Sunday, March 19, 2006

volunteering.

started volunteering today with kids from a refugee camp here in palestine...i absolutely love it. the kids are so sweet and i'm excited to continue with this project. im going to be meeting with them twice a week and helping them with their conversational english (they're all girls and between 10-12 yrs old). ive honestly never met such conscious and politically aware children. they are all mature far beyond their years, which makes sense considering that they're forced to grow up more quickly given the intense political environment in which they live.
all the refugee camps here are extremeley depressed, with, on average, 60-80% unemployment rates and sub-par living conditions--they look much like what i would imagine a shantytown to be: stacked, cramped houses that havent been renovated or improved since they've been established i.e. in 1948. these camps were supposed to be temporary refuge for those who were kicked out of their homes in '48 and '67; however, they are very much permanent and unimproved.

yet, the people still keep smiles on their faces and meet us with such kindness and warmth that i feel badly and slightly guilty, knowing that they have virtually no escape from their daily realities of occupation, while i come from a 'western, developed' country and can come and go without a problem. borders will never solve any of our problems...
everyone here is saying that they only think the situation here will get worse after the israeli raid of the palestinian prison in ariha...i hope thats not the case because i don't know how much worse the israeli government can make it for the palestinians at this point. people in gaza right now are starving because the israeli military refuses to open up the gazan border to allow food through. seriously, if that is not a crime against humanity, i dont know what is. maybe that the international community stands by in silence.
The Wall...doesnt really look like a fence.

"Dov Weisglass, the Israeli prime ministerial adviser, recently described the Israeli sanctions policy after Hamas's January election victory as one in which Palestinians would be 'put on a diet', but not starved to death." such a comforting statement.

3 Comments:

Blogger فرانسيس said...

Wow, I just found your blog. Keep up the good work!

5:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

SI SENOR! You have a heart the size of the bed that Iva broke... even bigger

7:47 PM  
Blogger Sam said...

Good luck with helping the Palestinian Childern! Keep on the Good Stuff

1:19 AM  

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