the west bank experience (part 4)

last wednesday, my friend, jan, and i went on a trip to ramallah and then to nablus.

ramallah is a mere 16 km outside jerusalem and is considered very liberal in comparison to the other west bank cities. the ride there was very interesting as the bus drove through givat shaul, a jewish settlement. although i knew the existence of several settlements, i had no idea that some were quite close to jerusalem and that there are more than just several. there are many! furthermore, due to many government headquarters, ramallah serves as the de facto capital of palestine. it is also where yassar arafat established his headquarters (and is buried?) and lots of diplomatic missionaries and NGOs work out of ramallah. it is also home to one of the most stingiest checkpoint (qalandia) in the west bank.

our stay in ramallah was quite short as we were just there to meet tim, our mutual friend who lives in al-bireh, who was going to be our designated tour guide for the day. after a short coffee break, we headed toward the central station to catch a taxi to nablus. nablus is the northernmost city of interest in the west bank. as ramallah is the center of government, nablus is the center of commerce and culture, known for its knafeh, a sweet goat cheese pastry, and olive oil soap. nablus is also home to one of the most stringent resistance to israeli occupation and has seen much rough action as a consequence. my well-worn lonely planet tells me that that the northern west bank is referred to by old testament purists as samaria* and there is quite a thriving samaritan community in nablus.

nablus was bustling by the time tim, jan, and i arrived. many were lounging about drinking turkish cafe or a refreshing yogurt with fruit. tim led us around the centre and then we dove right into the old city, walking around the myriad of stores and alleyways that date back to roman times in the 7th century. the people in nablus were very frank and openly gawked and twittered about our presence. i have come into terms that it wasn't tim or jan's presence but mine that garnered a lot attention. what can i say? asian looking people are a rarity in these parts. the children followed us, demanding that we take their pictures and yelling 'welcome!' every few minutes. it was also very odd feeling because while visiting other west bank cities, i was able to get a definite feel but nablus laid dormant.

because of nablus' history with resisting the occupation, there were many posters of boys and men carrying guns with the background of a palestinian flag or dome of the rock plastered all over the walls. tim said these posters are a commemoration to those who fought the occupation and died. these were completely idealized images of the people and while they were strongly political, there was something strangely pop cultural about them. the macho poses coupled with the heavy artillery were quite ridiculous.

it was insanely hot. so much so that the three of us were sweating copious amounts. so gross. to take a break, we ducked into a knafeh shop and sat down to enjoy some of the best that i have ever had. i am going to miss this pastry so much come two weeks. i had some good ones in nazareth and in hebron but the ones in nablus blow others out of the water. after a much deserved snack, we walked back toward the centre and explore an olive oil soap factory. because it is more expensive to use their own olive oil, oil from from spain and italy are imported. while the soap is mixed by machines that are quite old, cutting and drying are done by hand. upstairs, a great majority of the floor is covered with the wet soap for it to harden. afterwards, the soap is hand cut and towers of soap are constructed to further dry it out. the conical towers of asymmetrical soap provided a beautiful contrast in the room of grey stone.

six bars of soap later, we boarded a taxi to balata, one of the largest UNRWA refugee camps. over 15,000 people occupy a ridiculously small space of 1 kilometre square. it was supposed be a temporary residence for those thrust out of jaffa and nearby areas. but over the years, the tents gave way to concrete buildings with many as 40 people living on one floor/apartment. there is a program, yafa cultural centre, that try to ease the problems that arise from living in close quarters but it can only do so much. just as nablus resisted/is resisting the occupation, balata residents were also heavily involved in the palestinian intifadas. the living conditions in balata are miserable. the alleyways between the buildings are so tiny that large people cannot use them. there is no privacy. the economy is pretty much shot through the roof. the people still live with hope that they will be able to return to their homes. i can understand now, what heshem said about the palestinian support of hamas. in a situation like this, one can only hope for change.

sometimes, i think israel really, really sucks.

*there is so much history in this area and so many different conquest, i can hardly keep up with the changes. i have a newfound respect for those who study the complicated history of the middle east. sometimes facts are myths and myths are facts. if that makes any sense...

the west bank experience (part 2)

okay, this hebron experience is different than others. lisa, sarah, stefanie, jeremie, yael, gloria, petra and i traipsed to hebron. i have to say that hebron is THE most dangerous west bank city. i know i keep mentioning it a lot but there really is a palpable sense of unease that permeates the air. i felt even more unsafe this time as yael and gloria are israeli and israeli citizens are in no circumstances allowed in hebron as it is area a, which means it is under palestinian authority and control. the fact that they blatantly ignored this was really disrespectful as there are many contestation about the area regarding jews and arabs. it wasn't fair that they jeopardized everyone else's safety by their presence. we were very lucky that no one really caught on or questioned us.

we were aimlessly wandering around the city. to be honest, there is not much to see or do in hebron besides cheap shopping and visiting the abraham mosque in the old city. this guy named ibrahaim friended us and decided to be our tour guide for the day. he showed us several watchtowers and the destroyed houses caused by the jews living in the settlement. it is really astonishing that kiryat arba is so close to the arab hebron. they're practically neighbors. the arabs (i think) had to build a ceiling fence in the shuk area because the settlers are proned to throwing random debris to harm the passerbys. i saw many water tanks riddled with gunshots as to deplete the water supply. when ibrahaim led us to a rooftop to show the settlement, i saw jewish boys walking back. they saw me looking and started to scream obscenities at me. it's really horrible, this living situation.

finally we reached the abraham mosque after many stops into shops for random trinkets and scarves and pots. here i was also put off by the rude behavior of the people i was with. first of all, we're in a holy place, a gravesite of the ancesters of the three monotheistic religions of the world. we were not allowed to take pictures inside, yet they kept whipping out cameras to discreetly take pictures. that is just so disrespectful to the people and the religion. i may be going overboard but it is something i have come to notice and it bothers me so much. just because you are an artist doesn't give you the right to ignore and belittle the social practices and laws of others. there are boundaries and it's just common courtesy to respect that, i believe. sorry, i sound so orthodox about art practices. meh.

ibrahaim had ulterior motives it seemed. he led us deliberately to shopping places and lingered for long periods of time. when we arrived at the old city, we acquired an annoying pest, who was peddling cheap goods. when we didn't want to buy his wares, he accused us of not supporting palestine and its people. right. then he proceeded to follow us around, shouting 'welcome' every few minutes and trying yet again to press his bracelets and keychains on us. at the end, he wanted baksheesh (tip) from us for being our tour guide... what?! at this point, i have had enough. i was so ready to leave.

i'm at a point in my israel stay where my cup is so full that everything else is overkill. i am enjoying and not enjoying my time. i don't know if disillusioned is the word but i just don't care. i am desensitized to all the ulterior motives of the people, the rudeness, the way of life, the violent overtones, etc. it is how they live and they cope. how come i can't do that?

the west bank experience (part 1)

even though israel is "secular", shabbat is taken very seriously. jerusalem is probably the one of the worst places to be on friday night/saturday as a lot of the shops and places shut down and the egged buses stop running. this does not condone fun times. i think the bright sun got to me yesterday because i didn't want to sit around in my room, browsing the internet. i mean, i can do that in the states to my heart's content... but here, i have the chance to do something different and experience things that is not possible anywhere else. soo... i popped open my lonely planet guide and they recommended that on the weekends, people should visit jericho or bethlehem. so being the person that i am, these were just other cities in israel. how mistaken i was. they're located in the west bank, or what is known as palestinian lands. i know there are tons of security and travel warnings against the west bank, but being there changed my perspective.

when you first leave jerusalem, the scenery changes. to me, it seemed less abundant than what i saw in jerusalem. it's a given that the palestinian reality is drastically different than that of the israelis. but that doesn't stop them from being extremely hospitable. my friends and i were constantly rewarded with smiles and exuberant cries of 'welcome' and 'hello!' one even went so far to share his education story with us. they're humble people and it shows. it was just so fascinating to be there because the media goes beyond what's necessary to show this place as dangerous. sure this is my first time, but danger was the last thing on my mind. we arrived to bethlehem quite late so most of the 'tourist' attractions were closed. however, we were invited to an AICafe talk to discuss israel as an apartheid state and how to go about boycotting israel. it was good to get the other side of the discussion because in the states, we (or i at least was) are constantly bombarded with pro-zionist propaganda or some israeli-palestinian peace resolution. but being in the reality, it seemed peace or an establishment of equality is far off.

after the talk, we went to one of the bezalel student's apartment. we cooked vegetable curry and drank arak and talked about social issues of the day and art, of course. then we were further informed about the construction of the wall, which is pretty much finished by today, and the destruction caused by the conflict... mohammed was very frank with us and told us how he isn't allowed to go to jerusalem or israel... and how he was 24 when he saw the ocean for the first time. it's hard not to be emotionally moved by his story. i know that i should get to know both sides thoroughly but what is going on right now is just morally wrong. it's racism and cultural genocide. a bit harsh? i don't know. my friends and i are going to go around the west bank more to talk with the people and get a first hand account of their lives that is suppressed by the media. it's interesting that i went to bethlehem to see the site of nativity and etc and got altogether an experience i never expected.