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.