Letter from Palestine, 27. Planting of olive trees.
5th March 2005
Dear friends!
I waited with writing the letter for today because I wanted to experience the planting of olive trees first, and so that is the subject of this letter. Today the Advocacy desk of YWCA of Palestine and The East Jerusalem YMCA has had its international planting day, as part of the olive tree campaign.
We were around 80 participants ready for planting trees in Alnu’man village east of Beit Sahour, Bethlehem. There were many youth from the Lutheran school in Beit Sahour. It was easy to see that they appreciated this different school day with physical work. The pickaxes were used in a rhythmic way and the olive trees were soon in the soil.
There were tourists, ecumenical accompaniers and other volunteers, a good mix of local and international presence. The weather was good, and it was quite a nice morning in a peaceful area. We were probably lucky to experience it so peaceful. Some said it was a help that it was Saturday, Sabbath for the Jews. The field we planted was just beside the separation barrier, or the wall, here made of electric fence and barbed wire, and it would not have been a big surprise if we were companied by soldiers. But it did not happen, and we could plant without disturbance.
It was a meaning choosing a field so close to the separation barrier for the planting today. The motto of the olive tree campaign is “Keep Hope Alive”. We try to do that by planting new olive trees were old ones are uprooted and where the land is threatened by confiscation. When you see how the fence goes through the landscape like a snake, to include as much fertile soil as possible, and as few Palestinian houses as possible, on Israeli side, you do what you can to prevent the farmers to lose even more of the land from which they have their living. The security which is said to be the reason for the fence is not easy to understand.
Now it is exciting to see if the trees will have the chance to grow. The planting is a peaceful demonstration against the occupation, but the reactions on the other side can be strong. If these trees are uprooted, there are many who will feel that they are attacked, both international sponsors of the trees and those who planted them today.
When we were on our way back to Jerusalem, we got this day’s meeting with the soldiers. We had of course met them in the morning as well, but then we passed easily through the checkpoint by answering yes when asked if we were tourists. The way back was not that easy. After waiting in a line for a long time before coming to the checkpoint, our car was checked thoroughly.
We were two Palestinians, two Danes and two Norwegians in the car. The Danes got back their passports quickly. It took more time for us from Norway. A short internal Scandinavian discussion ended with the conclusion that we Norwegians were very suspicious and unpredictable, as we are not even in the EU. To comfort us the Danish could then tell that the same happened to them a few days earlier. Nothing dramatic happened to these passports. They just kept them for a while, and spent so long time because they had to check the ID-cards of the Palestinians. They could be terrorists, you know…
“Remember this when you come to your home countries,” our driver said. We will. This is the life in Palestine. This is the life for the Palestinians. It is very rare that I experience to be stopped like this, having to show the content of my bag and get out of the car for it to be searched. I don’t suffer from feeling some of the daily humiliation the Palestinians experience. I can’t really say that I feel it either, such a single time, where we can joke about it because we know we will come safe through, it will just take some time.
Though it took time, I managed to come to the next I wanted today, an event at the Armenian Seminary on the occasion of the Women’s world day of prayer. I can’t remember having celebrated it in Norway, but here in Jerusalem it was a large group of both local and international people, from different denominations. The liturgy was made by women from Poland, and it was fascinating to experience how people here with their own problems could have focus in another part of the world and pray for the needs found there.
At last I want to remind you about my blog, where you find pictures from the olive tree planting today: http://banglahanne.blogspot.com/ I have also found an interesting website with a lot of content, which I will recommend: http://www.jerusalemites.org/
Greetings from Hanne.
Dear friends!
I waited with writing the letter for today because I wanted to experience the planting of olive trees first, and so that is the subject of this letter. Today the Advocacy desk of YWCA of Palestine and The East Jerusalem YMCA has had its international planting day, as part of the olive tree campaign.
We were around 80 participants ready for planting trees in Alnu’man village east of Beit Sahour, Bethlehem. There were many youth from the Lutheran school in Beit Sahour. It was easy to see that they appreciated this different school day with physical work. The pickaxes were used in a rhythmic way and the olive trees were soon in the soil.
There were tourists, ecumenical accompaniers and other volunteers, a good mix of local and international presence. The weather was good, and it was quite a nice morning in a peaceful area. We were probably lucky to experience it so peaceful. Some said it was a help that it was Saturday, Sabbath for the Jews. The field we planted was just beside the separation barrier, or the wall, here made of electric fence and barbed wire, and it would not have been a big surprise if we were companied by soldiers. But it did not happen, and we could plant without disturbance.
It was a meaning choosing a field so close to the separation barrier for the planting today. The motto of the olive tree campaign is “Keep Hope Alive”. We try to do that by planting new olive trees were old ones are uprooted and where the land is threatened by confiscation. When you see how the fence goes through the landscape like a snake, to include as much fertile soil as possible, and as few Palestinian houses as possible, on Israeli side, you do what you can to prevent the farmers to lose even more of the land from which they have their living. The security which is said to be the reason for the fence is not easy to understand.
Now it is exciting to see if the trees will have the chance to grow. The planting is a peaceful demonstration against the occupation, but the reactions on the other side can be strong. If these trees are uprooted, there are many who will feel that they are attacked, both international sponsors of the trees and those who planted them today.
When we were on our way back to Jerusalem, we got this day’s meeting with the soldiers. We had of course met them in the morning as well, but then we passed easily through the checkpoint by answering yes when asked if we were tourists. The way back was not that easy. After waiting in a line for a long time before coming to the checkpoint, our car was checked thoroughly.
We were two Palestinians, two Danes and two Norwegians in the car. The Danes got back their passports quickly. It took more time for us from Norway. A short internal Scandinavian discussion ended with the conclusion that we Norwegians were very suspicious and unpredictable, as we are not even in the EU. To comfort us the Danish could then tell that the same happened to them a few days earlier. Nothing dramatic happened to these passports. They just kept them for a while, and spent so long time because they had to check the ID-cards of the Palestinians. They could be terrorists, you know…
“Remember this when you come to your home countries,” our driver said. We will. This is the life in Palestine. This is the life for the Palestinians. It is very rare that I experience to be stopped like this, having to show the content of my bag and get out of the car for it to be searched. I don’t suffer from feeling some of the daily humiliation the Palestinians experience. I can’t really say that I feel it either, such a single time, where we can joke about it because we know we will come safe through, it will just take some time.
Though it took time, I managed to come to the next I wanted today, an event at the Armenian Seminary on the occasion of the Women’s world day of prayer. I can’t remember having celebrated it in Norway, but here in Jerusalem it was a large group of both local and international people, from different denominations. The liturgy was made by women from Poland, and it was fascinating to experience how people here with their own problems could have focus in another part of the world and pray for the needs found there.
At last I want to remind you about my blog, where you find pictures from the olive tree planting today: http://banglahanne.blogspot.com/ I have also found an interesting website with a lot of content, which I will recommend: http://www.jerusalemites.org/
Greetings from Hanne.
posted by Hanne at 3:15 PM
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