Picking up where we left off!

We are the first cohort of volunteers in Palestine for over a year due to the security situation in Palestine around the last Gaza conflict.

I had various expectations before embarking on this programme, but having to wear long-johns in the Middle East was not one of them! We have now been working with the Sharek Youth Forum for almost two weeks, and while the weather has improved dramatically, the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) continue to challenge expectations in other ways.

The image of the OPT that we receive in the west is often a negative one, due in part to a media which focuses largely on the violence that plagues the region, and on Gaza in particular. As volunteers on the ICS programme we will be working in the West Bank for 10 weeks, and it is immediately clear that Palestine is much more than the headlines of strife we see in the news.

View of Ramallah from Sharek

Sharek’s office is in Ramallah, the de-facto capital of Palestine, and people might be surprised by the range of cafes, restaurants, and shops the city has to offer. It is a cosmopolitan hub, bustling with energy in the early evening and rich with the smells of falafel, shisha and countless other delights. Our workplace is only a 15 minute walk from the city centre and we have been having a great time exploring its maze of streets, trying to navigate a new alphabet and sampling the delicious street food. We have all settled in fast and have been made to feel welcome by everyone we have met. I am however also looking forward to travelling elsewhere in the West Bank, as Ramallah has a reputation of being something of an affluent ‘bubble’ compared to its surroundings.

The ICS programme had not been working with Sharek for over a year and therefore we are attempting to get the project back off the ground. As a group of 6 UK volunteers and 6 local volunteers, we are working on two projects simultaneously: Skill-Development Sessions and Voice of the Youth.  The former involves running workshops at universities across the West Bank on topics including debating, C.V. and interview skills, and English grammar. Yesterday we had our first experience of teaching; some of us were in Nablus and others in Hebron, and it was a success all round with great feedback from the students. 

Nablus students at a Skill Development Session

The Voice of the Youth project aims to be a platform for Palestinian youth to share their stories, tackle the issues they face, and promote youth participation in Palestine. We have been researching possible topics and establishing a base of contacts to interview - watch this space for future videos and articles: http://www.votypalestine.com/en/

One of the best aspects of the programme is that we are working alongside local volunteers. Their passion and sense of fun is inspiring, and I am constantly in awe of the way they articulate themselves on any issue we talk about, ranging from religious tolerance to critiques of political parties. A real eye-opener for me during training was when we were discussing how we would all describe Palestine, and one of our colleagues Nour answered simply: “it is a paradise... We have struggle in our lives, but we also have hope.” The optimism and generosity of people here is humbling.

Separation Barrier at the Centre

Last week we joined university students on one of Sharek’s youth empowerment programmes on a field trip to visit several agricultural entrepreneurs in Jericho, and on Wednesday had a great day visiting the biblical town on Bethlehem on one of our days off. As well as visiting the Church of the Nativity, we were also lucky to chance upon the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Centre where we were welcomed by the director who made us delicious Arabic coffee and took us up to the roof to survey the neighbouring Separation Wall and explain the political dynamics of the area. The Wall is some 30 metres from the office, which also looks out over the refugee camps living right in its shadow, and it is difficult to imagine quite how

imposing the Wall is until you are in its proximity.

Right, enough for today. Over the next two months we will be providing weekly updates as to the work we are doing and the experiences we are having here, so keep your eyes peeled!

Salaam.