Beit Lehem blog, 15 Jan 2010

Back in full swing, but with slightly different angles this time.

Team 34 met in Jerusalem to get to know each other and to have our extensive orientation sessions. The ‘Bethlehem Braves’, as we dubbed ourselves, is a group made up of 3 lovely souls plus me: Phil Lucas (retired head teacher) from Scotland, Gunnar Stenbeck (retired pastor) from Sweden and Sabine Blum (retired midwife) from Switzerland. We are all approximately the same age and stage in life, with spouses at home, children and grandchildren dispersed around the world. Yesterday, we held a family ‘show and tell’ of stories and photographs. I think that the Bethlehem Braves are off to a good start which is not to be said for all 6 groups of Team 34. One girl has already been moved into the Jerusalem team due to a medical condition which was not disclosed to EAPPI prior to coming. We all wish her well and hope it works out.

Our tasks will be similar to the duties I performed on my last stay, of course, with a much stronger focus on the plight of Christians living in the not-so-Holy Holy Land. Our compulsory tasks include Gilo checkpoint (CP) or CP 300 watch, accompanying visiting international delegations in Bethlehem (most are interested in the CP), attendance at one of the many churches in Bethlehem, visiting villages: Al Walaja, An Nu’man, Jubbet adh Dhib, Al-Khader, Umm Salamonu, Al Masara and more, accompanying school children at An Nu’man and Tuq’ua, and visiting refugee camps (three, in and around Bethlehem). We have regular visits to organizations such as United Nations (UNOCHA), and Red Cross (ICRC) to discuss problems we see at CPs and in the villages.

The chaos which is Gilo CP is difficult to describe in words but there are a couple of good You Tube videos that capture the scene. Try googling ‘You Tube - Bethlehem checkpoint 4 a.m.’ (and be patient, it takes a while to view with the annoying stops and starts). We get up at 3:45 to arrive at 4:30 a.m. to begin our watch. One of us stays near the first turnstile to ensure that the Israeli soldiers arrive on time to open the CP and then to count the number of Palestiaians passing. In theory, the IDF should already be there because there is a Humanitarian Lane which should be open 24/7. In practice, this is not always the case. Palestinians are simply trying to get to work on time, something we all take for granted – except during snow storms – but the CP process can take them an hour or two to pass through. Meanwhile, the other team member enters the terminal to monitor the metal detector lines and ID booths. We are usually in the checkpoint between 2 and 4 hours, but occasionally as long as 6 hours (hasn’t happened yet but then again we have only done one CP duty). The reward for me in this challenging setting is to go back to our apartment and cook up a big bowl of Canadian produced Quaker oats which I can buy in Jerusalem. Coupled with a cup of Nescafe instant, what could be better?

We have been informed by our Jerusalem office that we have 5 delegations arriving in the next 6 days. These delegations can be from a variety of organizations/countries such as churches or perhaps parliamentarians who would like to be escorted through Gilo CP, and to be told about the situation ‘on the ground’ as they say. We have different things that we can do with them depending on how much time their tour has given them to be here. I personally am looking forward to this activity because it is not something that would have happened in Tulkarm.

Today, we walked in our first demonstration in Umm Salamonu/Al Masara and it was completely peaceful. With about 2 dozen soldiers blocking the road out of town and on rooftops, forty to fifty locals and internationals walked through town to where the soldiers had razor wire strung across the road. It always causes anxiety wondering if some Palestinian teenager will throw a rock at the soldiers and start a chain of events with sound bombs, tear gas and rubber bullets. The organizer, Machmud, spoke to everyone stressing the need for calm because the army had been in the villages last night but did not arrest anyone and they wanted to keep the peace.
At 5:30 p.m. today, we are going to attend a worship service held at the wall by the Sisters of Caritas, a local group of nuns who run a Baby Hospital in Bethlehem. They conduct this service every Friday, weather permitting, so it will be a regular event for us.

I apologize to those of you who asked and I told you I would continue my blog under the Accompanier. My technology skills, being what they are, did not enable me to go back to it in English. It kept appearing in Arabic!

Back to blogging in Beit Lehem another day.......

Disclaimer:
Susan Palmai works for The United Church of Canada as an Ecumenical Accompanier serving on the World Council of Churches/Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). The views contained herein are personal and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer (The United Church of Canada) or the WCC. If you would like to publish the information contained here or disseminate it further, please first contact the EAPPI Communications and Advocacy Officer (eappi-co@jrol.com) for permission.