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"When we came here, we knew we wouldn't be able to tear down the Wall." 9 August, 2007
The AEI is a Pax Christi-affiliated social-political educational centre that focuses on cultural exchange between young people, both locally and internationally. The purpose of their visit was to gain an insight into the Palestinian situation, and also to interact with Palestinian youth through general cultural exchange and workshops, such as drama projects, rap sessions, spraying graffiti on the Separation Wall, and dance classes. The exchange was arranged by Xplore, an organisation within the Dutch Interior Ministry that enables young people to go to developing countries to learn about the country in question, and, once back in the Netherlands, to pass on their experiences to 150 people in an attempt to raise awareness for, in this case, the Palestinian plight. One of our reporters spoke to two members of the exchange group and asked them about their experiences. Why did they choose to join the Xplore programme, and, most importantly, how their personal perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict changed during their visit? "The reason why I joined up for the programme," said Gerben van Ipenburg, "is that I wanted to see the situation with my own eyes." Marloes Kuijer shared this motivation, adding that she was particularly interested in seeing "how the Palestinians' lives are affected by the conflict." Not all fun and games While part of their stay was dedicated to photography, street dance, rap sessions and graffiti, in order to "exchange stories and experiences to get to know each other's cultures," as Gerben put it, the trip was not all fun and games. Marloes: "The first part of the programme consisted of excursions to various cities, such as Hebron, Ramallah and Jerusalem, and the visiting of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). Even though focus lay with the Palestinian point of view, we also talked to Israeli organisations, such as Breaking the Silence, and to the people from the Alternative Information Centre. Through interaction with Palestinians, visiting cities and NGOs, we, the participants, were made aware of what it is like to live in occupied Palestine." Learning moments "I've gained new insights into the background of the conflict, and the negative effect it has on the personal life of the Palestinians; the practical meaning of the occupation has become clearer to me" said Marloes. For Gerben, it was "bizarre to see how people can be so strong, how resilient they can be, how determined Palestinians are to carry on, to keep hoping for a better future. My understanding of the situation has become more conflicted during my stay here. I just cannot comprehend how human beings can do this to each other, or how people with different religions, backgrounds and cultures are still not able to live side by side." He added that "we must work on bettering that. In fact, by mixing cultures, we will be able to learn a lot from each other, so that many beautiful things can be shared." Which side are you on? "The trip has strengthened my pro-Palestinian sentiments," said Marloes. "The things I have seen made me angry: the occupation, the checkpoints, the settlements, the Wall, the conduct of the Israeli soldiers; it is morally and ethically despicable. I cannot fathom that one nation can blatantly place itself so far above another, and, under the guise of security, can determine everything that goes on in the region. Through the constant humiliation of the Palestinians, and the frustration that comes with it, extremists are created." Gerben contends that "even though all the blame does not solely lie with Israel, I must admit that I have become pro-Palestinian. We spoke to Israelis as well, and then you realise that it is not just the Israelis who create the problems, but it is hard to ignore the occupation. When you see up close how difficult life is made for the Palestinians, it becomes particularly hard to understand how it is that this has been happening for such a long time, and that the international community does not do anything to stop it." Informing others As part of the programme, the participants were each asked to tell 150 people about their experiences when they went back home. We asked Gerben and Marloes how they intended to do this. Gerben: "We are planning to organise a 'Palestine Day' in The Hague; a festival where we want to reach out to people with presentations, music, photo's and film, so that we can try and explain the situation to them, and also stress the importance of developmental aid. Generally speaking, the Dutch have some basic knowledge on the subject of Palestine, but they certainly don’t know everything. This is also because the media tend to show a one-sided image." "We want to target young adults, the elderly, politicians, civil servants, everybody," Marloes added, "because people know too little of what is going on in the Middle East. Also, people seem to identify more easily with the Israelis than they do with the Arabs and the Palestinians. Therefore, it is important that we share our experiences. I do think we can contribute to a more nuanced view about Palestine, the Palestinians and the conflict." Gerben chimes in, saying that "when we came here, we knew we wouldn’t be able to demolish the Wall. But, now that we have been rudely awakened ourselves, we want to make people aware."
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Between the 7th and the 23rd of July 2007, a group of 18 to
30 year olds from the Netherlands, most of them students,
visited the Arab Educational Institute (AEI) in Bethlehem.