Letter from Palestine, 38. Flying ladies.
20th May 2005
Dear friends!
Before I was to receive a group of Norwegian ladies last Friday, I discussed with Stine how these ladies could be. You do not find 15 Norwegian ladies, “in their best age”, as they described it themselves, going on a one week holiday to Palestine every day. Two of them have been accompaniers in Hebron with EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel) one and a half years ago, and had taken the initiative to take this trip. We expected the participants to be a bit alternative, also in their clothes, and thought we would meet a group of “flying ladies”, I mean such women with long, fluttering clothes. We were perhaps a bit disappointed by the lack of flying the first evening, but after having spent a week with them, I must say that it is a good group of normal ladies who have made an impression on me.
As Angela in ICAHD said; it is important that normal people know what is happening here, not only “extreme peace activists”. When telling what they have experienced, others might think though that they are the latter. A comment I have heard many times the last week, is: “We will tell about this when we come home.” The experiences have made an impression. I hope then that those who are listening will understand that these are still normal ladies, but they have seen an injustice which can not be silenced, but has to be told about.
When travelling around with a group gasping every time we see a settlement or a wall, I understand that I might have been here too long. The occupation has become normal to me. In the beginning I got sick when seeing the wall. Now it is part of my daily life. In the beginning I got exhausted by waiting in a queue at the checkpoints. Now it is a habit. In the beginning I wondered how many settlements it is possible to build on the West Bank. Now I understand that they are everywhere.
“Why are they not resisting?” one asked as we passed Kalandia checkpoint on our way to Ramallah. The answer from another was: “How to resist the fourth largest military machine in the world?” The Palestinians do resist. Intifada is resistance. But I understand that they can not protest continually. The Palestinians try to live a normal life, through their daily passing of checkpoints, delays, studies and work. Sometimes life seems to be easier, when a checkpoint is taken away (while another is put up), or when the problems have become a habit, and they do not remember how it was before. The visit reminds me that the occupation is not a natural situation. It must not be normal.
We have seen a lot in one week, and the answer of how it has been, is like always: Good, but tough. We have had several meetings with people with strong stories to tell. We have seen many places on the West Bank and we have visited YWCA and other organizations. We have also seen some political culture, when we in Bethlehem were at a dance show called “At the checkpoint”. A youth group from Ramallah showed a great drama dance about how the life can be at a checkpoint. When we a few days later were with ICAHD and saw the wall at Abu Dis, the dance suddenly turned real. A group of girls were on their way from the University East of the wall, to Jerusalem to pray. They tried to pass through the monastery garden where I have walked several times, but were stopped by soldiers who suddenly were there. In the same way as in the dance, they showed their ID cards, but were sent back. After some arguments they turned. When we continued along the wall, we met them again, climbing over another place, where there was only a short wall. Some in our bus applauded, and smiles were exchanged between the climbing ones and the Norwegians. We felt we had won in a way. What was the reason that these girls could not go to pray in Jerusalem? But though they managed to climb over the wall, they would probably not come all the way to the mosque, Angela said. There are soldiers everywhere. The dance continues, the Palestinians are still in queues at the checkpoints.
One of the great experiences this week was when we divided the group. Half the group when to Yanoun, close to Nablus, and the rest of us also went the same direction. Yanoun is a small Palestinian village in a valley, surrounded by new Israeli settlements on the mountains around. To make it possible for the inhabitants to continue to live there, international presence is needed, and the Norwegian ladies had this task for one night. We in the other group also experienced the beautiful valleys with olive fields, and the less beautiful caravan settlements on each top.
Some had heard that it could be interesting to se the ruins of Sebaste, the old Samaritan capital close to Nablus. We did not see the ruins, but came to the Samaritan village of today, on Mount Gerizim just above Nablus, where there was a museum we could visit. While the others probably found this to be the most special and strange they had seen, I have to admit that I found it very fascinating. We heard about the history of the Samaritans, and saw how the guide could follow his ancestors back to Adam. He told that the Samaritans are the children of Levi and Joseph, while the Jews are the children of Judah and Benjamin. The rest of the twelve tribes from the sons of Jacob were said to be lost. While the Jews are quite a good number today, there are only 680 Samaritans. They live in two villages, by Nablus, and in Holon by Tel Aviv. Their Bible consists of the five books of Moses and Joshua. They celebrate different feasts and do everything to keep the tradition. The climax of the year is the Passover sacrifice at Mount Gerizim, where many others come to see this ritual.
The Samaritans have a special position in the society. The Samaritans living on the West Bank have Israeli ID cards. They work among Palestinians in Nablus. They speak several languages. The daily language at Gerizim is Arabic. But on the Sabbath they use the religious language Ancient Hebrew, which is older than the “modern” Bible Hebrew I learn for my studies in theology. While the others thought there were far too much these poor Samaritans had to care about and live after, I am impressed how they do everything to keep the traditions. They said it was important for Messiah to come. We had some problems understanding who this Messiah was. Some asked if Jesus was Messiah, and we did not really get an answer. But we understood that Jesus’ parables about and meetings with Samaritans were important for them. Christians’ interest for Samaritans was also the background for the opening of the museum. You can wonder what sort of influence 680 people can have in the conflict in the Holy Land. It might seem minimal. But I have some trust in them. They are so few that they are not a threat, and they have a good relation to both Jews and Palestinians, if I have understood right. They are eager to have peace in the area, and hope that they themselves may have a role in the process. I see that I may be more flying than my Norwegian ladies. But I have to see hope where I believe that it might be. I believe it might be at Mount Gerizim.
Flying greetings from Hanne.
Dear friends!
Before I was to receive a group of Norwegian ladies last Friday, I discussed with Stine how these ladies could be. You do not find 15 Norwegian ladies, “in their best age”, as they described it themselves, going on a one week holiday to Palestine every day. Two of them have been accompaniers in Hebron with EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel) one and a half years ago, and had taken the initiative to take this trip. We expected the participants to be a bit alternative, also in their clothes, and thought we would meet a group of “flying ladies”, I mean such women with long, fluttering clothes. We were perhaps a bit disappointed by the lack of flying the first evening, but after having spent a week with them, I must say that it is a good group of normal ladies who have made an impression on me.
As Angela in ICAHD said; it is important that normal people know what is happening here, not only “extreme peace activists”. When telling what they have experienced, others might think though that they are the latter. A comment I have heard many times the last week, is: “We will tell about this when we come home.” The experiences have made an impression. I hope then that those who are listening will understand that these are still normal ladies, but they have seen an injustice which can not be silenced, but has to be told about.
When travelling around with a group gasping every time we see a settlement or a wall, I understand that I might have been here too long. The occupation has become normal to me. In the beginning I got sick when seeing the wall. Now it is part of my daily life. In the beginning I got exhausted by waiting in a queue at the checkpoints. Now it is a habit. In the beginning I wondered how many settlements it is possible to build on the West Bank. Now I understand that they are everywhere.
“Why are they not resisting?” one asked as we passed Kalandia checkpoint on our way to Ramallah. The answer from another was: “How to resist the fourth largest military machine in the world?” The Palestinians do resist. Intifada is resistance. But I understand that they can not protest continually. The Palestinians try to live a normal life, through their daily passing of checkpoints, delays, studies and work. Sometimes life seems to be easier, when a checkpoint is taken away (while another is put up), or when the problems have become a habit, and they do not remember how it was before. The visit reminds me that the occupation is not a natural situation. It must not be normal.
We have seen a lot in one week, and the answer of how it has been, is like always: Good, but tough. We have had several meetings with people with strong stories to tell. We have seen many places on the West Bank and we have visited YWCA and other organizations. We have also seen some political culture, when we in Bethlehem were at a dance show called “At the checkpoint”. A youth group from Ramallah showed a great drama dance about how the life can be at a checkpoint. When we a few days later were with ICAHD and saw the wall at Abu Dis, the dance suddenly turned real. A group of girls were on their way from the University East of the wall, to Jerusalem to pray. They tried to pass through the monastery garden where I have walked several times, but were stopped by soldiers who suddenly were there. In the same way as in the dance, they showed their ID cards, but were sent back. After some arguments they turned. When we continued along the wall, we met them again, climbing over another place, where there was only a short wall. Some in our bus applauded, and smiles were exchanged between the climbing ones and the Norwegians. We felt we had won in a way. What was the reason that these girls could not go to pray in Jerusalem? But though they managed to climb over the wall, they would probably not come all the way to the mosque, Angela said. There are soldiers everywhere. The dance continues, the Palestinians are still in queues at the checkpoints.
One of the great experiences this week was when we divided the group. Half the group when to Yanoun, close to Nablus, and the rest of us also went the same direction. Yanoun is a small Palestinian village in a valley, surrounded by new Israeli settlements on the mountains around. To make it possible for the inhabitants to continue to live there, international presence is needed, and the Norwegian ladies had this task for one night. We in the other group also experienced the beautiful valleys with olive fields, and the less beautiful caravan settlements on each top.
Some had heard that it could be interesting to se the ruins of Sebaste, the old Samaritan capital close to Nablus. We did not see the ruins, but came to the Samaritan village of today, on Mount Gerizim just above Nablus, where there was a museum we could visit. While the others probably found this to be the most special and strange they had seen, I have to admit that I found it very fascinating. We heard about the history of the Samaritans, and saw how the guide could follow his ancestors back to Adam. He told that the Samaritans are the children of Levi and Joseph, while the Jews are the children of Judah and Benjamin. The rest of the twelve tribes from the sons of Jacob were said to be lost. While the Jews are quite a good number today, there are only 680 Samaritans. They live in two villages, by Nablus, and in Holon by Tel Aviv. Their Bible consists of the five books of Moses and Joshua. They celebrate different feasts and do everything to keep the tradition. The climax of the year is the Passover sacrifice at Mount Gerizim, where many others come to see this ritual.
The Samaritans have a special position in the society. The Samaritans living on the West Bank have Israeli ID cards. They work among Palestinians in Nablus. They speak several languages. The daily language at Gerizim is Arabic. But on the Sabbath they use the religious language Ancient Hebrew, which is older than the “modern” Bible Hebrew I learn for my studies in theology. While the others thought there were far too much these poor Samaritans had to care about and live after, I am impressed how they do everything to keep the traditions. They said it was important for Messiah to come. We had some problems understanding who this Messiah was. Some asked if Jesus was Messiah, and we did not really get an answer. But we understood that Jesus’ parables about and meetings with Samaritans were important for them. Christians’ interest for Samaritans was also the background for the opening of the museum. You can wonder what sort of influence 680 people can have in the conflict in the Holy Land. It might seem minimal. But I have some trust in them. They are so few that they are not a threat, and they have a good relation to both Jews and Palestinians, if I have understood right. They are eager to have peace in the area, and hope that they themselves may have a role in the process. I see that I may be more flying than my Norwegian ladies. But I have to see hope where I believe that it might be. I believe it might be at Mount Gerizim.
Flying greetings from Hanne.
posted by Hanne at 1:25 AM
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