One of the things that chocked me a lot during my stay was to see the Israeli soldiers looking for some people in Palestinians houses in the middle of the night (3am). They can be aggressive, as it happens quite often to see them forcing the doors if the people inside the house refuse to open it. The people living in the refugee camp also told me they can push or beat you to get informations about the person they are looking for.
I have also notice how family is important and how they really stick to each other. I discussed this subject with some people and the answer was quite obvious: they feel they are left all alone to deal with the difficult situation, no real and strong Palestinian authorities, no real international community help… So the only entity left to face the situation is family. If something happens to you, your whole family will back you up.
I would like to thank all the people who took the time to talk to me, to arrange the visits of different cities, my host family and all the people in Jordan and Jerusalem who helped me through my journey. It was an amazing experience where I learnt more than I taught and I hope to be back soon (inshalla). I advise everyone to do it (to do any volunteer work in any country) as this is always good to see with your own eyes what is happening in the world rather than always rely on the media.
Freedom and peace for Palestine!
H, just finished reading your story from the trip and sounds like a great experience. Thanks a lot for sharing to the rest of the world (especially to people like me who are very interested in volunteering!)
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteThank you for your message. If you need any info about volunteering do not hesitate to contact me, I will be happy to help.
Ta