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Published: October 28th 2011
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Crossing at Hussein Bridge
From the Amman airport we travelled by car to the border of the West Bank. Or if you prefer, Palestine, or maybe the occupied Territories. The trip took about an hour and we travelled by the northern edge of the Dead Sea and through the “lowest place on earth” , well below sea level.
We were all a bit stressed about the border but in the end it was more tedious than anything else. On arrival we shifted to a bus for the 10 minutes ride across a river that has been dry for thousands of years. Then lots of questions about who we were and why we were there. Mercifully, the place was empty but it took more than 30 minutes, including a 10 minute interview to clear. Then another 10 minute bus ride. Finally into our pre-arranged car. I understand we were lucky. Not everyone gets through and those who do can wait hours.
Ramallah
This morning we toured three schools. At the Bidou Boys Govt School, we joined a gym class for ten year boys led by an enthusiastic gym teacher. In an attempt to burn off some of
the zillion calories consumed on this trip, I joined in. The class lasted about 15 minutes and barely made a dent. But it was fun .
From there we went to meet a Special Needs class at the Silwad Rehab Center. Despite obvious difficulties the children were in good form and were having a great time. Then to our fifth Refugee Camp at Faraa. After what we had seen in Jordan and Lebanon , this one was almost civilized. Although the roofs are” temporary” there wasn’t the same crowding issue and rampant poverty. All Palestinians citizens and there were no guards or checkpoints.
Oddly these are Palestinian refugees living in Palestine. They are the product of the flight from Israel in 1948. Just like the other camps, they too want to return “home” although most agree that if offered the chance few would . We joined a class of grade 9 girls who were doing a seminar on leadership. Then we went to one of the girl’s apartment’s to have coffee with the family. The place was clean and bright and we sat in the front room. I suspect that behind the drape it might be a
little tight as she has six siblings: but satellite TV and a modern computer suggested they weren’t that badly off.
Grabbing Land
While travelling through the area we saw firsthand the recent construction activities of the Israeli Government which can only be described as surreal. To protect themselves from the Palestinians and to make a definite statement about the parts of the West Bank they want, Army engineers are building walls everywhere. The wall starts off as the barbed wire variety and when time and materials permit is replaced by 8 m concrete fences (the Berlin Wall was 4m). One of the objectives is to protect the “settlements” or small neighborhoods of homes built for Israeli immigrants . The other is to fence off highways built through the countryside so the settlers can quickly and conveniently commute to Israel..
From the West Bank side the outcome is awful. Communities are cut in half. Roads that used to connect places in Palestine abruptly end. Traffic is redirected so that suddenly quiet streets become major thoroughfares. Trips to Jerusalem which used to take twenty minutes can now take hours.
We visited one house near Bidou that
once was associated with a fairly large parcel of land. Now it is surrounded by a huge concrete wall on all sides no more than two meters away. The house is connected to his old neighbours by a driveway over the highway he cannot access. On the other side of the fence are his new neighbours, the settlers living in brand new homes and driving cars with Israeli license plates. I think it is unlikely that they get along.
A Recreation Center with a History
Our final RTP visit was to a rec center. After the usual overly strong coffee and translated chat, we were offered a tour. Turns out this beautiful old building was built as a jail by the British when they occupied Palestine in the first half of the Twentieth Century. More recently it was used by the Israelis to jail and allegedly torture the locals. Turns out the tour guide was a former inmate. His story was graphic and horrific. It, together with those Refugee Camps , leans credence to the assertion that the Palestinians are today’s version of the Jews were treated prior to, and including , the Second World War.
Tomorrow morning we meet RTP in the Ram office. Then we play tourist for an afternoon (Jerusalem ) and evening (Tel Aviv).
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