Accompaniment

Here in Hebron, accompaniment takes on a very literal meaning. Due to the constant threat of violence, we are present every day when the students of the Cordoba school in Tel Rumeida walk to and from school. We stand at two of the several checkpoints these children, some as young as six, have to pass. Soldiers, however, are not the main problem.

The school is situated right next to Beit Hadassah settlement. This was the first Israeli settlement in the Old City of Hebron, and it is inhabited mainly by ideological and religious settlers. Over the past few years, the children, as well as the school building, have been attacked by settlers on several occasions - one of which was documented by previous Swedish EA Terje Carlsson. Lately, such attacks have decreased and the number of students have more than doubled since 2006. According to the principal, Reem As-Sharif, this is due to the introduction of new precautionary routines and better cooperation with the Israeli police, but she also attributes a great part of it to EAPPI's protective presence.

Because Palestinians are unable to use the former main road in Hebron, Shuhada street, the children have to walk through checkpoints to get to school

In the beginning, we were just greeted with a few shy 'good mornings' and a quick glance from the younger children. Children in Hebron's Israeli controlled H2-area seem to me to be a little more apprehensive about strangers than the average West Bank kid. It didn't take long, however, before they warmed to us and 'Jamal' (Jean-Marie) and 'Mohannad' (Johannes) was shouted from every corner of the school yard. Now there are gifts and hugs and smiles all over.

Our visitor Erik from the Jerusalem team won the hearts of the boys in an instant

South Hebron Hills

South Hebron Hills

The South Hebron Hills houses some of the most marginalized communities in the West Bank. These are mostly cave dweller or bedouin communites that are extremely vulnerable to the Israeli policies that aim to remove the Palestinians from this area. Since most of these communities fall under Area C (Israeli civil and military control), house demolition orders on caves or tents or wells are common.

This girl relies on a sustainiable future in Um Al-Kher bedouin community

No livelihood
We visited Um Al-Kher, a small bedouin community right next to Karmel settlement, with OCHA. The bedouins are surrounded by the settlement on three sides, and all buildings, but one, have demolition orders. That also includes the very primitive tent structures and the shacks for the animals.

In addition, the bedouins are not allowed to go grazing with their animals too close to settlement land. In a dry year such as this, that means grazing options are easily exhausted and buying fodder is the only way to keep the animals alive. However, fodder prices are very high, and the only way for the community to survive is to sell some of their animals to feed the others. Not a sustainable way to live in the long run.

As a result of the restrictive situation, the 21 families here are dependant on food aid from UNRWA. The only reason they are not evicted, is that they can prove they own the land on which they live. What the settlers seem to be hoping for is for the situation to get so bad that they will leave the land voluntarily.

One of the family fathers tells us about the dwindling options for a sustainable life

Water and gazelles
The South Hebron Hills was initially planned to end up on the Israeli side of the Wall. But a high court decision ruled that the route should more or less follow the Green Line. Continuous attempts have since been made by settlers and the army to empty this land of its Palestinian inhabitants.

Parts of the western aquifer lies under the South Hebron Hills. Many people suspect that this is one of the main reasons why there are strong Israeli interests in this area. For the Palestinian population living here, however, water resources are becoming less and less accessible. As settlements expand and swallow Palestinian wells and the Israeli authorities reject all Palestinian applications for building new ones that go deep enough to reach the ground water, water shortage is becoming more and more of a pressing issue.

It is worth noting that the Wall has not been completed in this area. An Israeli environmental group has expressed concern about the movement of the gazelles if the Wall is erected all around the area. So the building has been put on hold until an asessment is available. A gazelle is worth more than a Palestinian. Sad, huh?

Ana bahebbek, ya Tulkarem! (I love you, oh Tulkarem!)

So, I've been spending some time again in my beloved Tulkarem. It was lovely. Quiet. A lot of visits. Good food. No soldiers or settlers in the immediate vicinity (though the army was speeding through the city at night with jeeps). And more quality time with Guillaume.

Of course, it wasn't all bliss. On Thursday, I went with Khaled, a farmer from Deir al-Ghusun, to the Israeli District Civil Liaison Office (DCL) by the Ephraim terminal to get his permit renewed. His application had been rejected earlier in the day, but he told me that he sometimes has to apply up to five times before he's given a new permit. However, at the terminal, there were about hundred people in front of us. The queue was not moving at all and we didn't even get to enter the office building before they closed. So, he and the many other applicants will have to come back on Sunday to try again.

Laaken, Tulkarem hilwe ktiir ktiir! Ana karmiyye. Daayman.

Take time for time off...

... in Beit Lahem. The city of bacon and beer.

Dancing King

Gratulerer med dagen!

Being away from Norway on its Constitution Day doesn't necessarily mean that you don't get to party. Jean-Marie and I attended a triple birthday party tonight where I ate more cake than I have in the last year put together. And I got to see Jean-Marie dance. Definitely the highlight so far. I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Al-Nakba

Today, May 15 2008, is the commemoration of sixty years of Al-Nakba, or the 'Catastrophe'. It refers to the period between late 1947 and early 1949 when around 750 000 Palestinians were displaced. 531 Palestinian villages and towns were attacked, and some were completely demolished. Most of the refugees left without nothing more than some necessities and the key to their door. When they tried to return after the armistice in 1949, Israel closed its borders on them and they have been living in diaspora ever since.

Today, there are about 4.6 million Palestinian refugees. Most live in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank.

Feeling like a celebrity

Our team was invited to Al-Aroub refugee camp, which is situated between Hebron and Betlehem, to witness the commemoration of Al-Nakba. Jean-Marie and I left Hebron early to be on time. It turned out to be good idea as one of the partially manned checkpoints on the way out of the city was in operation, and the soldiers were checking every single car thoroughly. It took us an hour to pass.


We jumped off the minibus at the gate of Al-Aroub camp, where the Israeli army has erected a watch tower and a gate that they can close at any time. Walking on, we were greeted by a group of children asking the usual questions: "What's your name?" and "How are you?". I told a young girl my name and she ran off. As we walked towards the boys' school people kept greeting me by my name. Even people hanging out of the windows of the houses we passed shouted "Hello Linda!". Obviously, rumours travel fast in this camp. It was a strange feeling. Almost like being a celebrity.

"We will not forget"
Black flags with 'We will return' printed in white were hoisted around the camp. Many of the camp's 9,000 inhabitants had shown up to attend the commemoration. First generation refugees had brought along the keys to their original homes inside of Israel. A dozen boys entered the stage to tell the story of the refugees through dabka, a traditional Palestinian dance. Then some 1948 refugees gave their renditions of what they had experienced during Al-Nakba from the podium. At the very end, the older refugees passed on their keys to their grandchildren in a handover ceremony. History and links to their land remain intrinsic for Palestinian refugees. As one young boy stated: "I will not forget. I want to return back to my roots".


Sharing the spotlight
After the ceremony, I couldn't find Jean-Marie. I searched around the school yard with a cobble of children following me, but he was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, I realised that he was in the middle of a large group of people. Young men and older boys were swarming around him like flies. Apparently it was not only me who got the celebrity treatment. They kept pulling his vest and talking to him in very fast, very incomprehensible Arabic whilst taking pictures of him with their mobile phones. He looked like he was enjoying himself so I left him and sat down on the side. I made time pass by making the children laugh at my attempts at Arabic.

We were both exhausted by all the attention when we left. But it was good exhaustion. Jeez, it's hard being a celebrity!

My team mates

The multilingual Katarina (32) from Sweden speaks Arabic, French, English, German, Swedish and Svorsk. She has excellent memory, especially when it comes to soap operas - our nights have already been filled with shared memories of Maktkamp på Falcon Crest, Rederiet and Varohuset. She also possesses extensive knowledge of the Prophet's good deeds, and will be advocating strongly for the rights of Palestinian (rondell) dogs and donkeys.

Johannes (25) is also from Sweden. Having spent time in Lebanon and Syria, he too speaks Arabic. From my brief experience in his company he seems to be quite forgetful. He has already managed to forget his cap in one taxi and his underwear in another... Johannes enjoys 'lek och spel' and has thus brought along 'Kasta Gris', the classic game where you throw really small plastic pigs around in order to gain points. If Swedish is not an obstacle, you can get to know him better through his blog.

And again, I am teamed up with a french-speaking Swiss. Jean-Marie (28), aka Jamal, is the fourth member of our team. In many ways, Jean-Marie is a taller version of Guillaume - it is rather uncanny. He cooks excellent rice and loves his sleeping bag. Being a sporty chap, he is currently contemplating practicing yoga in our living room. I can't wait to see him do some Hatha yoga moves. For those of you who would like to practice your French, you can follow his blog.

Reunited in Hebron

I am back in Palestine. At the moment, we're being introduced to our tasks in Hebron and the surrounding villages. It seems like it will be quite different from Tulkarem. We've already encountered less than friendly settlers (who physically attacked us), and the atmosphere in the city centre is not exactly inviting (closed shops, soldiers everywhere and aggressive Palestinians). I believe I'm already missing the cosy small town feeling of Tulkarem...

On a more positive note, I've been reunited with my former team mate, the lovely and handsome Guillaume Fardel, who stayed on for a second term after I left. He is actually on the current Hebron team, so we have a few days now living together again. I have certainly missed his French accent, lame jokes, depressing music and legendary hair products. En fait, c'est l'amour.