Thursday, July 29, 2004

Back from Yemin Orde

What a nice time I had. All of the coordinators hadn't managed to be there but it was a small, intimate group. The place itself had names for all of its buildings ranging from biblical names to Martin Luther King House and Magna Carta House. The view was magnificant - from one side you could see the Mediterranean and on the other the Carmel mountain range, looking very lush and rugged. We had a nice big contingent from the Galilee, and a few that came separately from Jerusalem. Four of us took a car service from Jerusalem. There was Rose, a quiet grandmother who is a Christian Arab from East Jerusalem. She and I took a walk in the late evening, and she and I instinctively would smell all the flowers we saw and comment to each other whether it had a scent or not. Then she would tell me the names of them in Arabic. Bouganvillea is Majnuneh and I forgot the name of honeysuckle. But our favorite is Jasmine. She recommended since I live not far from Jericho that I should notice a flower from that area called "footneh". Haven't a clue what it is, but will find out. Then there was Aida and her 3 year old daughter. She is of Bedouin heritage, a very in-your-face-proud-to-be-Palestinian. She reminds me alot of the African-Americans I knew in the 1970s, who were into the "black pride" thing. She and I disagreed about practically everything from the onset. When we got into our taxi van - she preferred a small car. I was thrilled with the van as I feel less claustrophobic. Aida likes the thrill of breaking the sound barrier. After 40 minutes she told me with a small car you can drive faster and asked the driver if he could speed up. He said he really didn't want to go over 110 KPH. She said she usually does 130-140 Kilometers an hour. I told her I'd never travel in her car to go anywhere because I'm really not into the "faster than the speed of light" thing. During the sessions she called me a settler because I live outside the green line. I brought it up afterwards - we all brought our stuff out on the table, which was very healthy. Palestinians generally do get angry because I'm an immigrant, and because of where I live. This is something that has to be discussed before we can go further in our work. There is anger on both sides which has to be acknowledged and discussed. But by the end of the retreat, Karmela and I discussed our vision of making our group more visible by adding an additional item on our agenda, which are monthly trips to somewhere cultural but in a public place. Everyone loved that idea and in the end they wanted to join us in our monthly outings and hand out brochures to those that were curious about our group. Lunchtime brought another idea to the forefront. We were told that some of the kids from the Youth Village asked what were Arabs doing together with Jews. Someone working there told the kids - but I said why don't we talk to these kids and have a workshop with them? This is what we are trying to do, isn't it? Everyone was enthusiastic about that idea as well and we will have to plan for a December workshop. We spoke about having all the coordinators corresponding in a Yahoo-group-type e-mail forum, where we could brainstorm, socialize, etc., and which would strengthen us in our work - so that's being established tomorrow!!! We left as one big really happy family, with a lot of hard but satisfying work to be done in the future

7 comments:

Blanche and Guy said...

Is the word majnuneh the same as the israeli use it? like for a nudnick? that's pretty funny!

I love it that you were able to walk in peace and quite with Rose (how fitting that you were both smelling flowers together!) and that you mentioned that encounter before you gave some time to talk about the bedouin/palestinian/ANGRY woman.

I'm just after getting a little pissed off myself. I was reading Rinat's journal at http://balagan.blogspot.com/ and came across a nasty comment left after my comment. It's amazing how much anger exists in the world, not just where you are. Especially with young people. I know it comes out of years of frustration and a little naitivete. As people age, I think (or at least I hope!) that they get more patient and try to understand the other side of stories. OF course, understanding doesn't change the situation but it's a start.

Good luck with the yahoo group. That's a great idea. I'm sure there havta be a few of them in existence already in Jerusalem. I'd be dissappointed if not. I use it over here to find free stuff! It's called "freecycle.com" and it's a great way to get rid of everything you don't want in your life (material items, that is!) and you might just find something you like for yourself. Maybe you could start a group like that, too! Because MONEY and the issue of not having it has a lot to do with the eventual solution in Israel. So maybe if people could get some stuff for free they'd be a bit happier. Yeah, yeah, yeah, easy for me to say as I write to you from the richest country in the world. I don't know everything, just trying like you are. That's all we can do.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Leah, but this is more directed to the previous comment than to the post. Why are the labels so absolutely necessary when describing something negative and absent during compliments: "bedouin/palestinian ANGRY woman" and then it's just Rose? Can you remember the angry woman's name without reading back? Yes, there are angry annoying people everywhere.. similarly, lovely and charming personalities.
This is related to my earlier comment, but why not approach people as people rather than imposing limits or boundaries through convenient labels? I do believe culture and beliefs guide people's actions, but it is more individual responses to their culture and beliefs in facing life's challenges that defines them - not solely their culture or beliefs. I'm not defending Aida's behaviour, she sounds like a loose cannon.. but it is pretty narrow-minded to approach her as a bedouin/palestinian/ANGRY woman - why not a woman frustrated with her situation? Surely, that is more constructive than an angry Palestinian. Similarly, Leah is not a 'settler' or just an immigrant - her living in Israel means much more than that.

Amna.

Anonymous said...

I believe Majnun means crazy/insane in Arabic. Maybe the smell of the flower makes people lose it?

And, regarding labelling people, this website may be enlightening. I thought it was quite clever in bringing out how racism and these limiting generalizations are embedded deep in our minds and often, even though we try not to make racist comments.. we are overlooking the whole point of taking the time to meet and get to know individuals rather than categorizing them.
Okay, I'll stop now. Keep well, Leah.
Amna

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

That website is absolutely hilarious. Strangely funny how I found myself in a couple of similar things - turning up the radio to "their" station. We do that too. Well, apologies if I made Aida sound angry. It's more pride than anger. We disagreed about little shit but she didn't get angry about it. But we did agree on the important stuff and that's what counts. I was speaking about other encounters with Palestinians where they did get angry about where I lived. After explaining why and how, etc. they understood - just like I understood in the end how much they love this land as much as I do (a fact I had never known or bothered to learn before).

Unknown said...
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Anonymous said...

No, no -- I wasn't talking about your post, Leah. I was more irritated at the comment posted above mine, who referred to Rose by name and just labelled Aida. Little things like that reveal a lot, to me anyway. I also was not defending Aida's behaviour, you probably handled her better than I would have.
I love that website as well, though when I shared it with a friend of mine she was offended by how they portrayed white people.
amna