Saying goodbye to all the wonderful people I met was not easy. Everyone had already been lamenting my impending departure that was originally scheduled for several weeks later, so the sudden change in plans was kind of like ripping off a band-aid. The day before I left Jiries and I ran around like crazy people, trying to find everything on my "make-sure-you-buy-this-before-going-home" list, and also stopping by several places to say goodbye. I still can't believe how close I became with so many people in such a short time. The following pictures are from the last day/night.... the smiles you see are deceiving- each encounter was actually incredibly sad, but I am happy for the time that I had with everyone.
The Palestine Wildlife Society staff, the most environmentally passionate and friendly people I have ever met in my life:
Rawan, Jiries' niece who gave birth to twins while I was there. I spent time with her while she was pregnant, while she was in labor, and her first month as a proud mother.
Saying goodbye to Hanan, Jiries' sister
Hanan and her husband Sammy
Saying goodbye to Rasha, Jiries' niece (Rawan's sister), who said to me with a devastated face, "But you can't leave, I love you!"
Two out of Rasha's three sons, Danny and Lyth, who I loved playing with whenever we spent time together.
Lina, who I was just getting to know before I left, and her adorable daughter Sarah, who grew her first 4 teeth while I was there
The Rishmawi family; from left to right- father Elias, Marian, Razan, me, mother Lana (Hanan's daughter/Jiries' niece), Natalie, and in front Jessica and Jiries. I went to their house for dinner once and a few times I stopped by to hang out; the kids taught me a bunch of card games and helped me practice my Arabic. They are by far one of the nicest families I have ever met.
Amal and Issa, Jiries' sister and her husband (Lina's mother and father)
Jiries' brother Isam, his wife Nawal, and their daughter Shorok, who was- and still is- my good friend.
Issa, Shorok's brother, who stopped by for a minute just to say goodbye
Shorok and Adham (the son of Amal and Issa), who hung out with me until the late hours of my last night in Palestine.
In only 3 short months I learned so much from the Palestinian people of Beit Sahour, about kindness, generosity in spite of scarcity, extreme hospitality, and family- amongst many other positive things that are almost never included in American media coverage of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. If you couldn't already tell from my previous posts, not all Palestinians are terrorists. Yet because of the extremist minority, the entire population (Muslims and Christians alike) currently suffers from unjust, inhumane collective punishment. That may be considered a controversial claim, but it is true. I was there.
Since I've been home I've talked to many people about my experience in the West Bank. The most common response I get is "Wow, I had no idea! That's not the way it seems based on what I hear in the news!" Yeah, that's because the news isn't always the truth. Two perfect examples of this: the settlement "freeze"? A sham. There was never any freeze. I SAW settlements in the West Bank under construction while I was there. I watched them creep down the mountains towards the town I grew to love so much, and I witnessed how they slowly but surely surrounded private Palestinian property, and made claims over the land and tried to intimidate the people to leave. Secondly, in recent news coverage of the peace talks I noticed that the journalists often refer to the settlements as existing in "the land that Palestinians hope to include in their future state." News flash: they don't hope for it to exist in their FUTURE state- it is where they live NOW, and have lived for a very long time. The way it is framed makes it sound like the Palestinians are the ones making a land grab, when in fact they are the ones already living there, and it is the Israeli settlers who are illegally on their land, bulldozing Palestinian homes, dumping sewage into their villages, building on their nature reserves, and committing a multitude of other serious offenses. Believe it or not, I saw it with my own eyes.
This isn't my last entry, so check back every once in a while. For everyone who has kept up with my entries and provided me with feedback, thank you so much for your support. I am not pro-Palestinian, and I am not pro-Israeli. I am pro-human rights, and I am a global citizen who is concerned about a grave injustice. Especially if you are an American, it is time to get informed- if nothing else sparks outrage, keep in mind this is where your tax dollars are going. Visit www.tolef.org to find out more about upcoming conferences this November in Old Lyme (CT), Cape Cod, and NYC..... it can't hurt to listen to what these people have to say.
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