In the field

Time is running away, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for a month now and are over a third of the way through our time with WCLAC. Trying to condense all that we’ve been doing is an impossible task when our days can vary so much. One day we might be translating subtitles for educational films and writing the internal political news briefing; the next we might be travelling to different towns, visiting WCLAC’s volunteer groups and discussing with them how to spread word about the centre and continue to effectively champion women’s rights in their local communities.

Delivering our session in Bethlehem

Last week, Jumana and I were sent by WCLAC to Bethlehem, to deliver a presentation to a group of their local volunteers. WCLAC was founded on the belief that, though the occupation is a serious issue that should be abolished, it should not take precedent to women’s needs. They argue that stronger domestic policy and internal advocacy will help legitimise the Palestinian state, and make it stronger when it is fully established and recognised. Therefore, their volunteer groups provide a vital part of their outreach across Palestine.

We chose to present on “Women in Wartime and Under Occupation”, comparing British women’s roles during WWI and WWII with the Palestinian women of today. We argued that across the two countries, women have successfully held positions of responsibility, whilst also looking after their families and struggling under the added difficulties that a state of conflict or occupation brings. This led into a highly thought-provoking discussion of women’s roles and their place in society. This is a highly divisive issue in Palestine as many devout Muslims agree with the traditional standpoint that men and women have distinctly different, but equally valued roles in society; whilst modernisation, increased education and increased opportunities for women has begged many other Palestinians to reconsider what those rules should exist as - if they should exist at all. The session was clearly a great success as it was meant to last for about half an hour, but ended up taking over an hour! They had so much to say and it was fantastic to hear people speaking freely, assured that they were in a safe space in which to talk and debate. In the end, we concluded that women should be proud of being women and should not seek to be men, but at the same time a woman should be aware that she is not inferior to a man: she is free to pursue whatever she wants, whether it be deemed a traditionally ‘male’ or ‘female’ pursuit.

Inside the refugee camp

However, the most interesting part of the day for me was our visit to a refugee camp, next door to the cultural centre in which we did our presentation, and home to some of the volunteers to whom we presented. Established in 1949, it then had 3400 inhabitants and was essentially a large field of tents. We tend to think of refugee camps as temporary establishments, especially when it has been reaffirmed and reaffirmed by the UN that refugees have the ‘Right to Return’ and should not have to suffer the trauma of displacement for any extended amount of time. However, 1949-2015-an unspecified date in the future is hardly a temporary establishment. Now the population is an estimated 15,000 and though the tents may have gone, replaced with buildings slowly erected by the refugees themselves, the living conditions are still appalling. Our guide, a soft-spoken but strong-willed resident, reeled off countless shocking examples of the reality of life as a displaced refugee. 

We heard about families living two to a tiny apartment;   whole school year groups crowding around one textbook; losing electricity every other minute; having water running through the streets permanently all year round due to poor plumbing; the lack of sewage facilities;  how the whole camp fails to get a full night’s sleep most nights of the week as soldiers come through with tear gas; children being arrested; and, of course, the fact that every family’s most precious possession is not considered to be their jewellery or their family photos, but rather the key to their house that they had to leave in 1949. It’s awful to think that after all that time, and since the establishment of the UN – who, through UNRWA are meant to provide essential humanitarian aid and support to such marginalised and suffering people - so many can still be living in such squalor. The camp we visited is only one amongst a total of 58 camps in the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. To imagine the camp that we saw scaled up across all these other locations presents a beyond shocking picture of the Palestinian refugee situation.

 So, I feel immensely privileged to have had the opportunity to view a side of Palestine that is known about but often forgotten, due to the fact that it is often considered ‘old news’ – the plight of millions of Palestinians cannot and should not be considered old news as it recurs every day, day in, day out. We were touched that they appreciated our visit and that our presentation was thought provoking and, as Jumana put it, able to ‘strengthen Palestine from the inside’ by empowering through education and awareness. It was so successful that we shall be returning in the next few weeks to build our presentation into other areas of women’s issues and rights.