"This is a New Gift"

Hi, friends. I have written about three or four blog posts in my head in the last week. I need to remember that people who read blogs are not telepathic – they don’t know about posts I write in my head. Either I have to write more, or folks need to learn telepathy. After giving it much thought, it seems the former is perhaps the more practical option. :o) So, here we go:

Last Saturday -- December 8 -- some teammates and I spent an afternoon in Bethlehem. It was supposed to be some time to relax and get away from the ways in which the military occupation of Hebron manifests itself. In Hebron (or Al-Khalil, in Arabic,) the sights of any given day are checkpoints, metal detectors, turnstiles, and Israeli soldiers (who sometimes patrol through the Old City.) And, of course, there are the settlement enclaves, some of which are planted directly on top of Hebron's Old City.

In Bethlehem, the occupation is different. Instead of soldiers and checkpoints, the occupation of the Palestinian territories manifests itself in the wall surrounding the city on three sides and in the settlements perched on the Bethlehem hillside.

So, between a stick in the eye and a stranglehold, a stranglehold is a nice change of pace.

We arrived in Bethlehem and looked around some souvenir shops. One of the store owners was giving us an update on Bethlehem’s situation. Right now, it is a 10 km journey to ship goods (such as olive wood carvings, found in many tourist stores) from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Here is an oversimplified map of the journey:

(On this map, the line from Bethlehem to Jerusalem is straight. In reality, Palestinians often need to travel on long circuitous routes – there are roads on which Palestinians, if they are able to on them at all, need a special permit on which to travel.)

But, the storeowner told us, this is changing. Israeli authorities are soon going to require goods from Bethlehem to go through the checkpoint at Tarqumiya – southwest of Bethlehem – now making the journey 60 km. Here is the new (again, oversimplified) route that goods will have to take to get to Jerusalem:

Of course, this increases the price of shipping for shops, an added financial burden Palestinians who already bear too much as a result of the occupation. After explaining these new travel restrictions, my teammate commented, "So much for Annapolis [peace summit]." The store owner chuckled and replied, with typical dry Palestinian humor, “This is a new gift.”

This is life here. I wanted to scream (or cry.)

A teammate once told me that Palestinians, after hearing him talk about CPT’s work, would often ask, “Wein salaam?” – “Where is peace?”

That’s what I’m wondering, too.

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(The above maps are edited from those produced by UN OCHA – United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. For a the full map, click here.)

Waiting for rain

Being raised in a part of New York where we get approximately 100 clear, bright, sunny days, I grew up hearing (and saying), "I hope it doesn't rain." Rain meant the cancellation of fun, outdoor events. Rain meant gloomy weather (though, I always found the dark, brooding clouds beautiful in a mysterious, 19th-century novel sort of way.) Rain was undesirable.

Now, living in a dry, dry region, we hope and pray for rain. "Enshallah (‘God willing’), it will rain tomorrow,” we say. Here, rain means new life. Rain means full cisterns. Rain now means the provision of a resource necessary for life. We need the rain now, during the wet season, to sustain us through the months of dry weather that follows.

"I hope it rains." I mean the sentence with all my heart, but it still rings funny in my ears.

I have another reason for wanting rain. Deep in my fanciful, childish heart, I wonder if the rain has cleansing capacities for this land. Water cleanses people; can it cleanse lands, too? Maybe if it rained enough, it could wash away the grief, displacement, and oppression permeating this land. Could torrents of rain sweep away racism? Could a downpour erase enmity? Could a deluge cleanse the land, making it new, readying it for peace?

Will you join me in praying for rain?

On respectablility and white-washed tombs

One more post on our settler neighbors. There are pictures on their website from their "Hebron Fund" fund raising dinner in NYC recently. I perused the photographs last night. What struck me was how lovely and respectable everything appeared. Everyone looks lovely in their fine attire. The hall in which the dinner looked big and elegantly decorated. There are photos of people giving speeches and the presentation of an ornate glass plaque (speeches and plaques -- the event must be respectable, right?). There are even pictures of people dancing, which looked like a whole lot of fun. I'm sure the folks in attendance had no question that they were contributing to a good and noble cause, because the dinner had all the trappings of respectable, noble events.

Yet this lovely event stands in stark contrast to the reality of the settlements here in Hebron. The economy in the Old City of Hebron (okay, throughout the whole of the occupied Palestinian territories)is very poor. People are afraid to come to the Old City, because of the presence of soldiers that came to "protect" the settlers living literally on top of the Old City. So instead of fine banquets, here most Palestinians get food from the local soup kitchen. Instead of dancing, Palestinians mourn when the Israeli military beat and arrest Palestinian youth for "security." Instead of the privilege of being able to get on a plane and fly from Tel Aviv to NYC, most Palestinians are rarely even allowed permission to travel to Jerusalem, only approximately 20 miles away.

Would people still give money to this cause if they knew the ramifications of these settlements? If they knew what harm comes from them? I honestly don't believe so. But from a distance, it probably all looks so respectable.

I think Jesus had something to say about this. It was something about whitewashed tombs, and how the outside looks beautiful, but inside there is nothing but death(Matthew 23:27).

And, lest I become too proud, I know I am not immune to this failing. Jesus' words are for me, too. As I was looking at these pictures, I wondered how often I was complicit with the workings of the "powers that be," because the powers decked themselves in respectable attire. When have I been blinded to injustice, because of the power I have inherent in my race, class, and (worldly) citizenship? When have I foolishly been taken by the beauty of a whitewashed tomb, ignoring the death within?

More from our settler neighbors

A few posts ago, I quoted one of the articles distributed on the Hebron Israeli settler's mailing list. One of the newest articles is also blog-worthy, I think. The author of the piece wrote about Annapolis. To put this quote in context, he is talking about what would make the Annapolis agreement fall apart (which would be a good thing, in his opinion.) He decides Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, is the necessary piece to this puzzle. He writes:

"But if [Abbas] should disappear from the scene, the deal's off. So, maybe we should pray that Hamas get to him ASAP. They know how to do the job and he's more than likely in their sights. Why should the Jews of Hebron have to be the first sacrifice of Annapolitics?"

Again, I'm speechless.

Blogging: A Team Effort!

One of my teammates, who works at CPT's project in At-Tuwani (a small agricultural village located in the South Hebron Hills), also has a blog. She's pretty fantastic, and a good writer. Read all about the situation in Tuwani in I Saw it in Palestine.

One of my favorite posts is "A day in the life of a CPTer living in At-Tuwani." I like her pictures, and the little cartoon bubbles adding the CPTers' conversations. I laughed when I saw them, because they are funny, in a dry, tongue-in-cheek sort of way.

Enjoy!

"We talk about compromise and they speak of justice"

The subject of this blog entry comes from an article in Haaretz, about the Negotiations Support Unit (NSU), a Palestinian organization that has been working on negotiations for the past 10 years. It was a senior Israeli official that stated, "We talk about compromise and they speak of justice." The article goes on to state that the organization is very focused on Palestinian rights. This is a concern to Israeli authorities, that it might "increasingly [become] an obstacle with regard to progress after the Annapolis conference."

Asking for justice and recognized rights hinder peace talks?

In addition, the article states that the NSU does not deal in reality, because it ignores the Hamas takeover in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority's (PA) lack of power in the occupied Palestinian territories. The latter statement is of particular interest to me. It doesn't make much sense until one has lived in the occupied Palestinian territories for a while. Technically, there are sections of the occupied Palestinian territories that are under "full Palestinian control." But Palestinian government and authority are only as powerful as Israel allows. These territories are non-continuous clumps of land in the occupied territories. (This map gives an idea of what I'm talking about. "Area A" is under full Palestinian control. "Area B" is under joint Israeli/Palestinian control, and "Area C" is under full Israeli control. Settlements are sometimes also called "colonies" -- areas in which Israelis live in the occupied Palestinian territories.)

Needless to say, I would imagine such a political landscape would make governing difficult.

In other news, soldiers denied Ahmad Qurai',a head of the Palestinian negotiating team for the Annapolis conference, entry into Jerusalem on Sunday. He was on his way to a scheduled meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams. The soldiers that turned him away did not give him a reason for his denied entry. Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni is said to have called Qurai' and apologized.

What strikes me about this incident is the power imbalance it reveals. Something must be wrong when one of the negotiators cannot get to the table because of the systems and structures set in place by those with whom they are trying to negotiate. How can negotiations occur with such an uneven playing field?

We're all in this together: CPT Colombia calls for Urgent Action to ask Colombian government to investigate threats against CPT partners

Most of the time, when I blog, it is about Palestine. However, recently a good friend and an amazing woman with whom I did CPT training sent out the following e-mail. She works with in Colombia with CPT's project there. Peacemaking is connected across the globe, so I thought it appropriate to post her e-mail and urgent action (with her permission, of course.) Her e-mail is below.

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Dear Friends,
Sunday was a really rough day. I was thinking of how to share it with you all, when a coworker posted these photos. Please check them
out. While I have heard many difficult stories here, and seen the results of violence and fear, Sunday was the first time I felt so
intimately connected with the reality of violence here in Colombia. I spent the whole day with this woman, and her coworkers.
http://www.cpt.org/gallery/album225
We (CPT Colombia) have an urgent action release ready, asking you to call and contact local officials to make sure that this woman who was threated Sunday will be taken care of, and the incident truly investigated. Colombia is different than the US, in that often when i
call elected officials in the US i feel like nothing will be done. In the case of Yolanda, the paramilitaries who are strongly believed to
be the men that broke into Yolanda's house, pushing her, holding a gun to her head and telling her "the story is over," are directly tied to
the government. Showing the government and elected officials that she would be missed and there would be international recognition is
essential to her safety. The organization she works for has done incredible work for 35 years, Organizacion Feminina Popular (The
Popular Women's Organization- check it out www.ofp.org.co). Please call, send an email or fax. All the information is included below in
the release CPT has sent. Feel free to email with any questions.

Thanks for your support! Sitting in the meeting of human rights workers in the city Sunday night after the threat and break-in I was
amazed how many times it was repeated that international presence and solidarity has been essential to protecting them and there work in a region where human rights workers are targets of violence.

THANK YOU!
Peace,
Rachel

CPTnet
7 November 2007
COLOMBIA URGENT ACTION: Ask Colombian government to investigate threats
against CPT partners in Barrancabermeja

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) asks for your help in demanding a full investigation into the threats made against Yolanda Becerra Vega and Jackeline Rojas, members of the leadership team of the Popular Women's Organization (OFP Organización Femenina Popular). The Popular Women's Organization is one of CPT's most important partners in Barrancabermeja.

On 4 November 2007, at approximately 7:30 a.m., two armed, masked men entered Yolanda Becerra Vega's apartment in the city of Barrancabermeja. Several minutes earlier, two women from the OFP had left Yolanda's home, so when the armed men knocked on the door she thought that the women had returned and opened the door. The men pushed open the door, pinning Yolanda against a wall. One of the men pointed his gun at her, called her an obscene name, and told her "Time is up. You have 48 hours to leave or else we will
finish off your family and you will not escape us."

During the next fifteen minutes, the two men ransacked Becerra's residence, destroying many items. As they left, they were going to take her computer but in the end left it in the entrance of the house. The guards at the front gate of the residential complex declared that they had not seen the two armed men enter the area. [see pictures: < http://www.cpt.org/gallery/album225>]

That same morning, Jackeline Rojas Castañeda found that someone had jammed a foreign object in the lock of her third-floor apartment, preventing those inside from opening the door, and that the security gate on the second floor had been opened by unauthorized persons.

Before these incidents, OFP had sent a document to the national government--with a copy to the different government authorities and to the international community--detailing incidents that put Yolanda Becerra others of the OFP at risk. The OFP demanded immediate action from the Colombian government. These new events illustrate the gravity of the danger that Yolanda Becerra, her family, and the entire team of the OFP are facing.

Please write (Sample letter bellow) or call the different offices listed below, demanding:

1. Protection for Yolanda Becerra Vega, the members of her family and all the members of the Organización Femenina Popular including Jackeline Rojas.

2. An investigation into the above mentioned events leading to the prosecution of those involved. (One of these events includes the kidnapping of Katherine Gonzalez Torres, sister of an OFP member. See 15 March 2007 CPTnet release, "COLOMBIA URGENT ACTION: Call for full investigation into kidnapping of Katherine Gonzalez Torres.")

Addresses: Álvaro Uribe Velez, President of the Republic, Cra. 8 # 7-26,
Palacio de Narino, Santa Fe de Bogotá, Fax: 011-57-1-566-2071, E-mail:
auribe@presidencia.gov.co

* Sr. Francisco Santos, Vice President of the Republic, Tels:
011-57-1-334-4507, 011-57-1- 772-0130, E-mail: fsantos@presidencia.gov.co;
buzon1@presidencia.gov.co

* Human Rights Program of the Vice Presidency:
ppdh@presidencia.gov.co

* Dr. Volmar Antonio Perez Ortiz, Office of the National Human
Rights Ombudsman, Calle 55 # 10-32, Bogotá, Fax: 011-57.1.640.04.91,
E-mail: secretaria_privada@hotmail.com; agenda@agenda.gov.co

* Doctor Mario Hernán Iguaran Arana, Attorney General,
Diagonal
22-B # 52-01, Bogotá, Fax: 011-57-1-570-2000; 011-57-1-414-9000,
Extensión:1113, E-mail: contacto@fiscalia.gov.co;enuncie@fiscalia.gov.co

* Dr. Edgardo Jose Maya Villazon, Prosecutor General, Cra. 5#,
15-80, Bogotá, Tel: 011-57-1-284-7949, Fax:011-57-1-342-9723, E-mail:
cap@procuraduria.gov.co; quejas@procuraduria.gov.co;
webmaster@procuraduria.gov.co ;reygon@procuraduria.gov.co;
anticorrupcion@presidencia.gov.co

* Dr. Juan Manuel Santos Calderon, Minister of Defense, Avenida
El Dorado con Cra. 52 CAN, Bogotá, Fax: 011-57-1-222-1874, E-mail :
siden@mindefensa.gov.co; infprotocol@mindefensa.gov.co ; mdn@cable.net.co

* Dr. Carlos Franco, Director of the Presidential Programe for
Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, Calle 7 N° 5-54 Bogotá,
D.C., Fax: 011-57-1-337-4667, E-mail: cefranco@presidencia.gov.co

* Dr. Carlos Holguin Sardi, Minister of Internal affairs and
Justice, Avenida El dorado con carrera 52 CAN Bogotá D.C., Fax:
011-57-1-222-1874, E-mail ministro@minjusticia.gov.co

Please send copies of your messages to: Popular Women's Organization
(Organización Femenina Popular) E-Mail: femenina@colnodo.apc.org
telephones:
011-577-622-6625

Sample letter in Spanish: Respetado Dr. ______________: Reciba un saludo cordial de ____(your name)____ de ___(your state or province and country)___ Escribo a usted con una gran preocupación por la situación de YOLANDA BECERRA VEGA, quien recibió amenazas en Barrancabermeja el 4 de noviembre de 2007. A través de mi apoyo a los Equipos Cristianos de Acción por la Paz, conozco algo del trabajo de la Organización Femenina Popular, y me preocupa la situación de seguridad de las mujeres de la OFP y de sus familias.

Muchas gracias por la atención prestada,

___(your name)____

Send the letter in Spanish. But the letter's translation is as follows:

Respected D:
Cordial greetings from your name and state. I write to you with great concern for Yoland Becerra Vega´s situation, who recieved threats in Barrancabermeja the 4th of November at 2007. Through my support for Christian Peacemaker Teams I have become familiar with the work of the Popular Women´s Organization and I worry about the security of the
women who work at the Popular Women´s organizations and their families.

Thank you for your attention,

___(your name)____


ADDENDUM: (Correction to urgent action)

Some of the e-mails provided by a Barrancabermeja human rights organization for the Urgent Action that posted on 7 November 2007 (Ask "Colombian government to investigate threats against CPT partners in Barrancabermeja) were outdated. The following contact information does work, and if you have been unsuccessful getting your letter to other addresses, CPT urges you to send it immediately to

Doctor Mario Hernán Iguarán Arana, (Attorney General)
Fiscal General de la Nación, Diagonal 22-B # 52-01, Bogotá. Fax: +
57.1.570.20.00 ; +57.1.414.90.00 Extensión 1113, E-mail:
denuncias@fiscalia.gov.co denuncie@fiscalia.gov.co>