Aida camp - Lajee center

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Go to www.lajee.org and visit the website of this wonderful organisation that helps the kids in the refugee camp of Bethlehem express themselves in a peaceful way by trying to make them forget about their situation, i.e.being a child in a Palestinian refugee camp under Israelis occupation.
See there the project they try to put up, whether it is the Debka troup performances, or the International summer camp allowing the kids but also the families to meet some volunteers coming from all over the globe.

I arrived when their first children summer camp was ending and participated in the celebration organised by Lajee center to thank all children in what they have achieved together.
Lots of laughter, and lots of hope especially when they see a foreigner witnessing it.
I attended an aerobic class for woman only given several times a week, by Ghada Alazeh, my host, who puts up lots of work in helping the woman, whether young or less young, still single or married with lots of childrenin expressing themselves in gathering and loosing some extra weight they wish they could loose.
So interesting to see them taking of their veil and jalaba in the shades of the gym class, chatting up and gossiping like old friends would do, doing steps and stretching hard on the matress provided by a Belgian NGO last year before going back to their routine, which is looking after the children, preparing the dinner, napping in the afternoon so hot is the sun there is nothing else you could possibly do, and hoping for the day to go by whithout any israelis incursion in the camp, inside their homes, in their intimate lives.

If you want to participate in the summer camp, donate something for the center, help in any way you can, or just contact them to support their peaceful, pacific actions, please contact Salah Ajerma at [e-mail]

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Photos

Happy to be back at Lajee
Athal, expressing her talent by taking a picture of a difficult subject...me, under the heavy sun.

Celebrating through Debka
Most of these boys have gone through some time in jail, all of them have the same dream, returning to their homes in Israel territory now, and they want to leave peacefully, but they all don't expect that to happen anytime soon... sadly.

Douda, 3
Little Douda enjoying the show

MAP est dans la place
MAP stands for Minister des affaires populaires, french hiphop style band, who performed in Aida camp to support the palestinian cause.
Children of algerian immigrants, whose parents have witnessed and lived tragically the french colonisation and the oppression, they wanted to show how courageous they thought the palestinian people were in these times of occupation.
The concert had peaceful messages and was appreciated by young and not so young palestinians.
A grand moment!