In three days I will be home again in the states. My six month long trip has come down to this. It will be good to be home.
As everything comes to a close, I’ve started to think of things I’ve learned while travelling. I think the biggest thing is that when you travel, meet other people, and experience different cultures, all your stereotypes start to fall. You start to realize that stereotypes are not true for all people- not all Scandinavians have blond hair and blue eyes, and not all Muslims are named Mohammed.
Studying politics in college, one of the theories that you learn about is the idea of a clash of civilizations- that certain civilizations are headed on a collision course that will only create tension and violence in the future (for example the ‘West’ and ‘Islam’). This idea has been pushed by many in my own country and government. And people are buying it.
But people like me who have experienced life in an Islamic culture, and other cultures, quickly find this theory losing ground. Many Muslims welcomed me into their houses for tea, food, and even to stay. One hosted me for three weeks in Bosnia. In Kosovo, one invited me to stay the night at his family’s house, and they cooked traditional food and took me all around the village to sight-see. In Palestine, one invited me up to Jenin to stay with his family for a weekend- and when I left Palestine, he gave me several gifts! A shirt in Bosnia summed it up- ‘I’m Muslim- don’t panic!’
This has been the hospitality I have experienced in all the places I have visited. I have never had anyone hate me because I am an American, and I have never had anyone hate me because I am a Christian. Almost everyone in this world just wants to live their lives in a peaceful, just society where they can work, have a place to live, and eat. People just want normal lives!!! They don’t want conflict, war, and death. There are exceptions everywhere- we in the USA, with our insane murder rates, know this too well. But those are by far the exceptions, not the norms.
As Christians I hope that we will not subscribe to this theory of a clash of civilizations. I hope we can love our neighbors in all civilizations, while not advancing false and harmful stereotypes.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Sorry!
Sorry for a lack in posting! As the trip has come to a close, I have spent much less time near a computer. I will try to catch up...
Thursday, July 5, 2007
More Movement Restrictions
The Israelis have made it incredibly difficult to move from place to place in the West Bank, often adding hours and hours to a basic trip to a neighboring town. Mohammed, a Palestinian friend of mine who works at Augusta Victoria hospital, has to pass through 7 permanent checkpoints and countless other roadblocks in order to get home to his family in Jenin from Jerusalem. It now takes a whole day to travel, meaning that he cannot go home for the weekend. He must, instead, work a weekend so that the following weekend he can have an additional day or two off to go home. Of course he could just get a job closer to home- but there aren’t any.
The simple commute from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, only 6 miles to the south, now takes over an hour in many cases, thanks to the checkpoints.
In addition to permanent checkpoints, there are also moving checkpoints, roadblocks, and barriers that are set up by the Israelis to limit the movement of Palestinians. Israeli troops will set up random checkpoints wherever the want, but always in Palestinian territory, so as to not inconvenience any Israelis. I often saw them setting up a checkpoint in front of Augusta Victoria hospital, on the main road to Palestinian hospitals. They stop anyone and everyone they feel like, for as long as they want. The general rule is that the more you protest or question what is happening, the longer you are held.
Israeli’s have also denied Palestinian refugees the right to return even to the West Bank. I heard several stories of Palestinians who had a Palestinian fiancée or girlfriend living in a Jordanian or Lebanese refugee camp, who were not allowed to come back to be with the person the love. The only other option would be that the person still in Palestine leave- but then they might never be able to come back to see their family and friends. They told me that Israel “even controls who they can fall in love with.”
They also use these checkpoints to punish anyone who has a family member who is involved in resistance. Even if you have never been involved in violent or peaceful protest of the occupation, if you have a relative who has you might be turned back. What would you do, then, when there is a peaceful protest? If you go and participate, it might mean that you and your extended family might never be able to pass through a checkpoint again.
All these tactics serve to slow and restrict the movement of Palestinians, making it impossible to organize an effective resistance to the occupation. But what happens, as a result, is that this only leads to increased desperation.
Check out this recent BBC story about checkpoints: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6245576.stm
The simple commute from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, only 6 miles to the south, now takes over an hour in many cases, thanks to the checkpoints.
In addition to permanent checkpoints, there are also moving checkpoints, roadblocks, and barriers that are set up by the Israelis to limit the movement of Palestinians. Israeli troops will set up random checkpoints wherever the want, but always in Palestinian territory, so as to not inconvenience any Israelis. I often saw them setting up a checkpoint in front of Augusta Victoria hospital, on the main road to Palestinian hospitals. They stop anyone and everyone they feel like, for as long as they want. The general rule is that the more you protest or question what is happening, the longer you are held.
Israeli’s have also denied Palestinian refugees the right to return even to the West Bank. I heard several stories of Palestinians who had a Palestinian fiancée or girlfriend living in a Jordanian or Lebanese refugee camp, who were not allowed to come back to be with the person the love. The only other option would be that the person still in Palestine leave- but then they might never be able to come back to see their family and friends. They told me that Israel “even controls who they can fall in love with.”
They also use these checkpoints to punish anyone who has a family member who is involved in resistance. Even if you have never been involved in violent or peaceful protest of the occupation, if you have a relative who has you might be turned back. What would you do, then, when there is a peaceful protest? If you go and participate, it might mean that you and your extended family might never be able to pass through a checkpoint again.
All these tactics serve to slow and restrict the movement of Palestinians, making it impossible to organize an effective resistance to the occupation. But what happens, as a result, is that this only leads to increased desperation.
Check out this recent BBC story about checkpoints: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6245576.stm
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