Beyond Jerusalem

This week I have learnt a lot more about the occupation and how it affects the daily lives of Palestinians. Living in East Jerusalem, I do have a sense of what life under occupation feels like; the constant presence of IDF soldiers can be daunting at times and there is tension in the air which I’m sure must be amplified for Palestinians. Overall though, East Jerusalem is a great place to live as you can immerse yourself in the rich cultures and religions that coincide. The same cannot always be said for other parts of Palestine.

At the beginning of the week I was lucky enough to be taken to the city of Hebron by the director at YDD. He introduced us to a Palestinian man from UNICEF who gave us a tour of the Old City. Hebron is the only city in the West Bank that has a Jewish settlement in its centre. The Old City of Hebron was once a place full of life, a central spot for Palestinians and their livelihoods. Due to the eruption of settlements, the Old City has now become a ghost town. Thousands of markets and shops were closed down and few Palestinians remain. The few that do now face daily struggles as they receive abuse from settlers and have the threat of losing their homes looming over their head. Hebron is a very interesting city to visit, and although the situation is incredibly sad, it is an important place to visit to gain a better understanding of life under occupation.

Towards the end of the week I also visited the village of Bil’in. Bil’in featured in the Oscar nominated film, Five Broken Cameras and gained international awareness as the film showed the struggle that the villagers go through due to the annexation of their land to settlements. The village is beautiful and peaceful which is a stark contrast to the large and overcrowded settlement that sits opposite in the distance. Their determination and courage is admirable as they protest the loss of their land and the erection of the separation wall every Friday and have done so for ten years. I was lucky enough to have a tour from one of the locals and learnt a lot more about the occupation and how the Palestinians fight daily for justice which is really inspirational.

My work at YDD also continued as I began research into building them a website. The website will help YDD raise awareness for great work that they do for communities in Jerusalem and will be a port of contact for potential funders. The website is something I hope to build and launch before my placement in Palestine comes to an end.