Seeing is believing
Attending a peace through active citizenship project in Jerusalem.
It’s been a couple of months now since I’ve been, but the effects have yet to wear off. In fact I doubt they ever will. Nearly three months on, even writing about it is still difficult. Over the past few years I’ve been lucky enough to go all over the world on various youth participation adventures, and the chance to attend a “Peace Through Active Citizenship” project in Jerusalem was too good to pass up.
Having a deep interest in the nature of political conflicts, coming from a border region and having had two family members serve in UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon, the expedition fit me like a glove. I was relishing the chance to meet with young people from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the West Bank and Israel to share our experiences of active citizenship and learn more about our respective political situations. And then Gaza happened.
As time went on it became increasingly clear that the hosting Palestinian NGO couldn’t and wouldn’t have Israelis at the table while Gaza was still being bombed, and so alterations were made to the composition of the group, with Arabs living within Israel joining the group instead. While it was a shame that nobody from the Israeli end of the argument was present, we were all just glad to be there at all.
To convey what I experienced over there has been difficult enough for me to attempt to articulate in general, but in the space of an article it is near impossible. It’s really one of those classic examples of a situation where being told about it pales in comparison to actually seeing it for yourself, However, there are a few occurrences that stand out.
Firstly, where we were staying was as humbling as it was awe-inspiring. It took me a few days to actually cop on to the fact that I was in Jerusalem, Bethlehem was a stone’s throw away, and Herod’s castle was just off to the left there. Twenty or so years of hearing about all these places in Mass weren’t remotely adequate preparation for actually seeing them up close. In some cases the places didn’t look any different from when Jesus himself was walking around.
That sense of up-close experience was vital for the second thing that struck me: how deeply and institutionally unfair the situation out there is. Now, as I said previously, the fact there were no Israelis present was unfortunate because we didn’t get their end of the story. At the same time though I’d like to know how they could defend Israeli-only roads; feck-off walls surrounding the West Bank (making what should be a 30 minute trip hours long), the indignity that is being herded through Qalandia checkpoint, or going through two hours of security checks at Tel-Aviv Airport before you ever get to check in. You soon realise that life over there is determined by it’s limits.
The most striking memory I have is of a Sunday we spent in Jericho. After seeing Al Jazeera reports of Gaza fatalities left us feeling pretty depressed, these local kids playing in the street challenged us to a football match. We spend the next hour or so playing with these kids, and it stands out as one of the best things I’ve ever done. That day, between the destruction of Gaza and football with boisterous kids on the street, really summed up the overall trip nicely: It’s like I saw the best and the worst of humanity over there.
By: Paddy Duffy
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