The end of a month, the beginning of a new year

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A couple of weeks has passed since Eid, the holiday ending Ramadan, the month of fasting in Islam. Since then I have been too busy to post anything on my blog, but here are some impressions from this special time for Muslims.

Our first meeting with Ramadan was a friendly advise from the staff in our office not to eat or drink in public before iftar, the break of the fast at sunset. I have been told that in some countries you go to jail if you eat in public during Ramadan. In Beit Sahour, however, Christians comprise around 70 per cent of the population. As the majority, I suppose they can do anything they like. Not eating in public therefore seems to me like a token of respect and solidarity, and a testimony of the good relationship that Muslims and Christians here claim to have with each other.



My second meeting with Ramadan was a cake surprisingly similar to the Norwegian "svele" made on the street in Bethlehem, as you can see in the picture. I was later served such cakes, filled with cheese and nuts, by Christian Palestinian friends, who told me that they are called katayif, and that everyone eats them for Ramadan.

My third meeting was a TV series called Bab el Hara (The Door of our Neighbourhood), that I watched with my landlords Ammad and Munira. A new season is sent every Ramadan, with one episode each evening. The series takes place in Damascus in Syria in the period between the two world wars. One of the themes apparently was the resistance against the French mandate powers. There were shootings as well as what looked like conspiracy among the women, with the midwife seemingly in a leading position. Ammad told me that in Bab el Hara, Damascus has been put under a blockade by the French, which has made the show especially popular in Gaza.

My fourth meeting with Ramadan was at a checkpoint between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Palestinians need a special permit in order to get to Jerusalem. For many the only chance is during the religious holidays, Ramadan for Muslims, and Christmas and Easter for Christians. This afternoon was one of the last days of Ramadan, and also the day before the beginning of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana. The last days of Ramadan are especially important, both the last Friday of Ramadan and Laylat al-Qadr, the night when Muhammad is believed to have received the first verses of the Quran, and so many Muslims want to spend these days in Jerusalem, which is the third holiest city in Islam. Israeli authorities had, however, decided that during Rosh Hashana only men over 50 and women over 45 were allowed in. This went only for the Palestinians. Foreigners could pass through without regard of their age. This confuses me. If there were going to be soldiers on the checkpoint anyway, why couldn`t they let through everyone? This afternoon the checkpoint closed at 5 PM, just as we were walking through from Jerusalem to the West Bank. Lines of upset and dissapointed Palestinians were standing on the other side. One woman was crying. They had waited in vain.

My fourth meeting with Ramadan was my first meeting with Rosh Hashana. I`ve studied Jewish religious holidays. They seem so full of joy and beauty, and I`m sure in Jerusalem Rosh Hashana is. It was sad to see it being used in this way.



You can read about the checkpoints during Rosh Hashana here: IMEU

Dreams and realities in Dheisheh

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In the period of 1947 to 1949, during the armed conflict and the first Arab-Israeli war, around 750,000 Palestinians fled their homes. Today the number of Palestinian refugees is about 4.7 million, according to the UNWRA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East). Resolution 194, passed by UN`s General Assembly on 11th of December 1948, states that "[Palestinian] refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date”. Still Israel has not allowed this return, and one third of the refugees still live in camps in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza and the West Bank. In total there are 189,188 refugees living here at the West Bank. Of these around 13,000 live in Dheisheh refugee camp, which I visited last week.

With 13,000 people on one square kilometer, Dheisheh is, like most refugee camps, a crowded place. Playing grounds consist of a few square meters of asphalt. People build new houses on top of their parents` roofs. Economy has gone worse because of the barrier and the check points, which have made it difficult for many Palestinians to get to their work. Today unemployment has reached 70 percent, we were told.

Many of the walls in Dheisheh were decorated with paintings. In one there were clouds with names of villages that the people here had left. In another one I could see the separation wall and a bird leaving a prison cell. There were sculls and dark colours. There was a mother and a child, sheep and a flute. In the midst of the dreary realities in Dheisheh, I thought I could see dreams of something different, something beautiful.


A playing ground in Dheisheh.













If you want to read more about the Palestinian refugees, you can check out this webpage: Badil

A henna party

In my first blog post, I suggested a description of Palestinian henna parties as a more relaxed version of Norwegian bachelor parties. I have now been to one, and I take that back. There is simply nothing resembling henna parties in Norway.

It was my sweet landlady Munira who took me there. The henna was on last Thursday, two days before the wedding. We went to a big hall belonging to one of the churches in Beit Sahour. Munira told me that all churches here have their own halls used for hennas and funerals. Apart from a few men filming and taking photos, there were only women present. Those closest related to the groom were dancing in a crowd in the front. They had beautiful traditional Palestinian dresses, and some had tied colourful scarves around their wrists. One girl was playing a drum, and others were clapping their hands, singing and shouting.
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After a while it was time to make the henna. My boss, Nidal, had told me that in the old days they made patterns on their hands with it. Henna was thought to give strength to the bride and thus prepare her for the hard work lying ahead of her. Nowadays she only sticks her finger into it. The henna was made by mixing henna powder with tea and dough consisting of water and flour. Parts of it were distributed to people who wanted to use it for their hair. The rest was shaped like a cake and decorated with cloves and a candle.
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When the henna was done, it was taken in a procession through the street to the bride’s home. Still there was the drum, the singing and clapping. Torches were lit and two bottles of arak (licker) and a bible were carried in addition to the henna cake. The mother-in-law to be waved the bible cheerfully to the rhythm.
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We walked into a house and a crowded room where the bride was seated at something resembling a throne. She truly looked like a princess, smiling somewhat shy towards all the guests. The women sang her a special song, she put her finger into the henna and was given gold to hang around her neck.
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The night was still young, but for me it was time to leave. Munira’s relatives told me that there was going to be a party now where the groom would get his share of attention, as someone was going to shave him and sing him a special song, too.

Maybe the henna is nothing like a Norwegian bachelor party, but I would change mine for one any time.
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Holding on to the earth in Artas

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This week Gjermund, Lars and I joined a group visiting a village called Artas. Awad Abu-Swai from The Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign showed us around. Artas is situated just by the security wall, which means that the land is very vulnerable for confiscation. The Israeli government gives different reasons for confiscating the land. Sometimes they say that land that is not cultivated, belongs to the state. Often lack of infrastructure and water makes it difficult for the farmers to work their land.
- Even if it belongs to the state, Awad commented,
- it should be used to benefit the population. But it is not, it is given to Israeli settlers.

In an attempt to avoid confiscation, Awads organization have decided to cultivate new areas in Artas and build small farm houses there, shelters where the farmers can keep their tools. An old dam is going to be fixed and will provide for irrigation. The plan is to make 30 such shelters before December. The inhabitants of Artas cannot know whether their efforts will be in vain. Many trees have been uprooted as part of land confiscations at the West Bank. Still these people are fighting with peaceful means, with water, trees and shelters.

Tea with Aimad and Kristin Halvorsen

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Almost a week has passed since I arrived Beit Sahour, a village just outside Bethlehem. Gjermund and Lars, the two other GoCYs, have moved into one apartment and I into another. I am really happy about the place where I`m living. It lies in a quiet neighbourhood with only pleasant sounds like the calls for prayer and the church bells. Right outside my kitchen window is Aimad`s olive field. I rent the apartment from him and his wife Munira, who live in the same building together with their two grown-up sons.

On Thursday Munira invited me for tea. She had just been to a henna party, a gathering for the women before a wedding (a more relaxed version of the bachelor parties we have in Norway?). We talked about henna, about olives and about Munira and Aimad`s family. Aimad was reading a newspaper from Bethlehem on the Internet. It said that the Norwegian government had withdrawn investments from a company producing equipment for the separation barrier Israel is building on the West Bank. Aimad even read me the name of the Norwegian minister of finances, Kristin Halvorsen. Suddenly a Norwegian politician took part in my tea visit!

The barrier is a big issue for the Palestinians, and with good reason. The Israeli government says that it is built in order to defend Israelis against terrorist attacks. However, it is not being constructed along the border from 1967, when the West Bank was occupied by Israel. In fact more than 80 per cent of it will be on the Palestinian territories. Many Palestinians consequently lose their land, as the barrier, with the belonging roads, fences and trenches, on average is 60 metres broad. Others have great difficulties getting to their fields, which in many cases end up being on the other side of the barrier. This is very serious for Palestinian economy, as agriculture is the primary source of income in the areas concerned. The barrier was declared to be “contrary to international law” by the International Court of Justice in 2004.

There is much to be said about this. Here is a link with more information: B`Tselem
And here is the press release from the Norwegian ministry of finance: Finansdepartementet