Another placement, another team

These are my colleagues for the next one and a half months. Clockwise from left you have Audrey (nurse) from England and Colin (minister) from Scotland, Gottfried (minister and freedom fighter) and Christian (?) from Germany, and Paula (graduate) from Sweden.

We will share our time between Yanoun and Jerusalem, working from a rotation schedule. I will start with a two week stint in Yanoun before taking some time off.

Last night with my team

Beautiful Mohannad

My teammates are all leaving whilst I'm going to Yanoun. So yesterday, the two Swedes (who actually get a salary) took the two unpaid EAs out for dinner at a very nice (though not very serviceable) restaurant in West-Jerusalem. Jean-Marie and I ate all that we could muster, knowing that the bill would be taken care of by "söta bror och söster".

Unfortunately, Katarina was feeling a little ill and left us early. But is-shabbab and I continued to a bar to have some drinks. As the night wore on, the boys became more and more intent on singing "the Hooky Kooky" - a song/dance routine very similar to "Fugledansen". I'm sure they've left a lasting impression with the female bartenders.

Anyhow, I must say I've been beyond lucky with my team mates. My heart ('if I have one at all' - statement from another former team mate...) swells with happiness by the mere thought of the sensitive and clever Mohannad, the warm and funny John-Jamal, and the kind and vivacious Katarina. Thank you! Bahebbkum, kull!

Flanked by lovely Katarina and handsome John-Jamal

Third time's a charm

Breaking the Silence was finally allowed to enter Hebron today. Nevermind that they had to bring along about fifty borderpolicemen to guard them. I wonder how much the participants actually got to see of the city over the broad shoulders of the protective human wall. But at least they witnessed the true colours of the settlers, who, infuriated by the 'deceit' of the Israeli state, resorted to aggressive behaviour.


The borderpolice stood their ground. Settlers were pushed away and even to the ground. I believe Mohannad and John-Jamal were extremely pleased to see a particular settler, an 'aquaintance' of ours, bite the dust.

Unable to reach the tour group participants, the settlers turned their attention to other non-jewish bystanders. i.e. us. Having lived and worked in Hebron for almost three months, the settlers know our faces well, and ahem, let's just say that they don't harbour any warm, mushy feelings towards us. So, upon spotting my male colleagues, some of them came over and made threatening remarks, rattled their M16s and displayed a rather hostile body-language. As good EAs, the boys knew their limits and pulled back.

Now, I wonder though, if all of this is just for show. Drawing on today's episode, the police will be able to claim that the presence of Breaking the Silence is a disturbance to civil order. It is very convenient. Then they can deny them access for good.

Mitjawwez inte? (Are you married?)

I am staying on for an extra one and a half months. Thus, I had to renew my visa. I had the choice of going back to Norway or take a quick trip to Jordan. Since I've never been to the Hashemite kingdom, I went for door number two.

Jordan was HOT. Jeez louise! Btw, I'm talking centigrades, people, in case you set out to misunderstand. When Paula (a Swedish EA who is also staying on) and I arrived in Aqaba, we could barely move. So we were mainly lying flat on our beds praising the AC. It turned out that Aqaba had limited appeal, so we moved on up north to the ancient city of Petra.

Petra is old. I'm not sure exactly how old, but its foundations are at least a couple of thousand years old. We walked amongst giant reddish stone buildings trying not to let the heat get to us. I will tell you that the 800 or so steps up to the Monastery helped me lose a few kilos of liquid. Good thing there was a Mövenpick resort just outside the excavation area, where we could regain our strength with not so tasty Jordanian wine after a day of exploration.

Petra was indeed grand. But what sticks with me is the image of those young, stout desert policemen patrolling the area. Clad in their sandy robes with fire red pistol holsters, Jordanian ḥaṭṭah and shiny daggers, they must be breaking many a bedouin girl's heart when out with the Camel Corps. I'm quite smitten myself to tell you the truth. I'm so gonna marry a shurta is-sahra!

Abu Snanah

Abu Snanah is apparently the biggest family in Palestine. My team and I encountered a tiny branch of this clan in Hebron last month, initally under very unfortunate circumstances.

Mohammad, 6, was walking home with his brother Hussein from his grandmother's house in the Old City. On the way they ran into two older settler kids. Just as the boys passed one of the military checkpoints, one of the settlers picked up a stone and jammed it into Mohammad's head. He started bleeding heavily. His brother tried to stop the bleeding, but being unsuccessful, he took Mohammad home. In the end, the boy ended up in hospital with three stitches to his head.

When we met Mohammad, only a couple of hours after the incident, he seemed shocked and scared. He was terrified of strangers and just kept staring blankly into the air when his parents asked him questions. Not even candy made him react. And that usually works here.

We heard a week later that he was having trouble sleeping and was waking up from nightmares since the incident. So, we decided to visit the Abu Snanah family to see how Mohammad was doing.

It turned out that in addition to Mohammad and Hussein, there was a set of crazy five-year old twins living in the family's house. Hani and Hadi are not the parents' biological children, but the children of a relative.

Visitor Gustav playing with the boys

All four kids became hyperactively excited about our visit. Johannes and his Swedish visitor, Gustav, made the boys even crazier with their many initiatives. They threw them around, climbed on the roof together, tickled them, joked in Arabic and made the children wild with excitement even over a piece of dust. It was great to see Mohammad laugh and play again. He was calmer than the others, but seemed genuinely happy.

After two very physical hours, mixed with some cuddling, we decided it was time to leave. The mother invited us back for a meal later, and the kids kissed our hands and touched them on their foreheads (a gesture of respect). I believe both the family and we were happily exhausted when we left.

Hani or Hadi

The Abu Snanah family has come to occupy a special place in my heart. I love it when their dirty kids are climbing all over me, feeding me tea or resting their head on my lap. These little boys, already marked by the occupation, still show me - a stranger - complete trust and affection.

I respect the soft-spoken parents who mildly chides the boys when they get too wild. The father's unemployment is hard on their economy, but they never mention it. They just give us what they have, be it RC Coke or chocolates. They just seem so happy to be noticed and seen by someone from the outside. There is nothing we can do for them, other than be there. And for that they seem grateful.

Though the Abu Snanah family is the biggest in Palestine, it must be tightly connected. Someone from EAPPI's office was out in the Old City in Jerusalem when she ran into someone from another branch of the Abu Snanah family. After she told him about her connection to the programme, he smiled and thanked her for our visiting his relative in Hebron. Det er jungeltelegraf det!