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The Separation Wall by Wi’am’s play yard<\/p><\/div>\n
Wi\u2019am draws out connections between the violence and trauma individuals are experiencing in their lives and families, and the broader injustices of life under occupation. They use Sulha, a traditional Arab form of conflict mediation, in conjunction with other methods, to make individual conflicts (for e.g., domestic violence situations) opportunities to transform lives and relationships, and to \u201cempower the weak, and bring the powerful to their senses.\u201d At one point, their Program Director Imad Nassar discussed how their need to respond to the immediate pressures and frustrations their youth participants bring to meetings forces them to temporarily divert from their broader agenda for the young people\u2019s program. I almost inquired whether he sees their work more as crisis intervention, or the cultivation of something new. Then the topic shifted, and I never asked. But I realize now that to dichotomize these two objectives is false. They are deeply intertwined, with the former enabling the latter. Digging beneath the surface of conflicts, they often discover root causes that are enabled by the Occupation and human rights violations. Their process, as Imad described, \u201clays the groundwork for a Palestinian civil society focused on justice and human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
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“Images for Life” photo project, \u00a0Al Rowwad<\/p><\/div>\n
Similarly, Alrowwad uses the arts to generate not just hope, but also new forms of community and cultural capital. The Aida refugee camp has been in existence since the 1948 Al-Nakba, and is much more built out than what most folks probably imagine when they hear the term \u201crefugee camp.\u201d A portion of its residents stay for explicitly activist purposes: They do not want to leave the camp and forfeit the right of return that was granted by the United Nations and accepted by the Israeli State as a condition for U.N. membership, but which has never been implemented or enforced. Alrowwad\u2019s motto is \u201cbeautiful resistance.\u201d Youth participants in their programs are enabled to become the authors rather than just subjects of their own stories, through training in documentary filmmaking, theater or dance, amongst other media. Do not send us humanitarian aid, their founder Dr. Abdelfattah Abusrour told us. Rather, participate in partnerships, or contribute financially, to facilitate the kind of projects that develop real capital within the community.<\/p>\n
At both organizations, I was reminded of the grassroots youth organizers whose work I\u2019ve supported in my hometown of Chicago. In particular, Wi\u2019am\u2019s mediation process, which engages the whole community to address individuals\u2019 conflicts, had me thinking about U.S., youth of color-led organizations that advocate for restorative justice responses to violence and conflict in order to reduce reliance upon the police and prison system. But our contexts are different, and false equivalencies are dangerous. Far more relevant is how our issues and communities directly intersect\u2014we learned that U.S. police departments are coming to Israel for tactical training, and that we supply the Israeli military with the tear gas that is a daily reality in the lives of Palestinian young people.<\/p>\n
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Usama teaching from the rooftop<\/p><\/div>\n
After our meeting with Wi\u2019am, we stood on the roof of their building, where our guide Usama pointed out some of the most visible and immediate signs of occupation. The separation wall has been built to cut directly into Bethlehem, along the side of Wi\u2019am\u2019s courtyard and playground, in order to keep Rachel\u2019s tomb on the Israeli side. Graffiti on the concrete barrier reads, \u201cRACHEL IS WEEPING.\u201d Immediately to the right sits a continuously occupied guard tower, and a water cannon that earlier this summer, sprayed skunk water on children playing during summer camp. Taking photographs, I was too scared to even point my phone in the tower\u2019s direction, despite the unlikelihood of my being noticed.<\/p>\n
I never like to give oppression the last word, so on the way out, I snapped a quick photo of the sign affixed to Wi\u2019am\u2019s gate. It\u2019s a literal invitation: Join Us for Coffee & Chat About Economic, Political & Religious Issues. ~Tim Jones-Yelvington,<\/p>\n Program Director, Foresight Prep @ Oberlin College (www.foresightprep.org) This morning, we visited Wi\u2019am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center in Bethlehem, and the Alrowwad Cultural and Arts Society in the nearby Aida refugee camp. It was a morning of contrasts\u2014between vivid manifestations of Israeli state aggression, and inspiring examples … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.livingstonespilgrimage.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/IMG_6489-300x225.jpg\")
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\n<\/a>Chicago, IL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"