Encouragement from the home team

For those who dont read others comments on my blog, I wanted to emphatically post this one from my friend Isabel – not only do I really appreciate it on a personal level, but I also think she has some important information to contribute to this dialogue, and insight that all can benefit from.

Even though the ceasefire has been called, this issue of a terrible humanitarian crisis is not over. The damage to the infrastructure, economy, social services and residents in Gaza is almost irreperable, and requires an even bigger push from the international community to hold Israel accountable for taking a leading position in financing this initiative. If they really intended to cause the innocant citizens of Gaza minimal harm in this supression of Hamas as they so strongly stated, let  them prove it now in the rebuilding process.

Thank you Isabel.

Dear Lindsey,

Thank you for posting about this. I have also faced some attacks in recent days, simply for trying to get the word out about the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and how we can help as Canadians.

I have tried to get others to open their eyes to a perspective that is not offered (or often even misreported) in the media here. I’ve told them about my experience when I visited the West Bank and tried to get them to understand – even if just for a moment – what it is like for a people that have been living under occupation for so many years… and the hopelessness they feel when UN resolutions and international law are continually ignored.

Now my hope is just as you have described: that “the people I care about are smart enough to search for the truth”.
BBC did an interview with an ex-Israeli air force captain about a week ago; even as an Israeli he spoke against his government’s actions and simply wanted to deliver a message for peace. Sadly this video was pulled from the BBC and was never shown on American or Canadian news networks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI8AyL9Xtpc
Something he said really resonated: “You cannot kill the desire of people to be free.”

There is also an organization you may have heard of – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. The organization brings together Canadians to build understanding among the Canadian public about the Middle East (including the recent attacks on Gaza), through community outreach, media work, humanitarian efforts, educational events, advocacy… Website: http://www.cjpme.org. This is another tangible way for Canadians to be involved.

For what it’s worth, thank you for the information that you have shared via email. And despite these narrow-minded attacks, thank you for not faltering.

All the best,
Isabel

Even people who are known to me looked strange.

Another e-mail from my supervisors collegue in Gaza; each one sheds more light on the situation there. I am wondering how dropping dangerous chemicals and demolishing villages is fulfilling the Israeli stated mission of simply ‘ending the firing of Hamas rockets’. For the fouth most powerful army in the world, and for a military power that has access to the most state of the art weaponry, there is no reason for this to continue as it has unless the goal is to take over the territory and stake their claim.

The ratios of those on either side of the conflict speak for themselves – the only people who need to suffer are those the Israeli government is authorizing. I am not saying who is right on either side of the conflict from its beginnings… there is a world of blame on either side. In this situation, with how the Palestinians are being treated…. there is no way any one will convince me it is not planned and intentional to fulfill an unstated purpose that only the international community are able to stop.If you read the accounts from within the borders of Israel you will see that there are many there to who feel helpless to stop this advance and the philophies of discrimination behind them: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/01/15/israel-arab-parties-banned-from-participating-in-elections/.

 

Dear all,

 

  I hope this e-mail finds you well…

 

  This e-mail is the third one since the beginning of the war in Gaza. Initially I sent the first one to tell some of my friends and colleagues that I am safe and sound. Later more people were added to the e-mail list……………..

 

  I am still safe and sound, and living in Banisuhaila, one of the eastern villages of Khanyounis city, in the southern area of Gaza Strip. In my last e-mail I wrote that we had electricity for a couple of evenings. It was the first time to have electricity since 17.00 o’clock evening till the done of the next day. Well,,, Now I set in one Internet coffee that operates with its own generator, as the whole Khanyounis have only received electricity for a couple of hours during the last two days… 

 

  Two days ago, the Israeli army invaded Khuza’a, the village in the very eastern  side of Khanyounis. The invasion started in a very dramatic way. Suddenly bombs from F16, Helicopters, and tanks were hitting every where in that village. Khuza’a has a population of eleven thousand people, most of them are farmers. With the fields turning into one big hell, people who had not left the village yet, started seeking heaven in the near village of Abassan, or in my village. Thousands of people appeared in the streets and tried to escape death. Many of those people refused during the last week to leave their homes. They knew that there will be an attack, as the attacks which happen almost each single night on the eastern side of the whole Gaza Strip, but either they have no place to go, or thought that its possible to stay home.   Monday evening bombs where causing fires to many of the houses of that area. Interestingly these bombs where not causing much of the damage for the houses, but they were spreading white smoke that burns anything it faces. Many of the small one-floor buildings were in fire, many of the people had various skin burns. It was not only interesting for the farmers to know what type of bombs those are, it was interesting for physicians to know too. I believe it should be  interesting for the international community to know about this white material…

 

 Nasser Hospital in Khanyounis reported that over 50 people were injured, and one woman was killed. 

 For us, in our village, listening to the explosions, and looking at the fires and smoke was very terrifying. As the electricity transformers which supply khanyounis were destroyed during the first minutes of that attack, we could only use our mobile phones (if equipped) to listen to the radio. We were waiting for the sunrise to know what exactly happened. How is Khuza’a. What about her kind people and her green lands!

 

  Unfortunately when the morning came, another story was developing..  During the heavy bombardment of Khuza’a, the tanks managed to circle the village, and to separate it from Khanyounis. The roads between Khuza’a and Abassan was closed with tanks. Then, the Israeli bulldozers started to demolish many houses in that village. People who managed to stay at home during the evening were facing the tanks in there houses. For the whole day… the tanks were destroying houses… initially ambulances where not allowed to enter the village. After many requests some ambulances where allowed to go. We spent the whole day waiting for that invasion to stop. We were only counting the dead and the injured people. We did not know if they will move more to the west or not… Are they going to do the same thing with Abassan, then Banisuhaila or not!!! We were just waiting… We could do nothing else… SHAME ON THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY…

 

  With the sunset, things became calm… roomers which later became facts said that the tanks have returned back… that the invasion to the village is over…  It left many of the building destroyed, all farm lands burned, and above all…. 11 dead people, and tens of injured. The very first man that died during that bloody day was 75 years old… What was his mistake!!! or what was his crime!.

 

  Today… coming to this Internet shop, I see strange faces in the streets. Even people who are known to me looked strange. People walk not knowing where to go, or what to do… Others are simply setting in the streets and asking each other… any news! any development… and most importantly a lot of people carrying covers or mattresses walking from one place to the other… trying to find some place till they can return home…  An old man said…” this reminds me of 1948… but at I never saw such war, or such damage… or what are we meant to do?”

 

   I believe that the events that happened in the small village of Khuza’a have been repeated many times during those 19 days… Gaza city which has a population of more than four hundred thousand people is currently surrounded by tanks. From the north east, north west, south east, and south west. The tanks never stopped shelling the buildings. F16 fighters and helicopters never disappeared from the sky… and of course,  no electricity for 18 days. Stores and shops are empty. Bakeries are not working… and most importantly,, no safe place…

 

  

  Now I need to go to my wife and children… and I should tell you that the generator stopped here 10 minutes ago…. apparently electricity returned to some parts of Khanyounis.

 

   Best…

 

  Yasser

I struggle by simply telling the truth.

The testimonies from Palestinian bloggers that are collected daily (or every few days now, as people have been unable to get to communication lines) give an insight that any second-hand reporting mechanism simply cannot. I find them so sad, but ultimately give you a reason to live the best life you can when you read how desperate the situation is there.

The link to todays posts is here: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2009/01/14/palestine-i-dont-have-guns-or-weapons-i-struggle-by-telling-the-truth/

 - I get the daily emails from Global voices, the weekly emails from the Economist, I check the Black Iris and 7iber from Jordan, and the Globe and Mail is still my homepage… it helps having so many different sources of information.

How Much Would you Pay Today for Tomorrow’s Newspaper? – Deema Shahin

“Probably not 1 piaster!

Would I be anxious for the stopping of my heart to see a dozen babies killed with a lethal weapon designed to annihilate human race- or to be specific Palestinian race if politically correct?

What can I do? kick the Israeli ambassador out of the country? Out of Jordan? Close the embassy down?

What about the ass covering peace treaty?

Does it really cover only our ass? Maybe one cheek, maybe less? What do we take in return? Israeli tourists who contribute nothing to the tourism income as they bring their food ,their water, as a result of the paranoia they are living in, and in result are really hated by everyone in this sector? This is extremely ideological free, just business.

On the other hand, to visit Palestine and if you don’t have a Palestinian ID or permit or lamm shamil then you’d probably have to get a visa, an Israeli one, which will probably be hell to get if you get it in the first place. Not that it’s easier with Palestinian papers on borders. All is just as humiliating as hell. So the catch isn’t very big obviously other than avoiding a couple of rockets and bullets and invasion eventually.

Oh, I forgot, we don’t have a trained army to protect the country in case anything happened. All soldiers are of approximately middle age with probably honorary positions with big bellies somewhere in the medical city or some other prestigious place.

Was that part of the treaty? What does it take to stand up and say get the hell out of here?

If this is the culture we are trying to promote, culture of cowardice, meekness then maybe we should consider promoting that in schools as well as universities and work places. In order to expect less of the people, no rebels, just people who function as machines, flawless and emotions free and right on track, on procedures and stupid human made laws.

We are so damn contradicting, we’re poor, but we look pretty polished on magazine covers and on international TV channels, we’re very sophisticated as we graduate from American and English schools and Universities, but we’re still poor, we need more loans that we cannot commit to close, but instead we give up some values from here and there, to satisfy money lenders, at the end we’re still poor but we have a zillion investment projects and enormously big towers and maybe sky scrapers compared to Al Burj building in the third circle, that I have no idea who is going to go there, live there, rent there?

No clue.

What I’ve found out is that we are not poor financially, we are greedy and we are racing with the wrong people, comparing ourselves with the wrong people to an extent that we lost ourselves, we lost our identity. We are poor in identity, in values, what we do is exactly the opposite of what we say and what we call for and encourage people to do and to have; such as free will and free mind, we are not able to measure up to the first article of human right declaration, we don’t want to care that people have the right to life, a good one.

If we don’t want to care about that why should we punish sinners, stealers, killers?

Isn’t that all contradicting.

Lets cut the bullshit, try to lessen hypocracy, reality check, lets try to search for us. The real us. We are strong, rich in minds, but faithless in ourselves, and that shall get us nowhere.”

  – Deema Shahin

ZENID co-worker, Youth Media Unit

 

Freedom to express dismay, fear, sadness and hope…

Some of you know that I have been trying to forward out the information I am getting on a daily basis through my work environment, and this morning started off as no exception… however, when I opened my email I had received a surprising attack.

I understand that people have conflicted views time when there are not black and white solutions as to who is to blame, but what really cut me was the need for this individual to personally attack me on subjects completely unrelated to this conflict in an effort to help me ‘keep my shallow, one-sided opinions to myself’. I have spent so much time here advocating our freedom of expression in Canada, I had almost bought it myself – suddenly, the narrow mindedness of some I have left behind long before I got on the plane to come here came rushing back like an angry wave washing over me.

I would like to say that I was immediately objective, and that I tried to understand that there are two sides to every issue, but I wasn’t.  My first instinct was to retaliate somehow, to hurt him as he had hurt me… and this is from two people who are the furthest thing from involved in this conflict. Hatred is the tool that cuts the deepest, no matter who it is wielded against, and it is never justified. War creates an us and them mentality that is just as powerful as the media we all agree can be a filter; when people look at how you are expressing your opinions and immediately judge whether or not you are ‘with them, or against them’, it catalyzes the gaps and fissures that divide us all.

One of my favorite blogs here,the Black Iris, recently posted this, and I echo his sentiments; not only because I want to articulate the feeling he is expressing, but because I am so saddened by this recent retaliation from my own ‘home turf’, a place I have been so proud to call home, especially over that past few weeks:

“It’s almost impossible to talk about anything except Gaza these days. That’s not an understatement. It simply feels like the reality of the situation is so imposing on our lives that I can hardly open a newspaper or surf the local and regional blogosphere without reading about Gaza. It’s on the tip of every tongue I encounter. It is on the screen of every place you venture in to; even the waiting room of a Doctor’s office. The crisis has taken over our lives for the past two weeks. It has had the overwhelming ability to change moods and mindsets, leaving only one tone, one color to reign over our lives. It is incredibly difficult to talk about absolutely anything other than Gaza and not sound at best out-of-touch, or at worst, apathetic.

I cannot write a post about anything on this blog except Gaza. Eventually, I know that will change as time goes by. But right now, that’s the reality. And it’s not out of fear of sounding out-of-touch, but really the change in mood. I honestly don’t feel like writing anything about anything except this topic. I’m not even sure a non-Gaza related momentous event happening right in my own backyard, Amman, would capture my attention or interest at this point.

I am glued to Al-Jazeera and the Web, floating back and forth. The first thing on my mind in the morning is the urge to be updated, and I reluctantly go to bed to the sound of news reports and horrible visuals.

And the reason I am writing this very post is simply because I have nothing else to talk about. I sat here, searching for topics and there is certainly a flurry of local news to pick from, but my mind simply will not let me. I don’t remember ever being dominated by such an event in my lifetime thus far.“

 

I want to say that this is how I feel – yes, the emails and accounts I am receiving are tilted towards the Palestinian side, but it is because there IS a humanitarian crisis there. No matter how you feel about the political philosophies behind this war (believe me, everyone here echoes the fact that it is all shades of grey when you are speaking with them one on one), it is the people I am sad and ache for. They are trapped in a country they have fought so hard for as they called it home for so many years, but now cannot escape.

I can’t deny, though, that I will be keeping my opinion to this forum from this moment on. My emailing information dissemination campaign has come to an end – not just because of this, but also because I have realized the  futility of my actions.

I have been underestimating you all –  junking up the mailboxes of people who can access the information they want, when they want to – including this page. It is not up to me to tell any one what to read or believe, the people I care about are smart enough to search for the truth.

I will be volunteering my time to sort the aid packages necessary for Gaza because its the only thing tangible I can do – the ones they are letting through for now. Don’t believe what you hear on TV either – Jordanians did not fire on Israel – most here believe it is an excuse for Israel to stop the very restricted aid coming from Jordan to Gaza altogether.

I don’t know what else to tell you. I know, I promised a post describing our experiences in Aqaba, I have been enjoying work… we even had a brief housing crisis that had me contemplating utilizing the good fortune of gay married people from BC (scanning their marriage certificates proudly in high resolution) in an effort to substantiate our claim of marriage to those here who need proof of commitment to rent you an apartment….

Of course there are times of joy and happiness still – life goes on here as anywhere. The people I am surrounded by participate with me in all the layers of hope, happiness, apathy and heart ache – and yes, sometimes it is easy to forget what is going on right beside us, especially in my bubble of english information cuttting through the Arabic haze. But then I come to work and get these emails:

 

“Dear all,

Thank you for your concerns about the situation here in Gaza, and about my own safety. Currently the situation is still as bad (and even worse) than what appears in the media. The whole population is in shock, and still there is no safe place. The electricity is off for more than 20 hours per day. In Gaza city itself, no electricity since two weeks. With the continuous destruction of civilian houses and building by the F16 and Helicopters no one is sure that he will live another day. The news of collecting people in houses, and then demolishing them, and the news of air strikes on the schools that became shelters for the families are intensifying the horror among the population. We do not know what will happen next… and it seems that things will get worse..

As any other Palestinian, I was waiting for the decision of the UN. Today the decision saw the light, but the war continuous. Both sides considered that the UN call is not enough. Israel says that it wants guarantees that there will be no missiles from Gaza, and Hamas wants guarantees that the siege will end, and that there will be no attacks on Gaza. During the last two weeks over 700 civilian Palestinians were killed, at least 400 of them are women and children. Over 2300 were injured. I do not know how many people should die, till seize fire is achieved.

Many of us think that we are going to die one way or the other. For the last two months cooking gas was not allowed to come to Gaza. Electricity plant fuel was not allowed to enter two. Flour is very limited and its absent in the market since December. People are living as in the 30s and 40s of the last century. Many of us, also think that the only safe place, is the place were we will all go to … the cemetery.

With time we continue to find out the brutality of the Israeli army, and soon the whole world will discover things that no one imagined to happen, also as any other Palestinian.. I hope that the world is going one day to open its eyes.

Perhaps, I should apologize for this traumatizing e-mail,,, but I kept waiting for days before coming to this Internet coffee which has a generator. I was waiting that things would improve.. I was waiting that I could tell you that everything is over, and that we are safe and sound… Unfortunately time passes, and I can not write anything of that…”

- Yasser [Jamei, a dear collegue of my supervisor]

Or, worse:

“Dear Colleagues,

I am deeply saddened to inform you of the passing of our dear staff member Mohammed Samouni.  We mourn the loss of Mohammed who was a worker for CARE’s food distribution project in Gaza, and was killed two nights ago in an aerial bombing.  The attack on the Samouni family left many family members killed or injured including his son who was also critically injured.

Gazais one of the most densely populated areas in the world.  Borders are closed and there is nowhere safe for civilians to flee.  Mohammed was dedicated to providing aid to Palestinians.  His commitment to CARE’s vision for a better world will be greatly missed.

Samouni worked at one of the packing stations managed by CARE’s partner, General Union of Palestinian Peasants, on CARE’s Gaza Fresh Food Project, funded by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).  The project delivers fresh fruit and vegetables to 60,000 people, hospitals and orphanages a week.  Since the attacks started December 27, CARE has only been able to deliver food twice.  The people who normally receive distributions from CARE have no other source of fresh food.

Our sincere condolences go out to Mohammed’s family.  His passing and the other lives that were lost in this tragic event is a great loss to us all.   We hope that his son makes a full recovery.  We will honor his memory by lighting a candle in the lobby of our Atlanta office.

Please keep our colleagues in West Bank Gaza in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time.” 

- Steve [Hollingworth, Cheif Operating Officer, CARE]

 

 

It is very hard to not want to get the messages out, but as I said… I will be limiting it to the space where people can read it if they are willing, rather than trying to share my experiences with those who aren’t prepared to accept the legitimacy of my experiences here. Yes, I am in an Arabic country, but I am a liberal person. I will go to the fundraisers, and talk to my coworkers who are trying to get their families out of Gaza, and I will do my best to try and reflect my impressions to the many who support my quest for understanding based on information and not on judgement.

Thank you all so much for keeping me in your thoughts.

For a message of hope that many of my co-workers took great happiness in (and were surprised an American would express such an opinion): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfhoU66s4Y

Compliments from the Royal Family

Just thought you all would be interested to know that recently I ran into the directors of JOHUD and ZENID in the hallway at the end of the work day; I knew there was a visit from Princess Basma scheduled, but I was not invited to the party so to speak. They were speaking with a lady who looked familiar but I was unsure of who she was. Of course, I greeted both directors warmly with the customary kisses on the air, touching cheeks cheeks (the more there are and the longer the pause = the closer you are to that person.. I’m up around 4 each with a slightly longer one at the end, 1 on one side then three on the other, don’t ask me why). We exchanged the customary enquiries about each others health etcetera, and they both thanked me for their Christmas cards (bonus points!) as they were moving towards the door, at which point they insisted I make the acquaintance of the lady whom I had not met before. She was introduced to me as ‘Farah’, and she shook my hand and exclaimed ‘ah, Lindsey! It’s very nice to meet you…everyone speaks very highly of you!’

Only once I got on the bus did my friend jokingly say to me ’so, I should be keeping closer to you hey? a private audience with royalty; pretty good for 6 weeks in!’ I played it out as long as I could as I knew she definitely was not Princess Basma… I finally had to ask and it was her daughter, Farah Daghestani, the former director of the center I work at now and a strong women’s rights advocate. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to be surrounded by such inspiring women?

I just got back from another huge meal of Mansaf… we were at the house of the director of Finance for JOHUD, a beautiful grand place – well, lets just say her neighbour is the king, and I’m sure you can imagine how elegant it was without being too large or overstated. I think almost every tree in Amman is in his backyard, but that is besides the point. It was a group of about 30 women working in the organization, from the young educated environmental champions I had the pleasure of working with at JOHUD the week I prepared for the conference on water, to the ‘old warriors’, who have been focusing their efforts on the rights of the marginalized far longer than I have been on this earth. It was nice to be in a gathering that was completely warm and inviting; a place where many ladies were able to ‘let their hair down’, literally out of the hejab, as there were no men to unintentionally attract by this glimpse of beauty.

Why is it that only here have I felt the solidarity and pride of being a confident educated woman, in amongst this group of similar minded strong females? I never really thought I would end up working in the womens empowerment unit, or that it would facilitate such a burst of self discovery in me. I never really liked womens studies in University; I always thought it was full of a bunch of man-hating theorists who use the gender lens as a reason to divide and blame rather than unite.

Maybe I am feeling the warmth and purpose of keeping the company of these women close to my heart now because this is a space where the women’s rights movement my generation has almost forgotten is still so very current, and gives a context to and a reason to celebrate the achievements of all in the room. I think this is the thing I least expected, and ultimately the thing I will take away from this – it is important to identify with those who inspire you, and the Jordanian women I have met all give me too many reasons to keep learning, keep improving myself, and keep striving to become the kind of woman I want to be.

Most of these women I had the pleasure of speaking with moves in conversation so easily between Arabic and English, speaking of family members they have in Canada (apparently half of Jordan lives there), the War in Gaza, the traditions I need to be a part of, current affairs and how they are playing their part in the Jordanian context, and invitations to their home if I ever have the opportunity to come.

I only wish I didn’t have to just smile politely at the women I am barely able to say more than hello to in Arabic; who knows what insights they hold that I will never learn as I constantly face the barrier of language? It is the thing that is most challenging to me every day, and the one reason there is a pedelum swinging throughout the meal between feeling completely at ease and feeling like I don’t belong.

For those of you wondering about Dans travels…

Here is an excerpt from an email from Dan I got just today; it made me laugh, and for those who have first-hand experience with the Munday luck, you will know what he is referring to:

“WELL your bad luck has rubbed of on me
were should i start
1 the first place i looked at staying in dahab was full

2 the 2place i looked at had room but was 3 times more expensive but it was late and i was tired soo i took it

3 the 2 place turned out to be really noisey soo i couldnt sleep past 6am soo i had to move

4 then  i found a nice quiet place (soo i thought) for 40egp (4jds) then a 6 am again a delivery van full of gas bottles parked under my window for an hour

5 then i finallly got back to sleep and half hour later the manager came bashing at my door saying a water pipe had burst and i had to get out of the room asap

6 then i found another room it was more expensive then the first place

7 then i booked a place here in cairo so when i arrived at 6 in the morning i would have place to rest straight away but i got there without sleeping much on the bus trip overnight to findout the hotel i booked lost my reservation and were full for two more days..

8 soo then i had to walk around cairo at 6 in the morning looking for a hotel wich most were full

9 soo i then finally found one i was soo tired by then i didnt care anymore [or so i thought] i went to sleep only the be woken up and hour later by bed bugs

10 then i went the the recpetion to ask for another room they were full
 

11 no refund

12 i walked some more until i found a place with a dorm opening up at 12pm soo i still hadnt slept showerd or eaten

13 lucky 13 i went the the egyptan musuem and it was fucking amazing expensive but worth it

14 now i have a dorm room but it is nice and it cheap
 
hows that for a fun first 5 days in egypt?”

GAZA

 

Dear Friends and Family, 

Below is an email that went out from an NGO here, the Jordan River Foundation, as well as a few other e-mails and posts with fairly tangible ways for you to feel like you are having an impact or giving those who are currently under seige a voice. I am not pretending to even have a remotely full understanding of what is going on here at the moment, but I do know that the most tragic thing of all is that the Palestinian civilians expect the world (including the Arab world, whos leaders refuse to come to an understandable stance) to turn their back on them as they have so many times before. From the latest news, it appears Israel is attempting to circumvent the world’s view and attack Hamas swiftly, regardless of how many innocent civilians ar caught in the crossfire.

The last image after the attached photos taken of some friends in a protest here is a gruesome poster that depicts the bloodshed that occured over this holiday season for Gaza. The boy in the corner is a famous representation of the Palestinian conflict done by Palestinian cartoonist Naji al-Ali, named ‘Handalah’: the Palestinian defiance symbol. A description appears below for those who are interested.

I would urge you to not just passively watch the news in this conflict, but try and access the many sources we all can for a more full and complete understanding of not only what is happening now, but why and how this conflict ended up here at this impasse. I am only now scratching the surface of understanding in this. No matter what happened in the past though, blame and responsibility are currently is not as important as the citizens that are caught in the middle, and our focus needs to be helping them.

Two very popular Jordanian sources for information are the Black Iris (www.black-iris.com, check out the coverage of mobilization efforts that are happening here to get supplies to the citizans of Gaza, as Jordan has the only NGO that is allowed across the border currently – so inspirational), and www.7iber.com, Arabic for ‘Ink’; this site endeavours to be a people-powered, youth-led informative site that supports the sharing of unmediated ideas and opinions of regional events. Of course, there are always even just the petitions on www.Avaaz.org – anything you can do to catalyze this global response, whether it be even just informing yourself and others about this situation, will help. 

I thank you all for doing what you can, and I will be learning along with you about the past and the future of this latest eruption of violence (see images here http://www.elfarra.org/gallery/gaza.htm) , hoping the worlds voices have an impact.

 

Sincerely,

Lindsey Munday

From: Lamia Dabbas [mailto:Lamia_Dabbas@JRF.ORG.JO]
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 10:47 AM
Subject: Urgent: Humanitarian Appeal for Gaza
Importance: High 

Dear Friend of JRF,

Upon Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah’s urgent appeal to help Gaza, the Jordan River Foundation has launched a relief campaign to provide humanitarian aid to our fellow brothers and sisters in Gaza. Our efforts are a direct response to the dire needs facing those residing under siege and aggression.  

Please join us in our efforts by donating funds to the following account number:

 

Jordan Kuwait Bank

Main branch

Account number: 0252318087

Account name: Jordan River Foundation/ Gaza campaign

Swift Code: JKBAJOAM 

Or,

 

Provide in-kind assistance to any of the Jordan River Foundation’s centers including the main office in the Abdoun area. We accept canned foods (except meat), rice, sugar, all types of grains, powder baby milk, pastas, oil, blankets, medications, hygiene paper, new clothes, heaters, tents and candles.   

We appreciate your kind support in this urgent and turbulent time for the families of Gaza. Please circulate this email widely.  

For more information, please contact Lamia Dabbas Resource Development Department at JRF by phone at +962 6 593 3211  Mobile: +962 777 828104 or fax us your questions at +962 6 593 3210.  

You can also email us at Lamia_dabbas@jrf.org.jo for more information.  

In Solidarity,

 The JRF family

 

Tel:+962 6 5933211

Fax:+962 6 5933210

www.jordanriver.jo

 

 

From: ALISON FAST <alisonfast@mac.com>

Date: January 3, 2009 9:28:25 AM GMT+02:00

 

Hi Everyone,

You know that I never send out big emails to big email lists… so take a minute to browse through this one. 

I just returned from Israel and the West Bank where Chandler and I learned about the many sides of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, making it all the more poignant what is happening now upon our return.

In an effort to bring some balance to the one-sided reporting of matters, since the U.S. is such a staunch ally of Israel, we feel it is really important to give Palestinians in Gaza & West Bank a voice at this moment. 

Considering the potential of video blogs, social networking sites and online news posts like Huffington Post, Politico, Democracy Now, etc., the two of us are raising money to purchase and send 50 Flip Cameras to the organization B ‘Tselem, so that they can be delivered to CIVILIANS in Gaza. B T’selem has been monitoring human rights violations of Palestinians in the West Bank (which is occupied by Israel) with a program called Shooting Back for several years, equipping more than 100 civilians with video cameras there. Now is the moment to get cameras into Gaza.

We all know the power of media. Regardless of your political views (my own father is Jewish), I think we have to recognize the humanitarian crisis at hand, and the potential escalation of violence which destabilizes the whole region, and can seed more extremist behavior (which in turn affects us all).

Most of the world thinks Hamas = Palestinian and Palestinian = Hamas. But we have just spent some time on both sides of the wall and can tell you that 99% of Palestinians are not terrorists. They are people stuck between two  bad options politically – Fatah (formerly led by Yaser Arafat) and Hamas (extremist). Palestinians simply lack of alternatives and are under occupation, without basic rights or international support. 

Frankly I don’t support Fatah or Hamas. But I do support the Palestinian people to find representation and protection against human rights violations. And to win the support of the international community so they create new and better alternatives. We do not advocate more violence and “punishing” of the civilian population. In fact, this pushes more extremist behavior on both ends.

Because my background is media, I am doing what I can…. which is calling on everyone I know… to either – 

1) Help spread the word

2) Donate $25 -50 to our Gaza Media Aid Project - http://gazavideoproject.chipin.com/gaza-media-aid-project

3) Read an article below and/or an article at one of these sites:

http://www.btselem.org/english/Gaza_Strip

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article4933.shtml

http://www.mepeace.org/forum/topics/the-true-story-behind-this-war

Sorry to reach out with a request such as this. It is much easier to turn on the tube or put on an ipod or to go shopping or to the movies. But really, if you can give someone a voice — for $85.00 (for a camera), that is a better option, I would say.

Please do what you can. And pass on this email & link to your friends. 

http://gazavideoproject.chipin.com/gaza-media-aid-project

http://twitter.com/tigerbeat/status/1088750633

Best,

Alison 

Statement by Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied territories

http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/F1EC67EF7A498A30C125752D005D17F7?opendocument

27 December 2008 

Statement by Prof. Richard Falk, United

Nations special rapporteur for human

rights in the occupied territories 

 

The Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent severe and massive violations of international humanitarian law as defined in the Geneva Conventions, both in regard to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the requirements of the laws of war.  

Those violations include: 

Collective punishment – the entire 1.5 million people who live in the crowded Gaza Strip are being punished for the actions of a few militants. 

Targeting civilians – the airstrikes were aimed at civilian areas in one of the most crowded stretches of land in the world, certainly the most densely populated area of the Middle East. 

 

Disproportionate military response – the airstrikes have not only destroyed every police and security office of Gaza’s elected government, but have killed and injured hundreds of civilians; at least one strike reportedly hit groups of students attempting to find transportation home from the university. 

 

Earlier Israeli actions, specifically the complete sealing off of entry and exit to and from the Gaza Strip, have led to severe shortages of medicine and fuel (as well as food), resulting in the inability of ambulances to respond to the injured, the inability of hospitals to adequately provide medicine or necessary equipment for the injured, and the inability of Gaza’s besieged doctors and other medical workers to sufficiently treat the victims. 

 

Certainly the rocket attacks against civilian targets in Israel are unlawful. But that illegality does not give rise to any Israeli right, neither as the Occupying Power nor as a sovereign state, to violate international humanitarian law and commit war crimes or crimes against humanity in its response. I note that Israel’s escalating military assaults have not made Israeli civilians safer; to the contrary, the one Israeli killed today after the upsurge of Israeli violence is the first in over a year. 

 

Israel has also ignored recent Hamas’ diplomatic initiatives to reestablish the truce or ceasefire since its expiration on 26 December. 

The Israeli airstrikes today, and the catastrophic human toll that they caused, challenge those countries that have been and remain complicit, either directly or indirectly, in Israel’s violations of international law. That complicity includes those countries knowingly providing the military equipment including warplanes and missiles used in these illegal attacks, as well as those countries who have supported and participated in the siege of Gaza that itself has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. 

 

I remind all member states of the United Nations that the UN continues to be bound to an independent obligation to protect any civilian population facing massive violations of international humanitarian law – regardless of what country may be responsible for those violations. I call on all Member States, as well as officials and every relevant organ of the United Nations system, to move on an emergency basis not only to condemn Israel’s serious violations, but to develop new approaches to providing real protection for the Palestinian people.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Wesam Manal <samme96@gmail.com>
Date: 2008/12/31
Subject: thanx alot AIESEC who support us// Check this
To: Wesam Manal <samme96@gmail.com>

 

All special thanx for the people who support that THE PROTEST AGAINST MASSACRES IN GAZA .

 

Thank you again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

–
Handala is the most famous of Naji al-Ali’s characters. He is depicted as a ten-year old boy, and appeared for the first time in Al-Siyasa in Kuwait in 1969. The figure turned his back to the viewer from the year 1973, and clasped his hands behind his back. The artist explained that the ten-year old represented his age when forced to leave Palestine and would not grow up until he could return to his homeland; his turned back and clasped hands symbolised the character’s rejection of “outside solutions”. Handala wears ragged clothes and is barefoot, symbolising his allegiance to the poor. In later cartoons, he sometimes appears throwing stones or writing graffiti.

 

 

 

Back to the grind in Amman for the New Year

I made it back on the 4 hour Jett bus last night through the sun-kissed red rock mountains and over the Jordanian desert, leaving the ocean-side oasis of Aqaba behind.

Dan had to stay for one more night as we made the mistake of not checking the ferry schedule before making these plans – though I am convinced not running the ferry on Saturday is a cheap ploy to keep visitors from fleeing Aqaba to the much cheaper shores of Egypt.

Sitting in our hotel overlooking Israel and Egypt over the waters of the Gulf of Aqaba really put a lot of things into perspective, and was an amazing way to start 2009. It was brought in with a whisper rather than a bang, as many hotels and public spaces here adhered to a self-imposed curfew in support of and solidarity with the citizens of Gaza during this difficult time.

I am at the annual full-day staff meeting today, so I will endeavour to give you all a play-by-play of the 5-day trip in the next few evenings. I hope you all are well.

xo Lindsey

Off to Aquaba – Happy New Year!

Dan headed off to Aquaba this morning, as I was told I had to work, only to come to work and find out that the reason I cam here no longer needed a contribution from me… grrrrr. No matter, I will be 3.5 hours behind Dan, leaving him long enough to get to the hotel, drop off stuff and get settled in before I arrive. We booked a little place in downtown Aquaba called ‘Hotel Petra’, with a balcony and a view of the ocean… it is 25JD a night (45-50 Canadain depending on how the exchange is going – this has been killing us), which is actually pretty good for New Years in the area…

We will stay for 4 nights, then Dan will head off to Egypt (a very expensive 1 hour ferry ride to the Sunai Peninsula = $59 us!) from there.

As far as an actual New Years celebration, we will wander around Aquaba and see what we can hear… we may end up in the desert (Wadi Rum), we will see whats going on!

Once I get back from Aquaba on Saturday evening, I will let you all know how it went and what we did.

So, Happy New Years everyone! I wish us all health and prosperity in the New Year… 2008 was interesting, lets see how 2009 goes….