Report on ReCap Experience – Palestine (2009)
Report on ReCap Experience – The Occupied Palestinian Territories
By: Anonymous 2009 participant
INTRODUCTION
On a grey Monday afternoon in September, the first day of the new term, I found myself
begrudgingly back in the lecture theatre at my London medical school. As I began to reminisce about
the summer, it suddenly dawned on me how my world has come full circle; I last sat in that same
seat three months ago. During that time, I can say with utmost conviction that I have had one of the
most extraordinary and eye-opening experiences of my life, having been lucky enough to participate
in ReCap, the Refugee Camp Project in the Palestinian Territories.
Arriving at Ben Gurion Airport in the early hours on Tuesday 14th July, I could not shake off
the sudden, piercing waves of dread and apprehension – I have always been aware through the eyes
of the media of the inhumane practices of the Israelis and their barbaric violations of Palestinians’
human rights, and could not stop thinking about how they will receive me – an “Arab” by blood,
despite very much being British by identity. As our plane descended the sooty, starless sky, looming
ever-closer towards the bright lights of Tel Aviv, the magical sight failed to alleviate my concerns,
and I exchanged nervous glances with my sister, who I was lucky enough to have accompanying me
on the project.
All our hopes of being happily ushered straight through into Israel at customs shattered
when a severe-looking customs officer glacially and non-challantly waved us towards a side-room,
ordering us to “just wait…”. Approaching the box-like room, I could not help but feel that it
resembled one of the infamous Nazi ‘gas-chambers’, famously used to genocide and exterminate
Jews in WWII, but hastily shook-off this thought, killing it dead in its tracks. After a two hour wait, I
was ushered in for interrogation. Out of sheer incredulity, I began to laugh almost semi-hysterically
at the questions that were fired at me; “Why are you here, in the summer? Do you not know that
most Jews visit Israel in the summer? So is that why you’re here, for the Jews? As a student, how
could you afford to come here? Why Israel? Do you not think a month is a ‘bit much’ to spend in
such a small country? And don’t you Europeans despise Jews? So you’re here for ‘just’ tourism, or
are you not here to participate in a project in the refugee camps…? Really ?” The frightening and
Report on ReCap Experience – Palestine (2009)
extremely intimidating barrage of questions stopped-short only to allow a photocopied page from a
French passport to be thrust across the table and into my face, after which they continued “Do you
know this man? Are you sure? Well, he has exactly the same story!” I insisted that I had never seen
him before, and jokingly asked to take a lie-detector test to prove my innocence, to which came the
frosty, and rather ominous response, “Believe me, YOU don’t want to take a lie detector test….”
The interrogation from hell culminated in being asked to write down all my contact details in
both London and Israel, at which point I discovered my hands to be trembling. Hoping my knees
would hastily aid me out of the door after such an agonising experience, I thought of how unfair and
traumatising it is to subject a human being to such an interrogation without any evidence of wrong-
doing, and could not help but wonder how it must be for the Palestinians if others, like me, were
treated in such an aggressive manner. In total, the wait with the interrogation took the best part of
three hours, after which we were set free. The sun was rising as we left the airport and met with our
first ReCap face, Malwina from Poland, and together took a sherut to Jerusalem, where our
adventure began…
JERUSALEM
The joy of exploring this magical, three-faithed city of walls, gates and historic conflicts, both
independently and as part of the tours given by Ali Jeda and Mohamed Abu Labdeh, is something
that I will cherish for as long as I live. Entering Damascus Gate for the very first time, I felt as though I
was traversing a start-line for a whirl-wind experience of many magical things to come. Ali Jeda’s
Alternative tour was refreshing and provided us with a tangible perspective of both the remnants
and effects of the occupation in parts of the Old City. Culminating the tour by narrating to us his
story and the history of his people, the African Jerusalemites who aided Saladin in resisting the
Crusaders, in the setting of his own home, was an especially kind and eye-opening gesture.
Mohamed’s talk about the history of Jerusalem, against the breathtakingly beautiful and scenic
backdrop of Jerusalem’s ancient skyline was also a remarkable highlight of the Jerusalem experience,
slightly marred by fleetingly visiting a house considered to be the highest point in Jerusalem, which
had been taken over by force by Israeli soldiers. Wandering the Old City alleyways independently
one day, I set-foot in the Jewish Quarter, exiting the Arabic Spice Market. The considerable contrast I
saw between the Jewish Quarter’s modern glass-fronted shops and American dollar price tags, and
the cramped, dimly lit hustle and bustle of the Spice Market as I turned around to have one last look
at it made me feel as if I was Alice in Wonderland, having unexpectedly fallen into a different world.
ABU DIS
As I descended from the bus after arriving for the first time in Abu Dis, I caught sight of a
fortified Israeli army car zooming across a wall graffitied with slogans, heroically hailing the longevity
and strength of the Fatah movement, and peppered with posters and stencilled faces of past and
present national leaders, such as Yasser Arafat. This backdrop set the scene for the next week,
where through workshops and lectures from Al-Quds University scholars and academics on the
politics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the human right abuses and violations by the Israeli
occupation, the intricacies of the Separation Wall, and the underhand evasions of international laws
by the Israelis to deem it ‘acceptable’, we began to piece together for ourselves the true horror of
the conflict. A talk from UNRWA about the mental health implications and psychological trauma
suffered by the refugees, past and present, as a result of the occupation, set a human touch to the
Report on ReCap Experience – Palestine (2009)
facts and figures. I especially enjoyed our discussions on the ‘Right of Return’, and whether it could
one day be a tangible reality, or if it is merely a futile hope clung to by many generations of refugees.
I highly commend the efforts of the ReCap organisers, the Palestinian students, and the academics
that spared us their precious time to inform us on such complex and important issues, although
came away feeling that the presence of an Israeli perspective would have been appreciated, and
would have set an impartial balance to many arguments. Stepping outside for some fresh air
between workshops, in order to gather my thoughts and try to absorb the incredible travesties
committed in the long life of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, my eyes always landed on the grand,
imposing, grey slabs of concrete making up the Separation Wall, and I would follow its contours
across the hilly terrain, Palestinian land, so much of which it has claimed and continues to do so with
no qualms or remorse, either from the Israelis, or from the international community.
BETHLEHEM & REFUGEE CAMPS
Where we spent most of our ReCap time, Bethlehem had become our second home. A
seemingly liberal town, unperturbed by the struggles of the occupation unlike the rest of the West
Bank, we soon realised that this is far from true; at times, we did not have a single drop of water,
which is bestowed upon the town only once every 21 days by the Israelis, despite being sourced
from Palestinian Territories. During our stay, the peaceful milieu of Bethlehem was broken by gun
shots as the Annual Fatah Movement Conference turned ugly, highlighting to us that despite their
occupation-imposed problems, internal conflict within the Palestinian factions exists.
Organising play-time activities for the children at Aida Camp was an incredibly rewarding
experience, and it was heart-warming to see all the effort, planning and discussions we carried out
as a group come to life by watching the children play and enjoying their time. It was also inspiring to
witness a change in some children’s behaviour, who we ear-marked to be especially aggressive and
disruptive at the beginning, yet became much calmer, politer and more loving with the other
children towards the end of our stay. I came away a lot more experienced and skilled with dealing
with children on the whole, and troubled children in particular, and it was especially heart-
wrenching to hear about some children who had been shot whilst playing in their own bedrooms by
a sniper in an observation tower of the Separation Wall, looming over part of the camp. Spending
time with some of the children on on-to-one basis, it became apparent to me the dire lack of role-
models in these children’s lives, and the psychological impact of not only living under occupation,
but also of being labelled as a ‘refugee’, through many generations of their family. Many of them
also had heard about or witnessed members of their family being abducted or arrested by the
Israelis, never to be seen to this day. Horror stories of this calibre are common amongst the camp
children, and one can only wonder of the long-term psychological impact of growing up with such
raw, un-childlike experiences. One of the children of the camp was especially adept at concocting an
assortment of weapons merely from paper, be it guns, knifes, daggers or pistols. Many of us found it
incredibly alarming that he felt it apt to create these weapons and enjoy playing with them, and how
far-removed this is from normal child behaviour.
Another camp we visited was Shawfat Camp on the edge of Jerusalem, where we had a very
informative talk about the implications of having either a blue or green ID card and how people are
treated vastly differently according to which one they are lucky (or doomed) to hold. I also met a
man who had been unable to step outside the camp perimeter for the past fifteen years as a result
Report on ReCap Experience – Palestine (2009)
of losing his ID card, and being subsequently refused to be granted a new one by the Israelis
countless times. Such suffering, narrated by a person who has lived and tasted such injustice and
anguish, violently hit-home to me the human cost of the Israeli occupation – not only has it claimed
lives and continues to do so, it has also effectively ‘killed’ many Palestinians, albeit leaving them
alive and breathing. Another eye-opening camp visit was to Dehisha camp, famous for its resistance
in the Intifadas and notorious for continued Israeli stormings, which had claimed a child ‘martyr’ as
recently as 2008. The obsolete, rusting metal gate at the camp entrance, akin to that at many a
check point, is a gloomy remnant of worse times suffered by the inhabitants of this camp.
CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Caritas Baby Hospital and was lucky to receive excellent
teaching from the many experienced clinicians. One can only hope that more hospitals of its kind are
available throughout the West Bank for the Palestinians – one of the doctors dismayingly told us
how there is only one practicing Paediatric Surgeon the West Bank. Many children had gastric upsets
and suffered from dehydration, due to their living conditions, which is rare for me to witness in a
London hospital. It was upsetting to hear about the beaurecratic difficulties endured by the hospital
and its staff when trying to refer a child urgently to an Israeli hospital, often for critical assessment
and medication. We attended UNRWA clinics for a short time, although it was sufficient to witness
the how over-stretched and under pressure the refugee health system in the West Bank is. Many of
the doctors saw nearly 200 patients daily, and we felt almost like bothersome intruders, timidly
flitting from room to room in the hope of getting some experience.
TRIPS
The trips were a much-enjoyed highlight of the ReCap experience, often giving us a welcome
and much-needed respite from the grim realities of the occupation which we were daily learning
about, and I am grateful to the organisers that we were given a chance to see important parts of
Israel such as Haifa, Akko, Tiberias, and I was able to make a personal trip to Nazareth, rather than
just Palestinian Territories. Other destinations included Jericho and the Dead Sea, and brief visits to
Nablus and Ramallah. However, two important places where I gained more depth of the crimes
perpetrated by the Israeli Occupation were Qalqilya and Hebron. Qalqilya, which was a thriving
Northern West Bank town, has now been completely throttled by the Separation Wall, which
encompasses it almost like a pocket. I was incredulous to learn that a Qalqilyan farmer could stand
right before his land yet is incapable of accessing it and tending to it, as they are separated by the
Wall, which often breaks into barbed, electronic fencing in some agricultural areas. I found the sheer
helplessness so unjust and inhumane, yet these underhand tactics of Palestinian land-claiming by
the Israelis happen daily and without retribution. In Hebron, I was shocked by stories of the
extremely heartless and barbaric acts committed by the Settlers, only explicable by what must be
pure hatred of Palestinians. We visited a family’s house in which a room was mercilessly burnt down
by settlers, rendering its charred remains completely uninhabitable. A baby of the same family had
fallen ill one night, and Settlers prevented the ambulance that was called to pass through, resulting
in his death. His brother, a boy of about 9 years, was repeatedly attacked by settlers of all ages,
resulting in four fractures of his legs, and another brother was killed at the hands of Settlers. Our
shock and disbelief grew when we moved on to visit the Ibrahimi Mosque, and listened to accounts
Report on ReCap Experience – Palestine (2009)
of the infamous massacre committed by Goldstein, and how, despite his evil act, he is hailed as a
Jewish martyr today, with thousands flocking to pay respect to his grave.
CONCLUSION
The five weeks I spent participating in ReCap are the richest, most informative and awe-
inspiring moments in my life. The project is a once in a lifetime experience that is the perfect
opportunity for those wanting to gain a comprehensive knowledge of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
and witness first-hand the daily injustice of the Occupation. I also feel that it is especially important
for those hailing from European, or ‘Western’ countries, to participate in the project, as the onus is
on us to transfer our knowledge and experiences back home in order to tackle the ignorance and
correct the many misconceptions surrounding the conflict, which is often narrated in our media from
a pro-Israeli view-point. I have simply been mesmerised by the sheer beauty of Palestine, the
generosity of its people, and the wealth of its history, past and present. All that I have left now are
the incredible memories, and I only have to close my eyes to see the smiling, innocent faces of the
refugee camp children, as they skip and jump on their tiny, happy feet, hands on waist, to the tune
of a traditional, quintessentially Palestinian Dabkeh…