the film 'Lawrence of Arabia' when I hear reports about Fatah and Hamas on the news, especially the part when the clans are all arguing after reaching Aquaba and Peter O'Toole says they will remain a 'little people' a 'silly people' if they continue to tear themselves apart. Though the context here isn't the same and the future isn't determined by just the actions of the Palestinians I still think some of the sentiment rings true.

Like people anywhere there are 'good' and 'bad' people. A child today tried to steal my watch and when we go out in a big group we sometimes get stones thrown at us by the children in the street. When I was still at home I read 'Long Way Down' about Boorman and McGregor and they talked about something similar as they rode their bikes through certain villages. Being here has made me think a great deal about how individuals are influenced and shaped by the environment around them. On the first day I was here, whilst trying to sleep off my flight, I was constantly woken by 'explosions' in the street. This has become a daily phenomenon and I don't even notice them anymore. They aren't from the IDF or militants but children playing with fireworks in the street. Children that are regularly deprived of sleep because of incursions and genuine explosions entertain themselves by making loud bangs of their own. I can only guess that this is a power thing, a way of showing that you are someone.

I believe that I can see both sides of this conflict despite being firmly placed on one side. The Palestinians should have a state of their own and the Israeli's should stop stealing their land. Ideally the settlers should be removed from the West Bank though I know this will never happen. Terrorizing the civilian population and collectively punishing them, which is what happens here, is illegal under international law and is of course morally abhorent as well. The Palestinians say that their state exists inside of each of them and I can clearly see this. I doubt an actual state will come about any time soon and am much more pessimistic in this regard than I was before I arrived here.

Jerusalem and Breaking the Silence tour in the Southern Hebron hills

As we had to meet the tour leaders at 8.30 on Friday morning we went to Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon. This took us about two and half hours but once we had sorted out the various hotels and hostels we were all staying at we went for a very nice meal. The major downside to Jerusalem is that we are used to the prices in Nablus so everything sounds obscenely expensive. It is about three times as much but for a place with such a focus on tourism it's really not that bad. Usually I can take or leave alcohol but I can honestly say the beer I had in the restaurant was without doubt the best I have ever tasted.

We stayed at a youth hostel around the corner from Damascus Gate and just had to pay for our beds for the night. This was fine but ten people in one small room and the heat meant we got little sleep. As did the fact that the noise outside became deafening from by about 6am. Despite this we still thought we were going to be late (and were) but so was the bus.

Originally the tours were conducted in the cty of Hebron by soldiers that have served there. Due to the increase in violence in the area and in particular that aimed at the tours they are now conducted in the South Hebron hills. From the last time I was in the West Bank I had been left with the impression that settlements were filled with people that couldn't afford housing in Israel proper and so were at the mercy of their governments evil machinations. I now know that this clearly isn't the case. In reality the settlers are often the most radical Zionists who often think they are above the government. They believe that all of the area of 'Israel' (including the West Bank and Gaza)should be theirs.

I read the other day that there are roughly half a million people living as settlers within the West Bank. I knew that this would make a two state solution to the problem difficult but I didn't comprehend to what extent. The setttlements themselves coupled with a variety of other underhand tricks allow Israel to continually annex more and more land. Thought the settlements are illegal under international law it hasn't stopped them continuing to be built. The settlements are what the Israeli government approve but there are also outposts which are settlements that have been constructed illegally under Israeli law. Of course the government does nothing to remove these either.

During the second intifada (uprising of Palestinians starting in September 2000) the Israeli's created 'security buffer zones' around the settlements. This allowed them to steal even more land as they declared that any Palestinians entering the zones would be immediately arrested. So land that previously belonged to a Palestinian farmer becomes part of the settlement. That there might be wells in the zone or a road that needs to be used is an irrelevance.

Each settlement also has a security officer who is financed from the defence ministry. Though as an occupying force the IDF are obliged to ensure the safety of the Palestinians... In reality the settlers are able to attack the Palestinian land owners with impunity. They poison wells, they attack old people, they destroy homes and when the IDF come to investigate they say they can proceed no further as they don't know who committed the crime. Despite the fact that they have patrols who regulary monitor the security buffer zones...

Other useful tricks include making people have permits for their homes (based on centuries old laws)and destroying them if they don't have them, stopping people gaining access to their own land cultivating it themselves and thereby 'legally' allowing it to change hands. Perhaps one of the worst was when they constructed a 41km long half a metre high concrete fence. At first I didn't understand this but I'm not a farmer or land owner. Even a low wall like this prevents tractors from working the land, stops sheep being moved from one grazing area to another, etc.

The annoying thing is I could go on and on. Until today I didn't realize the significance of land grab and what it meant, especially how it clouds the peace process so much (I'm aware that that is a somewhat ridiculous term). Israel continues to give permission for more settlements to be built. As far as I am concerned that means they do not want peace, they never will, they never have and they are systematically eradicating the Palestinians.

Yesterday settlers attacked a group of British diplomats in an armoured car. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7547373.stm
We didn't witness any violence but I really do feel for the farmers we met. They live in an Area C area (Area C- Israeli controlled security/civil admin, B- joint, A Palestinian Authority) so they are under the auspices of the IDF who don't care and because of this the PA don't care either. These people don't have any political clout so why should anyone care about them or their children?

At the end of the tour the guide said that he thinks that nothing will be done and that eventually they will lose their land and need to work in the nearest town (exactly what Israel has been trying to achieve). This was very disheartening as was his comment that it's likely that 30, 40 years or more will be needed before anything changes.

End of the teaching week

Tomorrow I will be at Al-Mustaqbal again so today was the last teaching day of the week. I have three classes with just about enough time between them to make the journey's across the city. The first being in the old city, the second at Balata and the thrird in New Askhar. The day was the same as usual for a Wednesday. First class great, hardly any students showed up at Balata (3 this time) and the class at the end fantastic. One difference was that I had a volunteer that I hadn't met before. The guy teaches about Islam at An-Najah Univeristy and has just completed his masters degree in Islamic History. Like all students here his first degree took him 4 years (his masters degree also took 4 years!) It is normal that students spend longer to complete their degrees here than at home. This seems to be partly because on all courses the first year is a general overview of everything in a related field and then specialisation starts in the second year. Many students got to Jordan to complete degrees then return home to Nablus.

I had often wondered if the Al-Quds Open University here is the same format as the OU study I have completed at home and it is indeed the same. It was the first distance/ home study university in the arab world. I have met one person who has studied there but the majority attend An-Najah, the national university which is based in Nablus.

This weekend I will be going to Jerusalem on Thursday evening in preparation for attending a Breaking the Silence Tour on Friday morning. The tour is South of the city of Hebron and delivered by former IDF soldiers that have served in the area. I heard about this the last time I was here and everyone that has been on the tour has commented on how good it is and well worth the effort.

Next Saturday I will be assisting with a 3 hour social justice workshop that will be run from Project Hope. There will be around 30-40 children from the various camps attending, those that have had previous lessons on social justice delivered by the Project Hope co-ordinator for this subject. I was only asked to do this yesterday so I have been trying to think of ideas for the day. We have a projector and laptops so a short film is a possibility. Ideally I would like to show the Amnesty International animated UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) but so far I can't find an Arabic version. I've found it in Zulu and 10 langauges I'd never heard of but not Arabic!

Birthday cake

One of the students from my first class of the day was 16 today. At the end of the class she asked me to stay for a while as her brother was bringing her birthday cake. Though it was her birthday I was given the first piece of the cake once it had been cut. I was expecting an Arabic song but they all sang the usual English version of 'Happy Birthday'. Well the same apart from the fact that it was repeated a second time a hundred times quicker than the first. It's nice to feel included in everything though I have only been here for a short time which makes it all the more disappointing that I wont be here for Ramadan. With it being about a month away everyone is looking forward to it and talking about it. Nablus would be an amazing place to be at this point on the Islamic calendar. I will be teaching my year 8's about Islam when I return home so I'm hoping to ask some of my more able pupils to help me plan some lessons. In return this will help them to develop their English. Or so I hope.

My second class of the day was enormously good fun. We had some intelopers at the beginning (some adults that happened to be in the centre at the time) who couldn't seem to resist joining in. This did however add to the lesson rather than detract from it. Being here I have become so used to anything happening that it doesn't surprise me when it does. I have also mastered the art of teaching English with nothing more than a pen and board to write on- no worksheets, no visuals, no textbooks, no computers and definitely no interactive whiteboard! Today I was hoping to teach the class directions: left, right, straight ahead, etc. I decided that a variation of the minefield activity (though for obvious reasons I though it best not to use the mine theme) from my Prince's Trust days would be the most fun. So after a breif explanation of the various directions I let the class guide me around the classroom full of obstacles with my eyes close. The aim being to get me from one side of the room to the other without touching anything. The main danger with this activity is that the class don't take it seriously and it just ends up being a health and safety nightmare. The opposite was of course the case and they very diligently and enthusiastically guided me across the room. Each child then had a go with their eyes closed.

Having them in a line and trying to get them to turn left and right was highly amusing. As plenty of native speakers seem to have trouble with left and right I wasn't expecting perfection. Some got it straight away whilst others were constantly piroetting on the spot. Good fun all round though.

The most challenging class that I teach is an hour and a half long conversation class held on Sunday and Tuesday. It's more difficult because it's never that easy to get people to debate or spontaneously break into conversation, even more so when it is necessary that this happens in a foreign language. Today's topic was food and this proved to be one of the easier lessons because of the scope and range of things we could talk about on this theme.

I rushed back from the class to play football again but I not sure how good an idea us continuing with this is. We won again and locals are getting more and more frustrated. Perhaps a mixed team might be better next time. I keep thinking back to footage I saw of a UN arranged match between the peacekeepers and locals in Kosovo that ended in riot. We stopped countless times today whilst a few Palestinians argued about something or other. I couldn't work out what it was and just wanted to play football.

Pulling funny faces

The three classes I had today were planned to be subjected to my lesson on naming the various body parts. This had been great fun with some groups last week so I thought I would repeat it. As is turned out only two of the classes went ahead and the third just didn't happen. A class was due to start in Balata today at 12-2 but at quarter past 12 I only had one student. By 1pm the number had only increased to 2. The youngster that turned up first did his best to ring around his friends and knock on their doors to get them out of bed but with obviously little success. From his conversations with my Palestinian volunteer it became clear that the boys had been up until 5am playing computer games so English class with me wasn't going to be high up on the agenda. To be fair it is their summer holidays from school at the moment. The situation reminded me of when I used to work for the Prince's Trust and the difficulties we often had getting people to attend the session. Many of the team members were long term unemployed and doing something when you are used to doing nothing takes time. I think it will be better if they move the class to the evening so that we have a greater chance of some of the group turning up. We shall see on Wednesday anyway, when the next class is scheduled to take place...

In Askhar camp I had another fantastic lesson with the group of 8 girls that live there. They were very quick to learn the body parts that they didn't know (difficult ones like neck, chin, shin, cheeks) and I'm putting this down to my pulling my ears and cheeks etc and making them laugh. Our lessons are always fun but the girls are just as competitive as the boys. Woe betide anyone that forgets to give their team a point! They can remember exactly why they should have the point and exactly when they won it. Their level of English and the vocabularly never fails to astonish me. Most of the class take part in a master class at Project Hope called 'Bridge to the World' were they will use the computers to write blogs and compose emails. I am hoping that it will be with these children that I have taught thatI can link with my classes back at Cheadle Hulme High School.

I had a different local volunteer with me when I arrived in New Askhar today and it was a bit embarassing when I got to the centre. Kids all over the place were shouting my name and saying hello from the rooftops, in the street, on balconies and then the same again when I got inside. Like a celebrity. Foreign people are so rare (apart from Project Hope volunteers) that we are always stared at wherever we go. This isn't as unnerving as it sounds as the people here are genuinely interested in you and want to talk to you. They muster all the English they can even if it's just one word and appear to appreciate my very poor attempts at speaking Arabic. It's now very rare for me to go into the city and not see someone I know or that knows me. Whether it be one of the students I teach, someone I know quite well or just someone I have said hello to before.

A very odd thing I saw today was a man and his son trying to squeeze a goat into the boot of the car. I used to pretty strange sights here- a car pulling the shell of another car down the main street with sparks flying everywhere, pictures of martyr's plastered over the walls, children dangling other children over the edge of rooftops- but this was one of the strangest. Probably because there was no way they were going to get it to fit! Not in one piece anyway...

Tonight is a meal for all the volunteers so I'd better stop thinking about how the food here is prepared and just go and eat it.

Football

Having walked past a school near to Project Hope countless times every day I was itching to join in with the football that seems to go on in the evenings. Having dropped enough hints about doing so the Project Hope International All Stars played their first match yesterday. As there were only small children there at first we played mixed teams (Palestinians and Internationals) but the word soon got round and scores more people turned up. The kids loved the fact that we went and joined in and chanted our names after asking what we were called the ubiquitous fifty times. Like the games we played in the school at Jenin it was great to see so many people of different backgrounds enjoying themselves.

We went back again today and actually managed to win this time! The Palestinians are ultra competitive even the tiny ones but this shows in everything they do not just the football. My last class of the day, a group of uni students, played word tennis is as if their team winning was the most important thing in the world. That there wasn't even a prize for winning was completely irrelevant. Every class has been the same. This makes for very draining lessons but it's also very rewarding because everyone gets stuck in. It also makes the time go quicker and the lessons more fun. I would like to be able to do the same back in the UK but I'm not sure I could maintain the pace for twenty lessons a week.

With today being the start of the week I can't get over how quickly the day has disappeared. When I'm teaching the time flies by. Before I know it it will be the weekend again. At the moment I feel that I am 'in the zone' when it comes to teaching the lessons. I know what the classes will find interesting and I am managing to make the sessions fun whilst educational at the same time. Seeing parents taking their children for uniforms reminded me that I only have three weeks left here, as they go back when my time is up. It's good that when my classes finish they will go back to school and not just be left with someone for one week.

The footballers were disappointed that we couldn't play tomorrow but we always have a Project Hope meal on a Monday night. After both games of football we have ended up drinking tea at a house of two brothers who always join in with the matches. They invite us in so readily and the whole family makes us feel so welcome that it would be rude not, plus the sugary tea is just what's needed after the football.

Tomorrow will be my first proper session in Balata refugee camp and the class will be for 2 hours. I think this is too long (though some volunteers have lessons for 3 hours which is completely absurd) but I will try to turn it into two with maybe a break in the middle. The group appear to be the weakest in terms of their current level of English but I'm sure this is entirely due to the fact of where they live. Schools there are much more likely to be disrupted.

I learned from one of the local volunteers today that Palestinian children start to learn English as soon as the begin school and carry on with it until they leave. That will be why they are infinitely better at languages then. They finish school at 18 not 16 so that means an extra 8 years of language learning. 13 years compared to the 5 years (of German) I received. In the UK we have made it compulsory now at primary level but that contines in secondary up until the age of 14...

Speaking to the American volunteers they too seem to have a much better system of education than we do at home.

The Weekend

I should have know better than to plan anything to a particular time schedule even if the main activity of the day was jst to be doing my washing. On Friday morning we had no water so that soon stopped that idea, we don't seem to have any water now either. I've sort of got used to things happening on Arab time and regularly joke with the staff about classes starting in maybe five minutes, maybe ten minutes, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week.... I think they find my time keeping a little unnerving and unnatural.

Today I went to Bethlehem (pictures can be seen at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=25725&l=a644d&id=801579690 ). Though it's ok to try and plan to go somewhere what time you arrive is anybody's guess. I got to Huwarra checkpoint at 8am and it took a full hour to get from one side of the check point to the other (100metres max). This was with the checkpoint being fully open the whole time! Once I was at the other side it was another half an hour wait until the bus had enough people for it to leave for Ramallah. A couple of checkpoints later and I arrive to catch another bus to Jerusalem and some more checkpoints. I really do not know how the people cope with these things everyday. They are so pointless and time consuming. Finally I caught a bus from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.

There was a checkpoint going into the city but it wasn't as fortified as I was expecting it to be. The rest of the City wasn't as I expected either. I knew it wasn't going to be like it was 2000 years ago but I expected much more tourists and westeners. The streets thronged with Palestinians and children pushing trolleys of goods along the cobbled streets, not a particularly good combination. Without too much effort I managed to find my way to Manger Square. This was lucky because with the taxi ride and three buses already today I wasn't really in the mood.

Most people seemed to be drawn towards what I later found out to be the Church of the Nativity so like a sheep I followed. This only rang true outside, inside I was always walking in the opposite direction to everyone else. Like all great architecture the building instantly made you feel like you should do in such a location. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful inside despite my squeaky trainers doing their best to break the tranquility.

Back outside I wandered across Manger Square to the Peace Centre. There wasn't a great deal to see inside but the different intepretations of the nativity scene in a gallery upstairs were quite interesting to compare. My first thought was what a great lesson I could make out of this... Onto more important things I went to get some food- ordered a Shwarma and sat outside on the steps of the Mosque, just as everyone was coming out, perfectly bad timing!

I couldn't spend too long in Bethlehem as I knew it would take at least a few hours to get back. I was still glad I had made the effort to see the city though. On the way back we went through the same ridiculous amount of checkpoints. The worst was when a soldier made everyone empty all of their bags out of the hold on the bus. Most of them were bags of shopping belonging to an old lady who could not fail to feel humilated as he groped his way through each of her bags.

Conference on Poverty at An-Najah University

This conference had been three months in the planning and I was mainly able to attend through being in the right place at the right time. I had been asked to go along to speak to people in English about the work of Al-Mustaqbal the society that had organised the event. Loads of different agencies were there from the UN (UNICEF and UNRWA) and other NGO's but representatives were noticeably absent from the presidents office despite assurances to the contrary. This cast a shadow on the whole event.

Luckily they had English translation throughout the day via headsets so I was able to understand what was going on. Essentially the day was a summary of research into poverty, national statistics and policy descriptions from the major players. I was familiar with a lot of the sociological terms and research methodology from my own study and found it an interesting day though a lot of similar sentiment seemed to be repeated. Though the occupation clearly has a large role to play in the functioning of the economy no one blamed external factors completely for the high level of poverty (estimated at 60% by UNRWA) and all thought that a database, that logged a record of the poor based upon an agreed definition for what counts as being in poverty, would go al long way to helping move things forward.

I had come across the idea of micro finance before and read about successes in other countries but here many initiatives had failed because though individuals had been able to produce saleable goods they didn't have access to the markets required to market them in the first place.

On a more positive note one of the speakers remarked that though economically Palestine may be poor, spirtiually it is very rich. This was echoed later in the day when I attended the final performance of a summer camp that had been running since the 20th of July. Run by the sister of one of the Project Hope staff the camp had catered for primary age children with learning difficulties. This being the 25th anniversary of the centre that works with the children during term time it was a doubly special occasion. Many of the girls wearing the same traditional dress that I had seen at the conference earlier in the day and the crowd was filled with proud parents.


As soon as I walked in I was surrounded by smiling children who seemed to have remembered me but not my name (most Palestinians seem to find pronouncing it difficult). When I told them what it was again they all started to chant 'And-dee' And-dee' and Salaam Alikum and wanted to shake my hand. The performance itself was great to watch because the children all enjoyed themselves so much. The throwing rice into the crowd to symbolise part of a wedding ceremony went down particularly well. I should know I got the treatment twice. The theme for the show was the Nakba ('catastrophe' when Israel was created 60 years ago) and the reinforcement of Palestinian culture. So we had a variety of songs, Debka and plays. I do like how the people here know about and celebrate their culture in this way.

Recently, especialy with my increased focus on human rights I have come to see myself above ideas of nationalism and nationhood thinking of these as simplistic and lacking humanity. After tonight I'm thinking that perhaps things like traditions should be passed on and revered. In the UK there has been much talk about the teaching of Britishness and I have always been decidedly cool towards this idea. I still am to a great extent as I don't think there is a clear idea of our 'culture' that can be communicated but I'm now thinking that a greater appreciation of our history as an island nation could be of benefit. Surely this would be the best way of making all members of the community regardless of their background feel part of a bigger picture that could bring everyone together. Yes people live differently and express their 'Britishness' in different ways but all have contributed to the current state in positive ways. Perhaps I'm far too idealistic still.

Or perhaps I should just go and live somewhere other than Britain!

Al-Mustaqbal and New Askhar for Dinner

Today was a public holiday so the office was closed. The reason for this was today is a religious celebration of the time when Allah took Muhammed from Mecca to Jerusalem and then up to Heaven. It is the reason why muslims pray five times a day but though important it doesn't have the same spectacular scenes that would be witnessed here during Eid. It is more a time for quiet reflection. Classes were not on today but I offered to go to Al-Mustaqbal (The Palestinian Society for Development and Democracy) as I will be attending a conference with them tomorrow at An-Najah University. Neema the lady that I spent most of the day working with invited me to dinner at her home with her family.

Despite having been here before I was quite shocked when she said she lived in New Askhar camp. I seemed to expect her to live in a wealthier part of the city. So there's stereotype number one. Knowing what the camp looks like from the approach in a taxi I was expecting the house to be pretty run down and dilapidated. Stereotype number two. From the outside it looked like every other breeze block building, going through the front door was a Narnia type moment- the rooms were well furnished, beautifully decorated and very spacious. Apart from the pictures of Arafat and Saddam I could have been anywhere.

The meal we had was amazing, Diwarli- rice wrapped up with leaves with aubergines, chicken and yoghurt followed by more Kunaffa (too much is never enough)and something else equally sweet. I'm surprised these people have any teeth at all what with their sugar and coffee and sugar mixed with tea! Though I could understand little of the Arabic conversation I was surprised at how similar this famiy meal was to how it would be at home. As soon as we arrived the mother was still clearing and tidying though it was perfectly tidy, the emergency chairs were brought out, the youngest child was being cute and getting all of the attention whilst the second youngest was sulking because she wasn't, the men were all being pretty useless and the eldest sons were doing their best to keep out of the way.

Though I couldn't understand the talk I do like the way everyone here sits down to eat together. Even at the office everyone stopped work to sit together and eat breakfast which is always shared and never an individual thing. After the meal everyone sat talking for a couple of hours. This has to be one of the most surreal experiences of my life. The discussion centred around fate and if it's possible to change your destiny and also the difference between the self and the soul! With arguments based upon religion to Shakespeare. Everyone argued passionately regardless of gender or age and everyone joined in (me on a very small scale in English). So perhaps this is why the children are seemingly so well educated and articulate. The littlest children were still present as the discussion went on. Exposure to this sort of higher order thinking cannot fail to make an impression upon a child. It certainly beats all sitting around a box watching something meaningless because 'it's on'.

I suppose I initially came here because I felt sorry for the people and that me being a well off, well educated capable individual from a rich country I could come here and solve their problems. This now strikes me as absurd and I feel a bit ashamed of myself. I know that I can have an impact upon the children here and that by delivering fun, engaging lessons can take them away from the reality of their situation even if it's just for one hour but I no longer feel superior because of my western background and in many ways I am humbled by the people here. They achieve so much and remain positive in the face of terrible adversity. As one guy commented this evening- him being such a hero he took on a whole platoon of IDF soldiers, he smashed the boots of everyone of them with his face. A joke but still fairly typical. The fact that this joke can be made and laughed at shows real character.

I feel especially out of my depth here when it comes to languages and have known for a long time it is something I have needed to rectify. In the UK it isn't a problem. I can become successful without ever learning another language. Here though the way everyone switches between French and English and Arabic leaves me feeling that I have something missing and equally that I am missing out. I was looking at a school in Morocco today that delivers intensive Arabic courses over the summer so perhaps that's what I'll be doing this time next year.

Balata and the Turkish Baths

I finally made it to the Tukish baths after my third time of trying and it was well worth the wait. The way I'm feeling this morning it will probably be an equally long wait before I go again. The massage was something akin to being hit by a train. We started by being baked on the floor, both sides to ensure we were cooked all the way through. Someone said something about being careful not to fry your eggs when we were lying face down but I wasn't quite sure what he meant... Then the sauna, cold shower and finally the steam room. Probably the usual but the first time I'd ever been so quite an experience. More so being that the building itself is truly spectacular with very high domed ceilings. I'm not sure how old it is but being in the 'old city' I'm guessing pretty old! We ate before we left and in traditional Nablusi style the food was the height of excess. Chicken with a bread soaked in olive oil that had been cooked with almonds and onions. Very messy but worth the effort.

The baths felt like a different planet having just been to Balata refugee camp. Balata is the biggest camp in the West Bank and is home to about 20,000 people. The conditions for the people here are very tough and it is noticeable that the place is much harsher than even the other camps. Last time I was here the camp was too dangerous for us to enter so it's good to be able to go in there now. I was there yesterday to arrange some classes at a centre where I will be teaching on Mondays and Wednesdays. The class will be a group of mainly boys aged 16-19 (one very sweet 10 yr old girl sat smiling at the back of the class, hiding in the corner). It is never far from your mind that if the Israeli's enter or there is another intifada these boys will most likely be the resistance fighters. The same people that are like young lads everywhere. They want to laugh and joke and talk about football. It's hard to be normal though when your town is invaded every night. The class was supposed to be for an hour and a half but they asked for two hours. Unlike the children at home they have nothing else to do. There's no cinema, no place to hang out with your friends. One child commented to one of the French volunteers that he was in the French class because he was bored. This doesn't mean they put no effort into the classes, quite the opposite. They give everything they have got. One to relieve the boredom and two because they know education can offer them a way out. I remember reading an article back home saying that boredom would be a good thing for children in the UK. At the time I was somewhat skeptical but the author could well have been right.

A member of staff from Project hope turned up at my class in Askhar yesterday to take some pictures so I'll hopefully be able to post some of them on here soon.

Local Volunteers

Every time we go to a class a local Palestinian volunteer comes along with us. Mainly to translate but also to look after us. They all speak fantastic English and try so hard to make us feel welcome. They volunteer to improve their own English but also to have the opportunity to interact with people from different countries and to tell them what life is like in Nablus. They are very keen to give us a true impression of the people so we can go home and tell people what it is really like. It's difficult when they ask why they have to live like they do and why the west seems to hate arabs. There is no satisfactory or reassuring answer that I can possibly give.

I did a lesson yesterday on travel to other countries but we spent most of the time talking about how the students would like to just visit places near by such as Bethlehem and Amman. Most of the uni students are worried that they will have to leave Palestine to go to Dubai or Saudi Arabi because they simply can't get the work here. So there they might prefer to study subjects closer to their hearts such as psychology and sociology but they opt for more useful (from a Palestinian point of view) subjects such as engineering. Funny thing is non of the local volunteers that attend English classes to translate seem to have a degree in English! Languages are just extras they have picked up along the way. One 16 yr old girl that comes to class with me has an amazing level of English as well as speaking French and Arabic. She is also wanting to learn German, Italian and Spanish but can't find classes for this in Nablus. A lot of the English she has learnt has been picked up from on line classes and it shows in her vocabularly and fluency. These as I say are just extras and she eventually wants to become a dentist though this will take seven years.

Today's morning class talking about the time went well and was great fun as usual. This afternoon I'm teaching my girls group in New Askar and later on I will hopefully going to the Turkish baths. Hopefully.

(small) Room with a view

The classroom was tiny and I had one pen and a small board to write on. Still one of the best lessons ever and not a bad view from the window. The kids were pretty amazing too!

I treated today more like a Sunday getting up late and not really doing very much. After going to the supermarket I washed some clothes by hand which was strangely satisfying and finally had a shave which was painfull and time consuming. Though it hasn't been as hot today as on previous days the drenched clothes were soon dry.

In the afternoon I wandered into the city to get some food. It was a much more pleasant walk being about 10 degrees cooler than normal. I went to see a local stall holder. He sells sweet pumkin wrapped in a sort of fritter as well as this strange paste that goes with hummus. As soon as he saw me he gave me his chair and his coffee then wandered off to get me a piece of fruit. We talked haltingly about his family and also about Hamas who he describes as terrorists and not welcome in Palestine. His attitude seemed to mirror a gentleman I met yesterday who corrected one of us when he said the pictures of martyr's were representation of murders not martyr's. From my basic understanding of Palestinian politics it is quite clear that most residents of the West Bank support Fatah and the President Abbas. So not only are most Palestinians not terrorists they don't support the actions of terrorist groups either. Perhaps the reason the situation in different in Gaza is because of how harsh the conditions are there. People here are restricted in terms of their movement but food is plentiful and water and electricity are available. Gaza is under seige and the population is being punished collectively.

I also learned today, from a report on the BBC news page written by a parliamentary select committee, that the term 'occupation' has a very precise legal definition. As an occupying force the Israeli's are required to administer the territories but are expressly forbidden to build settlements. Gaza is also classed as occupied though there are no IDF soldiers there because the Israeli's still control the borders and airspace.

It is hard to make a firm judgement on these things and to discover the 'truth' if there is a truth to be discovered. Someone allows the pictures of martyr's to be posted (often they are on advertisement billboards with pictures of food stuffs on the reverse) so they must be supported. I have heard the martyr's being denounced but also seen pictures of them as wallpaper backgrounds on young people's phones. One thing is very clear and that is how naive I am about ancient history. I know nothing compared to the people here. Perhaps that is why I would like to see the conflict solved in my lifetime whereas most Palestinians seem to say maybe in the next hundred years. This is also very much down to your perspective of life and more importantly the next one.

Friday is Sunday but Saturday is still Saturday

Friday is like Sunday used to be in the UK. Everything shuts down, the streets are quiet and the shops are closed. It's nice. It's good to have a day when consumerism isn't top of the agenda.

With today being Saturday I did however need to go shopping. The picture of my washing powder isn't me being crude but rather my attempt at being ironic, Colon means 'settler' in French.

Jenin

Though Nablus is in the middle of no where Jenin feels even more so. Arriving at the bus station after 45minutes of continual near death experiences was a relief but also like you would expect a typical arab town to be like- dirty, smelly, lots of market traders, lots of noise and colour. This clearly being no tourist destination. Despite or more likely because of this I spent an amazing 24hrs there. Pictures are posted at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=24848&l=8b8a3&id=801579690

I had wanted to go to Jenin because I had heard the name so many times before. The camp was obliterated in 2002 and the inhabitants have been trying to repair this damage ever since. The town is very close to the border with Israel making it very easy to attack. There isn't much to see in terms of attractions and though it is quieter now it is still better to visit the camp with a guide. Luckily we spent Thursday night and Friday with a local family. I honestly don't believe I have ever encountered nicer people. From entertaining us the whole time, to driving us round, to feeding us, to answering or questions- nothing was too much trouble. I can't say that I would be as welcoming to a group of people that had descended on my home.

The house itself was a wonderful setting. Though just around the corner from the town centre it could have been anywhere. The terrace was so peaceful and the perfect place to sit and talk. Of course about politics and the occupation but other things as well. Such as if you could have a third eye where would you have it? I decided on the back of my hand, less trouble than the front of the hand whilst still retaining the same amount of usefulness....

The children of the household were incredibly articulate (in English as well as Arabic) and frighteningly capable and intelligent. If they can develop into such great beings with high aspirations why do we have such poverty of ambition in the UK? These children have witnessed (and still witness) truly horrible things yet they remain very together and positive.

The main reason we were in Jenin was to see the Freedom theatre and Street Circus. Islam Gabi who runs the circus looked after us during our time in Jenin along with his brother. The night before we visited the theatre we stayed in the Arab-American (or American-Arab) School that the children mentioned above attend. Another one of those very strange things that I can say I have done- slept on the floor of a private school in Jenin because the men and women couldn't be in the same house and the men had to go somewhere else, and the school is closed for the holidays....

The theatre itself is another anomaly, as if it really shouldn't be there. You walk around a corner, move off the scruffy main street and there is a beautiful building with children playing happily outside and a proper theatre inside. The anomaly today was circus skills workshops for children with no children. After a performance a few weeks ago many of the residents were unhappy with the way their children (female) had been dancing so have boycotted the theatre ever since. I hope this changes as Islam and the other workers there clearly do a fantastic job based upon the DVD's we watched.
http://www.thefreedomtheatre.org/

There seems to have been a continual state of animosity between some of the camp residents and the theatre. I did find this hard to comprehend as the theatre seems to be precisely what the young people need, especially the girls who aren't allowed to play out in the street like the boys are. The theatre gives space for play, for an outlet of emotion as well as spiritual and moral development (OFSTED would be pleased with my terminology).

The workers weren't too disheartened and decided to show us some of the activities they do with the young people. This was the best fun I've had in ages. From a game of dodgeball to making car noises without opening your lips (it has to be demonstrated it doesn't translate well into words) to games requiring chanting and clapping in time. It was good to see people who barely knew one another from all over the world getting along so well. My only worry with visiting places such as Jenin and the other towns I will got to is that I now have a real connection to the place. When I hear 'Jenin' on the news it won't just be some town in the West Bank it will be the people I've met, the school I visited, the freedom theatre that I will be thinking of.

One of the other international volunteers is leaving today so we all went out for cocktails last night. These range from about 4 shekels for a small cocktail to about 12 shekels for a bucket. They are a fantastic breakfast as wellbeing a mixture of fruit smoothie, cereal, pieces of fruit and ice cream. Truly a meal in itself. Breakfast this morning was pretty amazing as well. We all sat down to a small omlette with a bowl of a yoghurt type mixture containing mint and tomatoes and ate this with pitta bread. Divine. All for 8 shekels! (just over £1) The 'cafe' was in the old city and definitely somewhere that I need to ensure that I can find again. Infinitely better than the £3 a day I spend on a soul-less sandwich from the BP garage across the road from work.

Today I have no classes but have arranged to visit al-mustaqbal, the centre I worked at for three days during April. I am looking forward to seeing the staff again but I can't quite believe that a full teaching week has gone by so soon. I am glad that I started teaching straight away and didn't decide to wait until next week. Tomorrow is the weekend and some people are off to Petra in Jordan and I'm going to Jenin (North of Nablus) with a few of the others. Project Hope has staff and contacts there so we will have a productive time as opposed to wandering around blindly like tourists. It will be good to see another of the West Bank towns having only visited Nablus and Ramallah so far. So probably no posts on here tomorrow but I will be back on Saturday as I have classes again on Sunday.

Money AND telephone communications

The bank seem to have finally realised that it is me that wants to take money out of my account and why wouldn't they when they can charge me £3 each time! I have also bought a phone as the Jawwal sim card won't work in my phone (thanks orange). So good news all round.

My conversation class on English last night had the theme of politics and negotiations so I naturally delivered my now famous Little Red Riding Hood activity. It went surprisngly well and allowed the participants to really practice their spoken English. I will be forever indebted to whoever wrote that activity! We progressed onto talking about the political situation in Palestine and their was a clear slpit between those who felt that the situation could be resolved peacefully and those that fel force was needed. It was apparent that everyone, myself included, believed that the media has a lot to answer for in the misrepresenation of this conflict. As one of my students remarked it is not in everyone's interests to have peace. The hardest part of being here is when people say that all the want is to live in peace, look after the families and live good lives (the same as all people everywhere). The hard part is not having an explanantion of why it can't be like that when it obviously should be. Or when people say they have to get a permit to go swimming. Swimming! A permit which can be refused for a reason that you will never know- most likely there is no reason.

Though the concert last night might make this place look like any other city the difference is this one is surrounded. There is no way out other than through the checkpoints. It is in effect a giant prison. You are allowed out if the soldier at the checkpoint feels like letting you through or conversely you are stuck if he/she feels like excercising a bit of power. For me of course this isn;t the case. My British passport being like a 'get out of jail free card' that allows me to waltz through unimpeeded. I love being in Nablus and can appreciate the difficulties that the people face but I can never conprehend fully what it is like to be Palestinian, know one can.

Anyway... off to teach my girls group in New Askhar camp who will most certainly put a smile on my face. I will try to take some pictures when I am there of the camp and the centre I teach in.

Hip Hop Nablusi style

Go to a hip hop concert sung in arabic staged on a hillside which is part of a university in occupied territory... Check that off the to-do list. How cool! Not many people can say they've done that (apart from the inhabitants of Nablus who all turned out for the show).

The good and the bad

Didn't manage to get to the Turkish baths which I was pretty gutted about. Spent hours walking around the city trying to get cash out of the many ATMs hidden around Nablus only to be refused each time. The bank kindly phoned me later on to tell me that someone had attempted to withdraw money from my account using cash points in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. As one of the staff said, 'welcome to Palestine'.

Today has been a good day so far. First class wasn't until 11am and the class I did have were ace. Mainly 16/17yr olds with a good standard of English. The 10yr olds at the MCRC were better than I had anticipated though this could have been because half of them were off at a picnic. I've got another class at half five which is nice as the day is broken up quite well. Much more civilised and enjoyable than blasting through 5 1hr classes in a six hour period. Gives you time to wander around, drink coffee, eat kaniffa (probably not how you spell it) and this morning visit a summer camp. The camp is being run by the sister of one of the PH staff for a group of children that she works with during term time. They have learning disabilities and don't attend normal school. I watched them practice dancing and singing traditional folk songs and was given a bracelet made from beads.

The thing that has struck me the most these first few days is how committed everyone is to furthering society and the strong sense of community. Of course the occupation plays a part in bringing people together for a cause but that doesn't explain why people are so willing to give their time to helping others. Though it is less than perfect isn't this how a society should be? The number of civil organisations here is truly astounding and they put many of our systems back home to shame. Knowing how easy we have it it is very embarassing.

I read something the other day about a guy working in Gaza:
For me, being in Gaza was like living in a bubble – I encountered no difficulties at all. I felt no threat to my security – the exact opposite in fact as I was made to feel so welcome.

Thats exactly how it is here. Everyone goes out of their way to ensure that you don't have to endure what they do.

The fun part of being in the middle east is the things that happen that you never even thought of. Such as the fact that I can hear a truly hideous electronic version of 'Jingle Bells' emanating from somewhere outside the appartment in spite of the fact that it's currently about 95 degrees! Also how when you log on to try and add to your blog it's all in Arabic so you understand little and the boxes you can guess at are the other way around. This also means that you might only be able to read this if I give you an alternative web address....

Things like that still pale in comparison to the absurdity of the occupation. Prior to my flight out here I had watched a film called 'Private' about the situation here. The basic premise was that the house was occupied but only on the top floor. The Palestinian home owners were allowed to stay in a room downstairs provided that they never bothered the soldiers upstairs. This all seemed a little too contrived for my liking (and superior artistic taste) so I wasn't that impressed. Alas the reality is exactly that. One of the other international volunteers showed me a house he had stayed in where one door was for the Israeli's and the other the Palestinians. The house had been the subject of many court courses initially won by the Palestinian occupants who are now being told to leave.

Today has been a good day though. I taught two classes that went really well and had a meeting with some representatives from the Police Department. The classes were full of eager children with a good standard of English. They were all very sweet especially during the review of each class when they were asked to rate my performance. One girl commenting that I was excellent so they should all stop nagging me. My new best friend.

How they grow up as such nice people I don't think I will ever understand. They have such a hard time and live in such harsh conditions. The second of the classes today was in New Askhar refugee camp. The classroom has no windows or light and the heat makes it almost unbearable yet the children are always happy and smiling and wanting to learn. Some of them have been selected for an English master class that will involve them writing blogs and I am hoping to link them with some of my pupils in the UK to help improve their English.

My challenge, I have been told, will be my class of ten year olds that speak no English. This will be tomorrow morning in the old city. Tonight we are all off to the Turkish baths and then for a meal afterwards. I am looking forward to the baths as there is very little water in the apartment at the moment. It was also on my list of things to do before I went home so it's good to go so soon.

It's a bit odd thinking about enjoying yourself in somewhere that is supposedly one of the most dangerous places on earth but I always feel safer walking around here than I do at home. There were a few raids and arrests in Nablus last night but I only found this out through the news websites and staff who work in other parts of the city. I hope this remains the case.

Back in Nablus

Well, I managed to get back into the West Bank without too many drama's. As usual I was asked to one side at Tel Aviv to answer some more questions about my activities. This time it was my length of stay that seemed to be causing the problem. Once that minor detail was over with I got the shuttle bus to Jerusalem. I was quite pleased with myself once I got there for fending off a taxi driver that tried to convince me that his 50 shekels for taking me to Ramallah was reasonable (I'd batered that down from his original 100!) I eventually found the number 18 bus round the corner which took me to Ramallah and cost 6 shekels (less than a quid). None of the check points caused any major problems though the one between Ramallah and Huwarra had clearly descended into farce. As traffic coming up the hill to the checkpoint covered both lanes so no traffic could flow downwards. The - result: absolute mayhem. How no one crashed is beyond belief. Did amuse me somewhat though I was less amused at Huwarra as we bunched like cattle to get through a single gate.

Tried to get some sleep this afternoon but the City is simply too noisey for that too happen. I agreed to start my classes today and will be teaching at 5.30pm. A conversational English class discussing the topic of relationships....

I'll hopefully get some pictures on here soon and manage to keep up with at least one daily entry.

The start

If you're reading this then you are obviously connected to me in some way. I thought a blog would be a good way of recording on a daily basis the reality of living and working in Nablus in the West Bank. The world seems instantly different when the plane touches back down in the UK and reflections are distorted by time. I will hopefully be able to add to this blog each day and give a truer picture of what it is like.

The picture above was taken when I was in Nablus at Easter of this year. I spent three days at the organisation pictured trying to write funding bids for them. I look forward to seeing the people who work there again and hope they weren't stopped from doing their good work by the IOF visit.

I'm keen to be back in Nablus but fear this experience may be different from the last time I was there.