A few of us stayed on…
Following Tadhamon Singers tour of October 2022, four of our group stayed on. We travelled separately to Hebron, the Jordan Valley, Nablus and Bethlehem. Here are our stories.
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A few of us stayed on…
As our friends fly back to the UK, four of us are staying on – Celia volunteering with the Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability in Bethlehem; Lizzie learning Arabic and joining in with the activities at the Excellence Centre in Hebron; Hils volunteering with Jordan Valley Solidarity in the north, and Carolyn volunteering with SEEDS…
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The Jordan valley
The day starts early here in the Jordan valley and ideas and dreams start early too. We were talking about the flag we painted yesterday on the wall of the new hostel for international volunteers. And we want to paint another flag too, facing defiantly towards ’48 (Israel, whose electronic surveillance towers watch us from…
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Interview with Issa Amro in Hebron
In Hebron, Issa Amro talks about the kindergarten, cinema and women’s centre set up by Youth against Settlements on Shuhada St. This interview is done by Lizzie while Issa’s house is under guard as it is declared a ‘military zone’ so he and his brother take turns being in the house to try and prevent…
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Medical care, night time raids, and Jordan valley solidarity
Rana (not her real name) lives in the north of the Jordan valley and is a volunteer with Jordan valley solidarity. She welcomed us and cooked our meal when the choir visited the solidarity centre. Yesterday she talked with the visiting Belgian solidarity group about the harassment she has to overcome to stay in her…
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Bardala – Jordan valley
I’m currently staying in the village of Bardala, which is in the far north of the Jordan valley only 4K from a checkpoint into ’48. Bardala is in Area A, which is supposed to mean under Palestinian control, but in reality, as everywhere, the Israeli regime can act as it wants. Most crucially, they control…
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Life in a camp – shut in, no sunlight
Another very special morning after waking to first proper tiny experience of how it feels to live in a camp. No sunlight reaches the flat and two small children bursting with energy climb all over the flat as they have no place to run. I feel shut in and I’ve only been here around 18…
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A forbidden journey – Ramallah to Jerusalem
Today I travelled by Palestinian bus from Ramallah, one of the main cities in the West bank, back into Jerusalem. This is a journey forbidden to most Palestinians, so those on the bus ( which was full) would have had Jerusalem ID cards or a permit giving permission to work in Jerusalem. At the checkpoint,…