The exploration has begun (1st October)

After an early start for some (due to a 4am arrival for Mussa and Robson, and jet lag for others) the YPMM group explored different parts of Jerusalem today. We were hosted by local youth organisation, Palestine Vision (a partner of Oxfam Great Britain) who took us to West Jerusalem this morning to visit an old village named Enefta, from which Palestinians had been forcibly removed after the war in 1948. At the bottom of a steep walk down was a spring, a holy place for Jewish people who bathe in a pool which cleanses them of wrongdoings. There was a tunnel from the pool leading to the spring which the YPMM group went exploring through.

After the village visit we went to Rami’s house (from Palestine Vision) in the old city of Jerusalem. His Mum taught us how to make a traditional Palestinian dish, which translates into English as “upside down”. We were told it is a local favourite, and judging by the silence as we started eating, I think we agree!!

Although tired and ready for a snooze after the walk and lunch, we pushed through the afternoon and had our program briefing, plus some presentations from Nivine and Eitan from Oxfam GB about their work and their own perspectives of the situation here. It was very insightful to hear perspectives from an Israeli and Palestinian, and about the work Oxfam is doing with both groups.

We’re off to the Mount of Olives for dinner now and a few of us are looking forward to an early night!

Here are Ana’s, Action Partner from Spain, reflections on how she’s feeling today:

Since we have talked to Palestinians and we were informed about the difficulties they have to face up, I found it quite exciting to listen to how they see a conflict they have been involved for many years with hard peace prospectives. Moreover, as the day before we were in contact with an Israeli, I could see how they focused on different issues to explain how they live.
It was also interesting to realize how I felt when I heard Palestinians’s comments. It was shocking when we saw a Palestinian family that had been removed from their home, now occupied by an Israeli family, and how they moved to the other sidewalk of the street and established a small camp, unwilling to go away.
Finally, I agreed with the idea of the programme, that it’s not just to discover from inside the relations between Israelis and Palestinians, but also to find out what it makes me feel. It’s gonna be important to work on self awareness, self expression and self reflections.