On reading through my last blog I discovered that a whole paragraph seemed to have disappeared! Probably as a result of my messing about inserting photos which ended up in quite the wrong positions anyway.
What I had wanted to tell you is about the heart ache and misery a lot of families go through as a result of having different colour IDs. Many people living in Abu Dis were born in Jerusalem and there families still live there. Before they built the wall it was just a short walk to get there. In 2000 Israel tightened up access to East Jerusalem. Those on the Jerusalem side were registered with blue IDs and those on the Palestinian side with green ones. If you have a green ID you cannot enter Jerusalem except with a permit issued only for medical reasons. Many people who worked in Jerusalem no longer had a livelyhood. Also husbands and wives found themselves with different IDs. Many who want to maintain there blue status have to show evidence that their established home is in Jerusalem and this means they have to spend time in two places so they cannot have a normal family life and it has put much strain on relationships. Others have forfeited the blue cards in order to marry and live with their spouse in Abu Dis and in doing so have been separated from their families, never being able to visit them. Everyone I meet has a story of separation. Its such a tragedy!
Its just started to rain and there has been some thunder while I've been writing this blog. Hurray! It doesn't seem to be very heavy but lets hope it continues.
Saturday, 31 January 2009
Friday, 30 January 2009
A day in Jerusalem
Today I had to take some visa applications to the British consulate in Jerusalem. These were for the women who are due to travel to UK as a twinning link delegation in March to particpate in events around International Women's week. The women represent 10 different towns in Palestine that are twinned with an equal number of towns in the UK ranging from Pendle in the north of England to Brighton in the south. I had met them during the week and assisted them in completing their very lengthy visa applications. As they are all resident in Palestine they cannot travel to Jerusalem themselves as they don't hold a blue ID card.
So this morning I took the number 36 bus which should have dropped me off just by the consulate but the driver forgot to tell me so I ended up at Damascus Gate and had to take another bus. However everything was quite straight forward and then I walked back again to D.G. to look around the market. I have never seen such abundance of fruit and vegetables, and the sizes - enormous cauliflowers, giant pomegranites and big "ugly fruit?" (look like over-sized grapefruits) Then I had a cappucino in the Jerusalem Hotel and then just sat on a bench enjoying the bright sunshine and the blue, blue sky, watching the people go by.
As the schools and university have been on mid year break I have been able to spend time getting to know everyone at Dar Assadaqa. We have measured up the site and I started to talk to the children about how they would like to see the garden. I think everyone agrees that first it needs to be protected by a good wall or fence with a gate. At the moment people walk through as a short cut and also throw their rubbish. There has been very little rain this year, they say they have never known it to be like this. The ground is very dry and dusty and usually at this time of year it should green and full of life. There are still a few months left for the weather to change, so lets hope.
On Wednesday the women made a tableau to match that made by CADFA in London demanding that Israel should be brought to account for war crimes in Gaza. See photo.
So another Friday is coming to an end! I have been here over a week and I am getting used being here and looking forward to the coming week.
So this morning I took the number 36 bus which should have dropped me off just by the consulate but the driver forgot to tell me so I ended up at Damascus Gate and had to take another bus. However everything was quite straight forward and then I walked back again to D.G. to look around the market. I have never seen such abundance of fruit and vegetables, and the sizes - enormous cauliflowers, giant pomegranites and big "ugly fruit?" (look like over-sized grapefruits) Then I had a cappucino in the Jerusalem Hotel and then just sat on a bench enjoying the bright sunshine and the blue, blue sky, watching the people go by.
As the schools and university have been on mid year break I have been able to spend time getting to know everyone at Dar Assadaqa. We have measured up the site and I started to talk to the children about how they would like to see the garden. I think everyone agrees that first it needs to be protected by a good wall or fence with a gate. At the moment people walk through as a short cut and also throw their rubbish. There has been very little rain this year, they say they have never known it to be like this. The ground is very dry and dusty and usually at this time of year it should green and full of life. There are still a few months left for the weather to change, so lets hope.
On Wednesday the women made a tableau to match that made by CADFA in London demanding that Israel should be brought to account for war crimes in Gaza. See photo.
So another Friday is coming to an end! I have been here over a week and I am getting used being here and looking forward to the coming week.
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Sunday 25th January
Well, here I am. Its a beautiful morning - sun is shining and the air is clear and it is warm - at last!!! Yesterday I have never been so cold despite layers of clothing my fingers were like icicles even indoors. Cold hands, warm heart as they say! and the hearts are really warm. I have had a wonderful welcome everywhere.
The first day, Friday, is a holiday. So after settling in at the guest house and a good breakfast of felafels and palestinian sessame bread and pottering around the flat Fatya and Naja arrived with lunch - upside down chicken and rice dish- everything cooked in one pot and then turned out onto a dish - very delicious. We went and visited relatives of Naja and in the evening Ahmed and Salah visited. I felt very welcome.
Then yesterday we started the day at Friendship House early at 9am with a meeting with a group from a unitarian peace organisation who monitor check-points and visit prisoners etc. They apparently do 3 months stints and there will be a change over next week so the new volunteers came with the ones who are about to depart. Apparently an Israeli peace group ( Women in Black) demonstrate in Jeruasalem every Friday and this group support them as they suffer a lot of abuse particular during this aggressive war with Gaza. Quite a lot of yesterday I helped women who will be going to UK for International Women's Week in March as part of the twinning network with applying for their visas. I also met the women's committee to discuss what activities we would be doing. Priority being the magazine but we also talked about developing the garden and also learning some tai chi. Then I met with the drama group that consist of young people who will be coming to Camden in June and performing a play. I will be giving them English classes teaching them language that will be useful for their visit. There are about 16 of them and only 8 will be able to go - my opinion will be part of the selection process. We will probably divide the group into 2 as it would be quite chaotic to teach such a big group particularly as their knowledge of English is quite diverse. So that was my first day!
When I got home Salah, a young computer expert and my neighbour, came over to install the internet connection. So I'm now connected to the world. I messed about with it last night and was surprised that I could not get connection to BBC radio programmes.
As I said today is bright and warm. So when I arrived at the centre I thought about the garden around the centre and how we should go about it. The children are having an extra week holiday so I think it will be a good project to measure the site and make a large scale model so we can discuss what kind of spaces people would like there (planniung for real a la Calthorpe). I have drawn a rough sketch and hopefully tomorrow we will have a good tape measure for measuring the site. There are some lovely olive trees, a good terrrace up to the house and a well, so there should be a plentiful supply of water for the plants. I will take some photos and post them on this site. I talked with a bunch of kids today and they are quite keen.
So that's all for the moment. I'd be glad of any comments you might have.
The first day, Friday, is a holiday. So after settling in at the guest house and a good breakfast of felafels and palestinian sessame bread and pottering around the flat Fatya and Naja arrived with lunch - upside down chicken and rice dish- everything cooked in one pot and then turned out onto a dish - very delicious. We went and visited relatives of Naja and in the evening Ahmed and Salah visited. I felt very welcome.
Then yesterday we started the day at Friendship House early at 9am with a meeting with a group from a unitarian peace organisation who monitor check-points and visit prisoners etc. They apparently do 3 months stints and there will be a change over next week so the new volunteers came with the ones who are about to depart. Apparently an Israeli peace group ( Women in Black) demonstrate in Jeruasalem every Friday and this group support them as they suffer a lot of abuse particular during this aggressive war with Gaza. Quite a lot of yesterday I helped women who will be going to UK for International Women's Week in March as part of the twinning network with applying for their visas. I also met the women's committee to discuss what activities we would be doing. Priority being the magazine but we also talked about developing the garden and also learning some tai chi. Then I met with the drama group that consist of young people who will be coming to Camden in June and performing a play. I will be giving them English classes teaching them language that will be useful for their visit. There are about 16 of them and only 8 will be able to go - my opinion will be part of the selection process. We will probably divide the group into 2 as it would be quite chaotic to teach such a big group particularly as their knowledge of English is quite diverse. So that was my first day!
When I got home Salah, a young computer expert and my neighbour, came over to install the internet connection. So I'm now connected to the world. I messed about with it last night and was surprised that I could not get connection to BBC radio programmes.
As I said today is bright and warm. So when I arrived at the centre I thought about the garden around the centre and how we should go about it. The children are having an extra week holiday so I think it will be a good project to measure the site and make a large scale model so we can discuss what kind of spaces people would like there (planniung for real a la Calthorpe). I have drawn a rough sketch and hopefully tomorrow we will have a good tape measure for measuring the site. There are some lovely olive trees, a good terrrace up to the house and a well, so there should be a plentiful supply of water for the plants. I will take some photos and post them on this site. I talked with a bunch of kids today and they are quite keen.
So that's all for the moment. I'd be glad of any comments you might have.
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