Follow the Women

So, unbelievably, my time here in Nablus has come to an end (at least for this trip... I'm still pondering whether I'm coming back or not). This past week has been a fairly full one (the weekends do tend to drag, a problem I will have to rectify if I do come back). The biggest event was by far the presence of over 150 women from 25 different countries in Nablus. The women were participating in a campaign for womens' and children's rights, and peace in the Middle East. The gimmick is that they are riding their bikes (they do get bused between locations, but it's a great event nonetheless).

This is a pretty big deal in a city where women are looked down upon if they ride a bike. The one reason for this social stigma that I heard can be requested in writing, as I don't want to offend any of those with more delicate sensibilities. Fortunately, the ride went off without a hitch. The women were supposed to enter through Huwarra checkpoint and meet their bikes (which were being shipped in trucks around the city for fear that they wouldn't be let into the city through the checkpoint). The morning of the event we received word that the women had decided they were going to ride through the checkpoint, "they hadn't come all this way to simply go visit historic districts and watch dance troupes from the local children's organization. They were going to make a point." Interestingly enough, when they showed up at the checkpoint the Israelis more or less let them right through.

Besides the horrid sunburn I got on my recently shaved head, the rest of the day was great. I got brush up on my Spanish with the contingent from the Catalan region of Spain, and learned a few words of Turkish. I'm not going to lie, I was just a bit depressed that evening when all the women left... I will be visiting Turkey at some point soon.

My depression aside, you should check out this group (www.followthewomen.com) and you can see the press release I wrote at http://youth.zajel.org/Study_visits/studyvisits26.htm. If you have any connections to media outlets, this group could use your help, and deserves to get more press than they do.

This past Friday I headed over to a local community service organization called Tomorrow's Youth Organization (http://www.tomorrowsyouth.org/4.html). It is being run in-country by a couple of girls from the U.S. (I mentioned Shauna, one of the organizers, in the previous post). They were having an open house so I headed over to release some energy and play with some of the kids. As always there were a few rascals (Dad, when you called me I had a couple of kids throwing leaves and flowers on my neck and poking me in the back, hence my seeming a bit distracted). I have to say I was really impressed with how well the kids behaved. I've had a much harder time telling that kid to give me the ball, or put the stick down (please remember I still can't count past 6 at this point) in other situations.

More picks of the kiddos and the women of Follow the Women on my Picasa web albums!

peace, ry

Gas and Guns... nothing to see here

A week and a half ago I was itching to get out and roam. I suggested a hike to a friend (Shauna is from the States and is 1 of 2 in-country directors for a new community service organization in Nablus). The hike didn't work out, but we instead headed to Ramallah on Saturday night (the end of our weekend here) for an international film festival call Pangea Day (http://www.pangeaday.org). They were simulcasting a show with hosts stationed all over the world, and showed a collection of films from amateur and new filmmakers. Some of the films were pretty decent, others left much to be desired. The hosts were for the most part miserable, not the least because of their cliche script and equally unimaginative reading of said script.

Regardless, the highlight of this trip was chilling around a campfire having a few cold beers, some peanuts, and conversing without having to worry about making sure that what you say will be understood, or won't be taken in the wrong way... I've learned over the past 7 years that sarcasm does not translate well (Nick can tell you a story or two). The trip to Ramallah was a great breath of fresh air, both literally and figuratively. I honestly had this sense of release in me as soon as I was outside the perimeter marked off by the Israeli military around the city. Even though you don't directly see the Israeli military on a daily basis, your subconscious knows that you don't have to go far before your freedom ceases, if only briefly, to exist. I might also contribute a bit of this feeling to the conservative stigmas that are also present here (I think twice before I throw on a pair of shorts, to go for a run).

Oh, yeah, "Gas and Guns." As I arrived at the checkpoint (you get out of your taxi , cross the checkpoint on foot, then catch another "servees" taxi on the other side) I saw gas being let off. The canister was placed so that the wind took the smoke across the pen that you enter to have your I.D. checked (it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a cattle pen where, the cattle are lined up into a single file line between metal fencing), so as to clear all the people waiting in line from the area. As I walked up towards the front of the gathered crowd I saw four Israeli soldiers with their machine guns pointed in the general direction of the crowd and beyond. Shauna, who had gone through the checkpoint minutes earlier, phoned me and suggested I try to flash them my passport. I was politely told by the soldier to "back away", apparently this is only a move for attractive young ladies from the States. I was actually glad I wasn't given any sort of preferential treatment. I would have felt pretty horrible if a bunch of people saw me just walk through. Needless to say, I hung out with the crowd for about ten minutes, exchange shakes of the head and a few smiles with those around me, and then they began slowly letting us through... after all that, "nothing to see here."