Odds and Ends, Con't; Too Many Stories to Tell & too Little Time...
Odds and Ends, Con't; Too Many Stories to Tell & too Little Time...
***********
Cindy & Craig Corrie, from Bil'in & Gaza;
aka, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Being in a country other than the USA during certain media frenzies is an instructive thing. I was in India for the first Gulf War & the beginning of the Oslo years, and working on an Australian banana farm for 9/11; and you know I'm kind of glad that I am here in Palestine for the unexpected political victory of Hamas.
In December, I took Cindy and Craig Corrie to the village of Bil'in for a demonstration, one of the many they have held for the past year. I took them there cautiously, giving them a very thorough training on the bus ride from Bethlehem in the tactics and toys of the IOF; if they use tear gas, do this, sound bombs, do that, shooting... well you get the picture, I expected the usual IOF violence. As we got to the usual protest site, where just the previous week I had been tossed about by the soldiers, well, we just kept driving! The soldiers were not interfering, and the day was fantastic; we ate, sang, talked and spent the day with Palestinian families, Israelis, and International activists. If any day was proof that peace is possible, that was it. Yet, the media response was lacking... well, there wasn't much of a response, really (despite the fact that there was plenty of media present).
A week later, the web was ablaze with hundreds of stories of violence and chaos in the Gaza Strip, particularly the poverty stricken and battered city of Rafah. The rumor that five armed men had "burst into a room" and tried to kidnap the parents of Rachel Corrie had gotten instant media attention, despite the fact that it was not true (see here for the true account http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/01/04/no-attempt-to-kidnap-rachel-corries-parents/ ).
So, that is how it works; Internationals, Palestinians, and Israelis working together for and creating peace, no story. But, violent Palestinians, & Americans in danger, boy that sells! It's like the media was saying, "what are the Corries doing over there, it seems that the Palestinians don't even appreciate the Corrie's help, do they?"
Now with the world acting like Palestinians all voted for Hamas and sprouted tails and horns overnight; I mean, I just don't know what to think. The people I know who were kind and welcoming to me the day before are still kind and welcoming to me today. What the future holds, for all of us, none of us know. But one thing is for sure; don't believe your TV, it's lying.
***********
I'd Like to Meet His Tailor...
I had lunch with a man named Deeb last month. He works with some friends of mine from his village of Der Ibiza, near Ramallah, and I was to get some embroidery from him to post to the states. He was a very nice man and had a lovely home and family, and they had me over for a great lunch. But, after lunch we could not get the man in Ramallah who has the stuff on the phone. So, I left to Ramallah, and Deeb gave me his phone #s and a rough map of where to go for the man's shop.
A few days later, I went to that area where the man's shop was, but first I stopped by a tailor I know to fix my pants (again!). Then I wandered about asking people the name of the man that had the embroidery and location of his shop. After 5 minutes, I end up back at, you guessed it, my tailor, who turns out to be Deeb's associate that has the embroidery after all! Ahh, I love a happy ending.
***********
A Strange De-Arrest
The other day I helped out de-arresting an Israeli demonstrator at the weekly Bil'in demonstration. We were up near some soldiers and were trying to proceed back from their position in a calm, orderly fashion and make sure that they don't shoot tear gas or bullets at the kids down the road. Then, we saw that the soldiers seemed to have someone detained, so our calm procession turned into a mad dash into the olive groves to head them off. We did that, coming into a path between two stone terraces and blocking their way. About two or three soldiers had an israeli activist and were clearly trying to bring him back to the rest of the army by the wall construction site. So, we did the usual thing; grab onto the person being arrested & pry him away from the soldiers, which we did (because one of us was a tall guy!). We had him pulled over the wall to our left side, but the army still had him by the legs; and then, this one soldier did the strangest thing. Seeing that we were going to be able to free him soon, he grabbed for the guy's pants, and since he was wearing sweat pants, down they went! It was one of those frozen in time moments, where the second or two (or three) seems like quite a bit longer. There we were, grasping and pulling the guy's upper torso, and there they were; holding onto his ankle and pants while we were all being exposed to some serious full frontal male nudity. I mean, it was confusing, were they trying to arrest him, or commit a sexual assault? But then, in a second, it was over; we pulled him away, he pulled up his pants & off he ran!
Unfortunately, they were able to arrest another Israeli; but in this case, his pants stayed on.
***********
Tolkien Under Occupation
After seeing off some new volunteers to the village of Bil'in, I stopped at a coffee shop in Ramallah, for, well, a cup of coffee. The coffee shop culture here also includes smoking nargilah (water pipes), and sometimes juice and sweets. And, don't forget, the cable TV! After a far too long visit to the toilet, I sat down with a copy of Haaretz and began sipping some sweet Arab coffee, glancing up at what was on the TV. Then, a man who had the remote control started switching the channels, from various Arabic pop-video stations to another, the news, commercials... and then plunks down on The Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers! Right at the halfway point as well! I immediately spoke up and said to him "this is good, please leave it here!" He looked at me, shrugged, and did that.
So I spent the next two hours watching the Two Towers, which I quite enjoyed, but I was curious what the reaction would be from the Palestinians. Two years ago I came to Palestine right after the Return of the King screened in the US, and it was also playing in Israel at the same time. The Two Towers came out right around the time of the (illegal) US invasion of Iraq, and I was always keenly aware that despite the fact that I liked the movies and was as much the Tolkien geek as the next, well... geek, these stories do have some culturally loaded and inherently racist baggage. Despite Tolkien forswearing real-world political comparisons (Sauron as Hitler, etc), I'm sure that many Americans who bought into the fear of Iraq and "the terrorists" probably felt drawn in by the siege of Helm's Deep in the Two Towers. And would it be unlikely that Israelis would make racist connections between the hordes of Sauron's 'evil' Orcs on the one hand, and the feared masses of occupied and oppressed Palestinians, the Muslims, the Arabs, etc, on the other?
Well, I didn't ask anyone about these ideas, but as the climactic battle sequence in the movie approached, everyone was actually watching it intently, and the man with the remote control turned to me and said "This is a good film." Yes, it certainly is!
***********
Deportation & Hummous
My friend David was arrested by the Kiryat Arba Police, in the Hebron neighborhood of Tel Rumeida. They had been waiting for the right time, and after arresting him, the police paraded him around the station like a trophy of some sort. He spent 6 days in prison, 3 days at the airport and 3 days in Ramleh. He will be deported next week, and banned from returning, although he has been out on bail for the last week or two.
Since he has been out, its been clear that his time in prison was just as important a part of his activism as the rest of his time in Palestine. He met many people in prison from African and Asian countries that were here to work, both legally and illegally, learned to read arabic script & improved his spoken Arabic. Also, he has been very enthusiastic about things that most activists here grow tired of quickly; that is bread & hummous! Seriously, it can be a problem for people who are not accustomed to eating as much bread as people do here, and hummous, as great as it is here (the best, really) can get monotonous after awhile. But he has gone out every day to get hummous and ful, not packaged and processed, but at the small restaurants and felafel stands in Ramallah and Jerusalem. When we go out to eat, he is clearly enjoying every moment.
That's what is important, I guess, is enjoying and savoring the moment. It is a cruel irony that just as one comes to love and appreciate things about Palestine & the people you come to know, you have to leave. And for activists who stand up for human rights, that may mean never being able to come back.
Peace
***********
Cindy & Craig Corrie, from Bil'in & Gaza;
aka, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Being in a country other than the USA during certain media frenzies is an instructive thing. I was in India for the first Gulf War & the beginning of the Oslo years, and working on an Australian banana farm for 9/11; and you know I'm kind of glad that I am here in Palestine for the unexpected political victory of Hamas.
In December, I took Cindy and Craig Corrie to the village of Bil'in for a demonstration, one of the many they have held for the past year. I took them there cautiously, giving them a very thorough training on the bus ride from Bethlehem in the tactics and toys of the IOF; if they use tear gas, do this, sound bombs, do that, shooting... well you get the picture, I expected the usual IOF violence. As we got to the usual protest site, where just the previous week I had been tossed about by the soldiers, well, we just kept driving! The soldiers were not interfering, and the day was fantastic; we ate, sang, talked and spent the day with Palestinian families, Israelis, and International activists. If any day was proof that peace is possible, that was it. Yet, the media response was lacking... well, there wasn't much of a response, really (despite the fact that there was plenty of media present).
A week later, the web was ablaze with hundreds of stories of violence and chaos in the Gaza Strip, particularly the poverty stricken and battered city of Rafah. The rumor that five armed men had "burst into a room" and tried to kidnap the parents of Rachel Corrie had gotten instant media attention, despite the fact that it was not true (see here for the true account http://www.palsolidarity.org/main/2006/01/04/no-attempt-to-kidnap-rachel-corries-parents/ ).
So, that is how it works; Internationals, Palestinians, and Israelis working together for and creating peace, no story. But, violent Palestinians, & Americans in danger, boy that sells! It's like the media was saying, "what are the Corries doing over there, it seems that the Palestinians don't even appreciate the Corrie's help, do they?"
Now with the world acting like Palestinians all voted for Hamas and sprouted tails and horns overnight; I mean, I just don't know what to think. The people I know who were kind and welcoming to me the day before are still kind and welcoming to me today. What the future holds, for all of us, none of us know. But one thing is for sure; don't believe your TV, it's lying.
***********
I'd Like to Meet His Tailor...
I had lunch with a man named Deeb last month. He works with some friends of mine from his village of Der Ibiza, near Ramallah, and I was to get some embroidery from him to post to the states. He was a very nice man and had a lovely home and family, and they had me over for a great lunch. But, after lunch we could not get the man in Ramallah who has the stuff on the phone. So, I left to Ramallah, and Deeb gave me his phone #s and a rough map of where to go for the man's shop.
A few days later, I went to that area where the man's shop was, but first I stopped by a tailor I know to fix my pants (again!). Then I wandered about asking people the name of the man that had the embroidery and location of his shop. After 5 minutes, I end up back at, you guessed it, my tailor, who turns out to be Deeb's associate that has the embroidery after all! Ahh, I love a happy ending.
***********
A Strange De-Arrest
The other day I helped out de-arresting an Israeli demonstrator at the weekly Bil'in demonstration. We were up near some soldiers and were trying to proceed back from their position in a calm, orderly fashion and make sure that they don't shoot tear gas or bullets at the kids down the road. Then, we saw that the soldiers seemed to have someone detained, so our calm procession turned into a mad dash into the olive groves to head them off. We did that, coming into a path between two stone terraces and blocking their way. About two or three soldiers had an israeli activist and were clearly trying to bring him back to the rest of the army by the wall construction site. So, we did the usual thing; grab onto the person being arrested & pry him away from the soldiers, which we did (because one of us was a tall guy!). We had him pulled over the wall to our left side, but the army still had him by the legs; and then, this one soldier did the strangest thing. Seeing that we were going to be able to free him soon, he grabbed for the guy's pants, and since he was wearing sweat pants, down they went! It was one of those frozen in time moments, where the second or two (or three) seems like quite a bit longer. There we were, grasping and pulling the guy's upper torso, and there they were; holding onto his ankle and pants while we were all being exposed to some serious full frontal male nudity. I mean, it was confusing, were they trying to arrest him, or commit a sexual assault? But then, in a second, it was over; we pulled him away, he pulled up his pants & off he ran!
Unfortunately, they were able to arrest another Israeli; but in this case, his pants stayed on.
***********
Tolkien Under Occupation
After seeing off some new volunteers to the village of Bil'in, I stopped at a coffee shop in Ramallah, for, well, a cup of coffee. The coffee shop culture here also includes smoking nargilah (water pipes), and sometimes juice and sweets. And, don't forget, the cable TV! After a far too long visit to the toilet, I sat down with a copy of Haaretz and began sipping some sweet Arab coffee, glancing up at what was on the TV. Then, a man who had the remote control started switching the channels, from various Arabic pop-video stations to another, the news, commercials... and then plunks down on The Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers! Right at the halfway point as well! I immediately spoke up and said to him "this is good, please leave it here!" He looked at me, shrugged, and did that.
So I spent the next two hours watching the Two Towers, which I quite enjoyed, but I was curious what the reaction would be from the Palestinians. Two years ago I came to Palestine right after the Return of the King screened in the US, and it was also playing in Israel at the same time. The Two Towers came out right around the time of the (illegal) US invasion of Iraq, and I was always keenly aware that despite the fact that I liked the movies and was as much the Tolkien geek as the next, well... geek, these stories do have some culturally loaded and inherently racist baggage. Despite Tolkien forswearing real-world political comparisons (Sauron as Hitler, etc), I'm sure that many Americans who bought into the fear of Iraq and "the terrorists" probably felt drawn in by the siege of Helm's Deep in the Two Towers. And would it be unlikely that Israelis would make racist connections between the hordes of Sauron's 'evil' Orcs on the one hand, and the feared masses of occupied and oppressed Palestinians, the Muslims, the Arabs, etc, on the other?
Well, I didn't ask anyone about these ideas, but as the climactic battle sequence in the movie approached, everyone was actually watching it intently, and the man with the remote control turned to me and said "This is a good film." Yes, it certainly is!
***********
Deportation & Hummous
My friend David was arrested by the Kiryat Arba Police, in the Hebron neighborhood of Tel Rumeida. They had been waiting for the right time, and after arresting him, the police paraded him around the station like a trophy of some sort. He spent 6 days in prison, 3 days at the airport and 3 days in Ramleh. He will be deported next week, and banned from returning, although he has been out on bail for the last week or two.
Since he has been out, its been clear that his time in prison was just as important a part of his activism as the rest of his time in Palestine. He met many people in prison from African and Asian countries that were here to work, both legally and illegally, learned to read arabic script & improved his spoken Arabic. Also, he has been very enthusiastic about things that most activists here grow tired of quickly; that is bread & hummous! Seriously, it can be a problem for people who are not accustomed to eating as much bread as people do here, and hummous, as great as it is here (the best, really) can get monotonous after awhile. But he has gone out every day to get hummous and ful, not packaged and processed, but at the small restaurants and felafel stands in Ramallah and Jerusalem. When we go out to eat, he is clearly enjoying every moment.
That's what is important, I guess, is enjoying and savoring the moment. It is a cruel irony that just as one comes to love and appreciate things about Palestine & the people you come to know, you have to leave. And for activists who stand up for human rights, that may mean never being able to come back.
Peace
posted by Jontheantizionistjew at 7:03 AM
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