Aside from Majd's studies, there is very little to do in the refugee camp. Many men scatter the streets melting in the heat of the sun and the shameful feeling of unemployment. Women hide inside tending to household chores while children play amongst the rubble that lines the streets or run inside the thin corridors of the camp. The monotony and the heat are enough to drive anyone crazy. To pass the time, Majd and his friends use what resources they can find to pursue their artistic inclinations mostly through music and video production and Majd additionally volunteers at the local community center.
The community center itself is a very humble stone building in the camp that receives funding and support from the international community. Donations contribute to teaching dance, reading, and computer classes, amongst other things. Mustafa, one of Majd's friends, helps direct the daily life of the center and was more than happy to give me a tour and explain some of the activities they aim to provide. Perhaps the most impressive program occurs during the summer months when a selected number of students from the camp participate in an exchange program with anther country (usually in Europe). The students interact with the citizens and culture of the country they're visiting and share a project they've been working on relating to the experience. Mustafa observes an incredible increase in motivation and drive in the children that get to participate in this trip in comparison to those that do not. When the children return from abroad they tend to gain a new understanding of the world and a greater motivation to better themselves.
He introduced me to Theo, a young man my age who is volunteering at the community center from the UK, teaching English as part of a program he needs to fulfill to receive his degree in Arabic studies. Theo expanded on the information Mustafa provided and I enjoyed conversing with another foreigner who entertained similar interests. Theo explained that one of the biggest challenges was the children's inability to conceptualize rules or how to function in an organized society. When the second intifada began ten years ago (I've posted a very brief description of the Intifada below just to give people a reference, but I've left out quite a bit), Israel destroyed many governmental institutions. The result was that society itself lacked the structure and resources that a stable government provides. No child or person was obligated to do anything. Theo says his students are great kids, but they will leave and enter classes at their will. They feel no need to obey when they are told to do something and many don't come at all. Much of this has to do with the fact that the children have no concept of this kind of authority (and thankfully, Theo himself finds it somewhat amusing), though he indicated there has been more success with the younger students. Another component of this issue is that school is seen as useless. There is no point in going to school because there are no opportunities following the completion of their education. Again, there exists a feeling of hopelessness and shame in dreaming of something so far from reach.
Theo also noted how difficult it was to tell people from his home about the situation here. Most people are so uniformed and don't really want to understand many of the issues that occur, brushing them off as too complicated or simplifying the situation as tribal warfare that’s existed for centuries with no hope of secession. He finds, however, that he makes progress when he brings up situational instances that people back home can relate to. For instance, how it will take a Palestinian twelve hours to go somewhere that can be reached in forty minutes because of traffic created from the checkpoints, or from being turned down from one check point to another for various reasons.
After inquiring about my own interactions in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank, he asked what surprised me about the situation. I replied that each city has been slightly different and while each one faces the same issues, the degree to which those issues exist and their distribution differs from one place to the next. As you get further away from Jerusalem, the severity of the struggles people face tend to intensify. What astonishes and bothers me is how even Palestinians in neighboring cities tend to loose focus on what's happening around them in other areas of the West Bank because they are so preoccupied with their own individual lives. I also told him that in the US, people have no idea what the situation really looks like and in general, (since the situation poses no obvious direct impact on them) many don't care or don't want to know. I expanded, stating that when I get discouraged I try to remember those from back home who have an open mind and those that work to educate themselves and have the desire to promote or at least to encourage change, but this can be difficult in the face of so much ignorance.
The community center itself is a very humble stone building in the camp that receives funding and support from the international community. Donations contribute to teaching dance, reading, and computer classes, amongst other things. Mustafa, one of Majd's friends, helps direct the daily life of the center and was more than happy to give me a tour and explain some of the activities they aim to provide. Perhaps the most impressive program occurs during the summer months when a selected number of students from the camp participate in an exchange program with anther country (usually in Europe). The students interact with the citizens and culture of the country they're visiting and share a project they've been working on relating to the experience. Mustafa observes an incredible increase in motivation and drive in the children that get to participate in this trip in comparison to those that do not. When the children return from abroad they tend to gain a new understanding of the world and a greater motivation to better themselves.
He introduced me to Theo, a young man my age who is volunteering at the community center from the UK, teaching English as part of a program he needs to fulfill to receive his degree in Arabic studies. Theo expanded on the information Mustafa provided and I enjoyed conversing with another foreigner who entertained similar interests. Theo explained that one of the biggest challenges was the children's inability to conceptualize rules or how to function in an organized society. When the second intifada began ten years ago (I've posted a very brief description of the Intifada below just to give people a reference, but I've left out quite a bit), Israel destroyed many governmental institutions. The result was that society itself lacked the structure and resources that a stable government provides. No child or person was obligated to do anything. Theo says his students are great kids, but they will leave and enter classes at their will. They feel no need to obey when they are told to do something and many don't come at all. Much of this has to do with the fact that the children have no concept of this kind of authority (and thankfully, Theo himself finds it somewhat amusing), though he indicated there has been more success with the younger students. Another component of this issue is that school is seen as useless. There is no point in going to school because there are no opportunities following the completion of their education. Again, there exists a feeling of hopelessness and shame in dreaming of something so far from reach.
Theo also noted how difficult it was to tell people from his home about the situation here. Most people are so uniformed and don't really want to understand many of the issues that occur, brushing them off as too complicated or simplifying the situation as tribal warfare that’s existed for centuries with no hope of secession. He finds, however, that he makes progress when he brings up situational instances that people back home can relate to. For instance, how it will take a Palestinian twelve hours to go somewhere that can be reached in forty minutes because of traffic created from the checkpoints, or from being turned down from one check point to another for various reasons.
After inquiring about my own interactions in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank, he asked what surprised me about the situation. I replied that each city has been slightly different and while each one faces the same issues, the degree to which those issues exist and their distribution differs from one place to the next. As you get further away from Jerusalem, the severity of the struggles people face tend to intensify. What astonishes and bothers me is how even Palestinians in neighboring cities tend to loose focus on what's happening around them in other areas of the West Bank because they are so preoccupied with their own individual lives. I also told him that in the US, people have no idea what the situation really looks like and in general, (since the situation poses no obvious direct impact on them) many don't care or don't want to know. I expanded, stating that when I get discouraged I try to remember those from back home who have an open mind and those that work to educate themselves and have the desire to promote or at least to encourage change, but this can be difficult in the face of so much ignorance.
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