Placement Visits

During our three-month service, we visit two of the seven placements in the West Bank. The team I am with, team 48, has 32 people from 15 different countries in these placements.

I visited the Jayyous placement. The trip to Jayyous involved a bus to Jerusalem, a different bus from a different bus station to Ramallah. In Ramallah, I had another walk to a different station, this time to a service station. The services are vans, shared taxi’s, that are much cheaper than regular taxis. With all this walking and changes, I was very thankful that one of the EA’s from the Jayyous team was on her way back so I had a traveling companion from Jerusalem

Lunch in Azzun

The service took us as far as Azzun where the only Christian family left in the village hosted us for a meal. Efaf Shatara had a home cooked lunch waiting for us. They have family in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Jayyous Apartment

Each placement apartment is very different. In Bethlehem, our property owner lives in the upper apartment and keeps our yard very beautiful. I did not find a beautiful yard in Jayyous. On the positive side, hardly any traffic noise. However, there were very noisy, smelly neighbors; the side yard was a goat pen.

When I arrived, a candle on the coffee table curved from being too hot, the second day when we got home it had actually fallen from its base because of the heat.

The heat in the house was almost unbearable. The question was does one really want to open the window to the smell?

Agricultural Gates

One of the duties of EAPPI Jayyous team members is to monitor agricultural gates. Farmers are limited and sometimes denied access to their land. Israel has divided the Palestinians from their farmlands. There are now fences and gates that open for limited times. Farmers must have permits to go to their farms. They have to pass through metal detectors and biological checks to go out and work their own lands.

While farmers would like to go out and work their land first thing in the morning, the gates do not open first thing in the morning. The gate schedules, set by the Israeli army, forces the farmers to work in the heat of the day.

Some gates close too soon, not allowing farmers to leave needed farming left undone.

Denying freedom of movement on one’s own land is a violation of rights that these farmers face every day.

Our morning walk, about 45 minutes, was pleasant, seeing some wild flowers along the way. Too bad there are wire and fences in the view.

The team reports the numbers of men, women and children that go through.

Also counted are the tractors, carts,cars carts trailers. The donkeys, horses and sheep are also counted. These numbers are compiled and reported. These numbers would be used to verify the need in the event of a pending closure.

Village Visits

Like my Bethlehem team, the Jayyous team also is responsible to stand in solidarity with the villages. During my time in Jayyous, I visited villages with the team. Similar problems exist in all villages. Land is taken from the villages by the settlements. The settlement at the top of the hill, so close to this village.

Note the Settlement at the Top Ridge of the Hill

The as the settlements expand, more restrictions on access are placed on the Palestinian population. In one of the villages we visited, the Israeli government has decided to claim 300 meters on the village side of a road. The people in this area have all received demolition orders for their homes. This is a new action, in addition to previous losses of land by the village. Private land is taken without permission or recourse.

Salfeet

Similar problems exist most villages including the village of Salfeet.

Sadness fills my heart as I hear and see the injustice.

A little hint of positive action was a welcomed change as I heard of a program called American Corner; it is in the Salfeet library.

American Corners are partnerships between U.S. embassies or consulates and local communities.

They serve as a resource for residents of those local communities, offering access to information about American culture, society, and values, as well as information on educational opportunities in the United States.

Fathi Younis, younis_fathi@yahoo.com, is the coordinator of the American Corners Salfeet. He is very interested in expanding. He is interested in having a US city as a “Twin” city.