Denne gangen skal bloggen min handle om en veldig utsatt skole som ligger midt i et område det israelske militære har erklært som Skytefelt 918. Masafer Yatta er et stort og fruktbart område helt sør på Vestbredden. Jinba er en liten landsby helt sørvest i skytefeltet og en av to landsbyer i området som har en skole. Landskapet er rett og slett majestetisk og veldig … Continue reading Jinba – skolen midt i skytefeltet

Co-accompanier Rajesh and I are sitting in the office of Nora Nasser, principal of Cordoba school in Hebron’s H2 area. The school is surrounded by illegal settlements and the settlers living here are reputed for being exceptionally aggressive and violent. Every day the children of Cordoba school have to pass a military installation with steel turnstiles at the entrance of Shuhada street, Checkpoint 56. The school route runs … Continue reading Access to education through a steel turnstile and a closed military zone

During our introductory week the always impressive Hanna Baragh from the Israeli peace organisation Machsom Watch told us that in order to remain sane during our three months here, we need to ‘turn off our brains’, meaning letting go of the internalised logic we use to orient ourselves in our daily lives. Today I’m confused. I’m not quite sure whether today’s  experiences is a result … Continue reading The unbearable relativity of happiness

Once again I’m standing in front of the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem’s Old City. The red evening sky carries a sense of foreboding. I know perfectly well that this is a projection, but still … Before coming here for my third three-month period as an EA (ecumenical accompanier) in the EAPPI program, I have, like most of you, learned from the media that there is growing … Continue reading Lord of the Fleas

The Israeli Civil Administration is currently stepping up the implementation of a set of plans for a forcible transfer of 7 000 Palestinian Bedouins to new townships in the Jordan Valley. The biggest township, Talet Nuweima, just north of Jericho, will be built upon land housing existing Bedouin communities, and surrounded by two settlements and two military bases.  Abu Faysal at Nuwei’ma Al-Faqua says the current plans … Continue reading Planning for a war crime

The EAPPI Jordan Valley team is very concerned about the Israeli Civil Administration (=military) plans to forcibly relocate around 7 000 Palestinian Bedouins and herders from 46 small communities into three ‘kennel-type townships’, one in the outskirts of Jericho. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories (OCHA) states in a brand new fact sheet that 70 % of … Continue reading Wannabe-douin in Sateh al Bahr

Sist lørdag dro jeg sammen med teamkollega Lea til beduinområdet Nuwei’ma, rett utenfor Jeriko. Området er temmelig ørkenpreget med stort, åpent landskap. Vi kjører inn på området hvor vi har en avtale med en ny kontakt med det klingende navnet Mukhtar Suleyman Salame Hassan Azzayed, eller Abu Faysal (pappaen til Faysal). Beduinerer  Nå er jo det å tvangsflytte personer eller befolkningsgrupper på okkuperte områder totalt ulovlog … Continue reading Ulver i kennel, fugler i bur

Since what’s on my mind today, or rather, on my heart, is a sensation quite a few of my fellow EAPPI accompaniers sooner or later will house, I will try to convey my morning reflections in English in order to reach out to them. I have spent two days off on my own in Jerusalem. As usual my base in East Jerusalem has been the Capitol Hotel, … Continue reading Going native

Jeg har vært på besøk i mitt første hjem i Palestina, landsbyen over alle landsbyer, Jayyus, som ligger i Qalqiliyadistriktet midt på Vestbredden. I dag har vært med Karen, som er ny, kanadisk ledsager her og Jael fra Sveits, som var her i gruppa før meg for to år siden. Jael er også en av de mange som har funnet et ekstra hjem i Jayyus og … Continue reading Det hender så mangt …