Correspondent's Report #2 – October 1999
We are all settled in well these days; accommodated very comfortably in an apartment which sits perched with others high above the valley in which Nablus is situated, cool and breezy with spectacular views. Apartment living appears to be the norm in modern day Palestine - this has required a slight adjustment for us spoiled Australians used to much more space, however the community activity upstairs and downstairs and on the street is fun to live amongst. Miriam has settled in very happily to a 3 yo kinder program (which accommodates 2 yos) a short stroll away down the hill - we have been extremely lucky to have found this particular one. Disappointingly, much of what presents as childcare in Palestine seems to be little more than child minding, with a spectrum of caring yet unstimulating environments to those where stories of beating children are not uncommon. This is obviously of major concern to those women and men seeking quality care for their children whilst both partners work - and many of these parents have been keen to support the new centre which Miriam now attends. Run by the "Latin Patriarch" (the Catholic Church here) it represents a move towards a model of care that we are used to in the likes of Australia, but which is still unusual here. Happily, Miriam has embraced the centre with enthusiastic gusto, now counts to 10 in Arabic and is starting to use Arabic phrases which her parents have yet to get their heads around (although I can now sing "Happy Birthday" in Arabic…..)
Work wise, things are progressing, albeit slowly. Our trips to Tulkarem take about half an hour in one of the stretched Mercedes which function as extremely flexible and efficient public transport here (complementary to the bus system), and give us a chance to observe the way things function on a day to day basis. We pass through one Palestinian checkpoint leaving Nablus each morning, and up until recently then passed through an Israeli checkpoint representing our entry into an Area B zone. However since the withdrawal of the Israelis from some of the West Bank, military presence in this northwestern part is much less in evidence. We have only ever been stopped twice by Israeli authorities, who usually check ID of passengers, then send the taxi on its way.
It is another matter crossing the Green Line into Israel from Tulkarem, which is a time consuming business if using public transport (neither side is usually willing or able to cross the Green Line). Yellow plated Israeli registered vehicles can cross freely but green Palestinian plate vehicles are forbidden to enter, unless the driver has appropriate paperwork. The border post is manned by a number of soldiers, with large concrete buffer blocks to protect against ramming by vehicles, and an observation tower with usually one soldier at the ready. All soldiers carry automatic weapons. However foreigners passing through are treated cordially and often passports are not checked. On one occasion the soldiers arranged a lift for us with one of the vehicles crossing when public transport options were few and far between!
There has been much reporting in the various English media about the new southern safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza. Whilst it does represent in theory a much quicker link between the two 'autonomous' areas of Palestine, many Palestinians that we have spoken to are sceptical as to whether it represents greater freedom of movement for them. Israel has reserved the right to issue all permits for Palestinians travelling on the route, and there are strict time constraints imposed on vehicles travelling from one end to the other. There are fears that the Israelis will use the funnelling effect that the route will represent for Palestinians travelling between the two areas as a way to weed out suspected terrorists (who seem to be presumed guilty before proven innocent).
However the biggest issue continues to be that of settlements - with Israelis this week undertaking to dismantle three which were established in recent years. All on hilltops, one is unoccupied, and the other two small settlements house a handful of families. Last week, the attempted removal of the unoccupied settlement met with stiff resistance from a number of second generation settlers from nearby settlements (and representing the Israeli far right). In the Ha'aretz English language edition over the weekend we read two large advertisements by a group called 'Women for Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green) accusing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak of sitting down with 'the murderer and renowned terrorist Yassar Arafat' who, together with his followers 'continue to openly admire Hitler'. The group has a website for those interested in reading some extreme Israeli views www.womeningreen.org. It is groups such as these which are certain to make the dismantling of settlements a difficult and possibly violent affair. Another Ha'aretz article reported the beating by settlers and attack by their dogs of a Palestinian man harvesting his olives in a grove adjacent to a settlement between Nablus and Tulkarem. Together with the reported confiscation of 3000 hectares of Palestinian land near Tulkarem by the Israeli authorities recently for ‘military purposes’ it is clearly unfair to accuse only the Arabs of acts of aggression.
Meanwhile, Nelson Mandela arrived in Gaza yesterday and was unequivocal in his view of the situation in the Occupied Territories. He has called for complete withdrawal of Israel from the Golan Heights, southern Lebanon and the West Bank and quite openly chastised Israel for its support of South Africa's apartheid regime over the years. It is great that someone of the stature and greatness of Mandela has spoken out in support of the Palestinians. Arafat himself could do with the international vote of confidence – he is increasingly coming under attack from many sides for the concessions that he has made to Israel through the peace process, the behaviour of the Palestinian Authority and lack of democracy in Gaza and the West Bank. His picture is plastered everywhere – to the extent that Miriam thinks that anyone wearing a black chequered keffiya, or even standard traditional Arab male head dress is Yassar Arafat! We, by the way, always know when an attack on southern Lebanon by the Israelis is underway - in Nablus we can clearly hear the fighter jets screaming overhead......
But life does go on in Palestine, and whilst now we are feeling less like babes in the wood in terms of understanding what goes on around here, I don't think that we are far progressed beyond a childlike innocence! We read what we can, talk to people everywhere, and observe constantly. It is a fascinating place!
Correspondent's Report #3 - January 2000
Again this correspondent must apologise for having got lost in the Palestine experience! I hope that you all had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year - and embraced or ignored the millenium hype according to your choosing. Here the end of the year was marked by Ramadan, the end of the university semester, some of Nablus and the Holy Land getting excited about Father Christmas, and of course the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus.
For us, being surrounded by fasting Muslims very much set the tone for December - the pace and rhythm of life changes completely. Most offices close at 2.00 p.m. and all shops are closed by 5.00 p.m. (but some open up later in the evening) Shops are usually late to open in the mornings as well, as many which open again in the evening stay open well into the night. Where prior to Ramadan getting hungry in the middle of the day simply meant locating a falafel or shwarma stall, and eating to your heart's content, during the fast all such shops are closed. For non-fasters this means ensuring that you are well fed and watered prior to leaving the house cos there'll be nothing to be had along the way!
For our fasting students, Ramadan also required coping with an empty stomach while sitting end of semester exams - not an entirely fair handicap! (I was told that some students did have a secret nook at the back of the campus where non-fasters could nibble or smoke- but most students seemed intent on keeping the faith). However many people were quick to point out that this year the fast was not so difficult to bear as it coincided with winter and a relatively short day length (people rise before dawn (~5.00 am) to eat breakfast and then break the fast at dusk, which during December was around 4.30-5.00 p.m.). It was usually wise to avoid travelling anywhere at about 4.00 p.m., as the streets would be crowded with people rushing home. After 4.30 most streets were near deserted, with lots of socializing and eating taking place at relatives or friends' homes.
One of the more amusing aspects of Ramadan for us non-fasters was observing the roaring trade of the traditional sweet shops. From around 3.00pm onwards such shops were always crowded with people buying literally kilograms of local delicacies such as kanafe, baklava and many other sugar packed sweets which I've yet to learn the names of (but have established are all delicious!). Our conclusion was that such sweets represented the best instant sugar hit at the end of a long cold and hungry day, washed down with sweet date juice or lemon cordial.
As December 25 was in the middle of Ramadan those who celebrated Christmas here did so in a low-key manner. We had a small Christmas feast and the obligatory presents (especially for Miriam who was very keen on the idea, and excited about Santa Claus), but really it was nothing to write home about! (so I won't..). One of the most enjoyable things we did was attend a small party on Christmas Eve at one of the university bod's apartment - where Miriam and 2 of her kinder friends ran riot until 11.00 while the oldies relaxed into the Christmas spirit (but no alcohol, even Muslims who drink seem to eschew alcohol during Ramadan). It was a very pleasant way of welcoming in Christmas Day, and we were privileged to be able to then go home and watch a live broadcast of the midnight Mass at Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity. Unfortunately most of the service was in either Latin or Arabic, and so despite attempts to create some atmosphere at home by burning some local myrrh, we soon got bored with seemingly every holy notable in town for Christmas stepping up into the pulpit to add a few words. The congregation watching provided the greatest entertainment - Yassar Arafat and his wife attended the service, noticeably sitting rather far apart for a first couple. Apparently Suhar Arafat left Yassar a few months back, but accurate reporting on their current domestic situation is hard to come by! (The goss was that she left him because of his body odour - reportably he rarely washes...).
The secular New Year in Palestine was certainly more of an event - we chose to be in Nazareth (which is actually in Israel) and enjoyed a spectacular fireworks display. The Christmas New Year period was an opportunity for us to travel about and see a few places - we visited Tiberius (on the Sea of Galilee), Nazareth and a place called Nahariya up on the Israel-Lebanon border. We also briefly had a look at the lower reaches of the Golan Heights, and the large settlement town that Israel will have to give up if/when it does a deal with Syria on the region. As the negotiations kicked off, and throughout our time touring around the Galilee, Israeli residents of the Golan Heights were out in force at every highway interchange, handing out stickers opposing the peace process. However it seems that many Israelis have become reconciled to the idea, and once again, it is the hard line settlers who 'will not be moved!
One of the major sticking points of the negotiations is the security guarantees that Israel is demanding from Syria, and its ongoing control of an early warning station situated on the top of Mount Hermon.' Water is also an issue, as technically if Israel hands back the area that it should, Syria will control the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee, which represents an important water resource throughout Palestine and Israel. The need to ensure water supplies is being keenly felt throughout the region this year - despite good rains in the last 2 weeks, the month before Christmas was incredibly dry and unseasonably warm, and coming on the back of the previous year's drought, lack of rainfall is still a headache for farmers and hydrologists.
One of the more romantic carrots associated with the negotiations is the idea that people will be able to drive to Damascus, which lies only 45km from the Israeli border. There also seems to be a strong feeling developing among Israeli people that peace is needed on as many fronts as possible for the region's respective economies to develop, to normalize people's lives and to entice even more tourists to visit. While the Zionist agenda in Israel is still very much alive among its politicians, casual visitors like us get the feeling that everyday Israelis are becoming tired of the price that they end up paying for Israel's ongoing conflict with its neighbours. The cost of living is relatively high, with a standard nothing like Australians enjoy, and the country itself seems riven by internal divisions and social tensions such as a lack of tolerance for the large numbers of Russian immigrants who have settled in Israel in recent years. It feels to me like a country that lacks confidence, despite its strong ideological position since it was formed.
Another strong feeling seems to be that Israelis are sick of their sons and daughters having to spend 3 years in compulsory military service. Certainly the military is very much in evidence wherever you go in Israel, young soldiers everywhere, and military posts on every hill (where there are not settlements....). Following our trip through the Galilee we went south to look at the Negev Desert and Sinai - and almost as amazing as the desert environment is that most of it seems to be a military no-go area, with target practice and tank exercises a common sight. Current Israeli expenditure on defence amounts to one third of its annual budget, and that is not counting the assistance it receives from the US. It seems ridiculous to me that the Palestinians are still so feared, for in firepower they are not even the remotest threat. Increasingly I am beginning to wonder if the Israeli fear of the Arab and Palestinian people is little more than fear of recognizing the unjust treatment of them over the last few decades. Together with a fear of the cultural unknown - certainly the contrast between Palestine and modern Israel is stark. However it is in Palestine that I feel more an atmosphere of self confidence and pride - thousands of years of presence in this land as a culture and ethnic group seems to count far more than ideology and faith seeking a land and a home of its own. The issues here are surely difficult and not clear-cut at all, but more and more I am convinced that it is the Palestinians who are the heart and soul of the Holy Land.
And now a new year and another semester are upon us, and life has returned to its pre end-of-year routine. With the 'Id' well past now the take away food stalls are back to normal, men are smoking in the streets, taxis and restaurants again, and the new clothes for end of Ramadan are beginning to look less starched and bright. We look forward to receiving your respective updates - but if time is passing you by, we'll be home before you know it!