Summer letter (41). The world in Norway.
22nd August 2005
Dear friends,
Again there have been many weeks without letter writing. The last three weeks have been quite busy, living in a bag, without evening-computer. But now I am here, in rest in front of the computer, ready to start a report about some of what has happened.
Some may sit with an expectation that Palestinehanne will say something about Gaza these days. I have got some questions on what I think about the situation, as if I was an expert. I have never been to Gaza. I have spent quite some time on the West Bank and in Jerusalem. It might make it easier for me to think about the Palestinians who now get no attention as everybody's eyes are turned towards Gaza. It reminds me of the days around Arafat's death. The journalists were gathered "where it happened". Nobody saw the small or a bit bigger tragedies other places. The same happens now. The journalists are in Gaza. Israeli settlers and soldiers get their stories covered from different angles. Even an unemotional settlement opponent like me has difficulties not being moved by the portrayals of the poor Israeli settlers, who after many years of hard work have to leave their homes. I have to insist on keeping my reason to remember that they in all these years have lived there illegally, benefited from other people's taxes, oppressed their Palestinian neighbours and consumed several times what these neighbours have had the possibility to consume.
With my reason cut away, I can also be tempted to believe that times are changing to the better. The peace will soon be a fact. The Palestinian statements we hear about are optimistic. The silent voices whispering in my ear tell another story though. The Palestinians on the West Bank see no positive results of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza. While the eyes of the world are directed towards Gaza, the infringements on the West Bank, few kilometres away, are invisible. The wall eats new areas. People still have to pass checkpoints. The State of Israel knows how too work in peace where it does not want attention. I guess they will also get sympathy. Now that they have been so hard, withdrawing all the settlements from Gaza, we can't require that they leave the West Bank as well. It would be too much to demand. I think I have been quite good at seeing hope in hopeless situations the last year. But when others now see hope, I am sorry to say that I do not believe in this "peace".
Earlier this summer I attended a meeting about boycotting Israel. Boycott is a strong means. There are some companies that I do not support. Nestlé has been one of them, but as their water is served in some of the restaurants in Jerusalem, I have made an exception not to make it too difficult for myself. I am not quite satisfied with that. Next time I will try to pass the meal thirsty, or may be order something else. Coca-Cola is another. I have managed to keep off this year, though I a few times have wondered how rude I need to get before I break that boycott. In Bangladesh boycott of Nestlé has had a high priority for me, while not to receive Coca-Cola there would be a big offence for the host thinking he has bought the best for me. I will get the question again, and I feel that Bangladesh is still not ready for a Coca-Cola boycott. I have boycotted McDonald's several years without big problems. I can handle Norwegian youth looking at me because I choose to "starve" rather than eating there.
But boycotting Israel? Won't it lead to more suffering for many people? I boycott some companies that I find act immorally. Nestlé's marketing in Asia, resulting in lots of mothers stopping breast-feeding, is one example. Coca-Cola's use of ground water in India is another, McDonald's' cutting of rain forest is a third one. My (naive?) goal with the boycott is to make the companies do something with their moral stands. But as important is probably my aim that people around me think through what they more or less actively support. Boycotting these companies might give negative consequences for some that will lose their work. But the negative results of a continued unjust policy seem for me to be much larger. The same counts for Israel. A boycott of Israeli goods will make it more difficult also for Israelis who do not necessarily support the policy of the state. A boycott of Israel will even make it more difficult for the Palestinians we try to support by such a boycott. In this case, where "the insulted" are so easily defined, it is important that the call to boycott comes from them. A boycott without a clear basis among Palestinians is a wrong boycott. When South Africa's oppressed called for a boycott of Apartheid, the world responded. It has taken time for the Palestinians to express such a call. Now they have done it. Are we then supposed to know better, to tell that there will be so much suffering that we can not do this? The Palestinians do themselves know what they suffer. Now they find that the time has come to use a strong means to try to end the sufferings. I recommend reading the call for boycott at http://www.jai-pal.org/content.php?page=104
I had not thought there would be so much Palestine in this letter. I had actually thought that this about Gaza would be a short introduction, but then these boycott thoughts appeared, and it was difficult to leave them as I had thought of writing about it earlier this summer, but never came to that before. What I thought of as the main theme in this letter will get some space eventually.
The second week of August Y Global (of Norway) organised "Global Week" in Oslo. We who have been on exchange the last year, assisted with preparations and accomplishment. Two of my tasks were the global shop and sightseeing. Both looked quite successful from outside, I think, but became at the same time a reminder for me, that I am so vulnerable when people criticise what I am passionate about.
I have spent some time as Banglahanne in the Bangla shop. Many of the gifts were also this time from Bangladesh, but we had quite a few things from Palestine, and some from South Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka as well now, and so it became a global shop. The "Free Palestine" gifts gave good opportunities for discussions, and I found myself quite warm after meeting one who saw God's preference for Israel as the main aspect in understanding today's conflict. This discussion was not only pleasant as I was not sure if my "opponent" understood anything of what I tried to explain of what I had seen and experienced. But another discussion was worse. A man came and asked where the gifts were from, and when he got the answer, he shook his head dejectedly and complained how we lacked solidarity as we sold gifts from such rich countries. None of these countries were among the poorest, he said. My try to tell that Bangladesh is among the five poorest in the world, was in vain. I got a clear message that he had seen enough shops like this. They had no value, as they did not have gifts from the poorest. There was no point of mentioning partner countries and YWCA-YMCA cooperation. The conclusion was clear: The global shop did not make the world better.
Then was the sightseeing in Oslo for the international participants. We stopped in front of the Parliament for the compulsory "here-we-are-in-front-of-the-Norwegian-Parliament" pictures. Suddenly a man started waving his hands shouting that these black people get home to Africa (most of them came from Asia) at once. I tried to calm him down, but was then just pushed away. Luckily he spoke Norwegian, so the others did not understand what he said. But for me it was a difficult reminder how the Norwegian society can be. I was overwhelmed by sadness by this simple man's chance to take away my joy of a colourful fellowship. So can Norway be. Not only Palestine is full of oppression and destruction of hope. My Norwegian pride got a blow. I need to find hope out in the world again. The countdown has started, in two weeks I am on my way.
Greetings from Hanne.
Dear friends,
Again there have been many weeks without letter writing. The last three weeks have been quite busy, living in a bag, without evening-computer. But now I am here, in rest in front of the computer, ready to start a report about some of what has happened.
Some may sit with an expectation that Palestinehanne will say something about Gaza these days. I have got some questions on what I think about the situation, as if I was an expert. I have never been to Gaza. I have spent quite some time on the West Bank and in Jerusalem. It might make it easier for me to think about the Palestinians who now get no attention as everybody's eyes are turned towards Gaza. It reminds me of the days around Arafat's death. The journalists were gathered "where it happened". Nobody saw the small or a bit bigger tragedies other places. The same happens now. The journalists are in Gaza. Israeli settlers and soldiers get their stories covered from different angles. Even an unemotional settlement opponent like me has difficulties not being moved by the portrayals of the poor Israeli settlers, who after many years of hard work have to leave their homes. I have to insist on keeping my reason to remember that they in all these years have lived there illegally, benefited from other people's taxes, oppressed their Palestinian neighbours and consumed several times what these neighbours have had the possibility to consume.
With my reason cut away, I can also be tempted to believe that times are changing to the better. The peace will soon be a fact. The Palestinian statements we hear about are optimistic. The silent voices whispering in my ear tell another story though. The Palestinians on the West Bank see no positive results of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza. While the eyes of the world are directed towards Gaza, the infringements on the West Bank, few kilometres away, are invisible. The wall eats new areas. People still have to pass checkpoints. The State of Israel knows how too work in peace where it does not want attention. I guess they will also get sympathy. Now that they have been so hard, withdrawing all the settlements from Gaza, we can't require that they leave the West Bank as well. It would be too much to demand. I think I have been quite good at seeing hope in hopeless situations the last year. But when others now see hope, I am sorry to say that I do not believe in this "peace".
Earlier this summer I attended a meeting about boycotting Israel. Boycott is a strong means. There are some companies that I do not support. Nestlé has been one of them, but as their water is served in some of the restaurants in Jerusalem, I have made an exception not to make it too difficult for myself. I am not quite satisfied with that. Next time I will try to pass the meal thirsty, or may be order something else. Coca-Cola is another. I have managed to keep off this year, though I a few times have wondered how rude I need to get before I break that boycott. In Bangladesh boycott of Nestlé has had a high priority for me, while not to receive Coca-Cola there would be a big offence for the host thinking he has bought the best for me. I will get the question again, and I feel that Bangladesh is still not ready for a Coca-Cola boycott. I have boycotted McDonald's several years without big problems. I can handle Norwegian youth looking at me because I choose to "starve" rather than eating there.
But boycotting Israel? Won't it lead to more suffering for many people? I boycott some companies that I find act immorally. Nestlé's marketing in Asia, resulting in lots of mothers stopping breast-feeding, is one example. Coca-Cola's use of ground water in India is another, McDonald's' cutting of rain forest is a third one. My (naive?) goal with the boycott is to make the companies do something with their moral stands. But as important is probably my aim that people around me think through what they more or less actively support. Boycotting these companies might give negative consequences for some that will lose their work. But the negative results of a continued unjust policy seem for me to be much larger. The same counts for Israel. A boycott of Israeli goods will make it more difficult also for Israelis who do not necessarily support the policy of the state. A boycott of Israel will even make it more difficult for the Palestinians we try to support by such a boycott. In this case, where "the insulted" are so easily defined, it is important that the call to boycott comes from them. A boycott without a clear basis among Palestinians is a wrong boycott. When South Africa's oppressed called for a boycott of Apartheid, the world responded. It has taken time for the Palestinians to express such a call. Now they have done it. Are we then supposed to know better, to tell that there will be so much suffering that we can not do this? The Palestinians do themselves know what they suffer. Now they find that the time has come to use a strong means to try to end the sufferings. I recommend reading the call for boycott at http://www.jai-pal.org/content.php?page=104
I had not thought there would be so much Palestine in this letter. I had actually thought that this about Gaza would be a short introduction, but then these boycott thoughts appeared, and it was difficult to leave them as I had thought of writing about it earlier this summer, but never came to that before. What I thought of as the main theme in this letter will get some space eventually.
The second week of August Y Global (of Norway) organised "Global Week" in Oslo. We who have been on exchange the last year, assisted with preparations and accomplishment. Two of my tasks were the global shop and sightseeing. Both looked quite successful from outside, I think, but became at the same time a reminder for me, that I am so vulnerable when people criticise what I am passionate about.
I have spent some time as Banglahanne in the Bangla shop. Many of the gifts were also this time from Bangladesh, but we had quite a few things from Palestine, and some from South Africa, Madagascar and Sri Lanka as well now, and so it became a global shop. The "Free Palestine" gifts gave good opportunities for discussions, and I found myself quite warm after meeting one who saw God's preference for Israel as the main aspect in understanding today's conflict. This discussion was not only pleasant as I was not sure if my "opponent" understood anything of what I tried to explain of what I had seen and experienced. But another discussion was worse. A man came and asked where the gifts were from, and when he got the answer, he shook his head dejectedly and complained how we lacked solidarity as we sold gifts from such rich countries. None of these countries were among the poorest, he said. My try to tell that Bangladesh is among the five poorest in the world, was in vain. I got a clear message that he had seen enough shops like this. They had no value, as they did not have gifts from the poorest. There was no point of mentioning partner countries and YWCA-YMCA cooperation. The conclusion was clear: The global shop did not make the world better.
Then was the sightseeing in Oslo for the international participants. We stopped in front of the Parliament for the compulsory "here-we-are-in-front-of-the-Norwegian-Parliament" pictures. Suddenly a man started waving his hands shouting that these black people get home to Africa (most of them came from Asia) at once. I tried to calm him down, but was then just pushed away. Luckily he spoke Norwegian, so the others did not understand what he said. But for me it was a difficult reminder how the Norwegian society can be. I was overwhelmed by sadness by this simple man's chance to take away my joy of a colourful fellowship. So can Norway be. Not only Palestine is full of oppression and destruction of hope. My Norwegian pride got a blow. I need to find hope out in the world again. The countdown has started, in two weeks I am on my way.
Greetings from Hanne.
posted by Hanne at 1:32 PM
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