Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Day Two of the course is over. It was a pretty good day. We did a couple of fun exercises involving food, designed to explain some of the psychology behind conflict and the different ways it can end. They seemed to enjoy both exercises. We also got into some good discussions
It’s interesting, but they have a real problem with being journalists first and Palestinians second. I’ve been trying to persuade them that they should be professional and neutral despite how they may feel personally. For example, I was talking about how good communications, especially through the media, is vital if you’re ever going to solve a conflict. When I asked if that applied in Palestine, they said there was no point in communicating because the Israelis will just do what they want anyway. And when we talked about use of language, I suggested they had to be careful the way they described things like the barrier between the West Bank and Israel, because many word choices reflect a political point of view. They weren’t entirely convinced. And when they found out I hadn’t seen the barrier yet (give me a break, I’ve only been here two days) they told me I should go look and see if I changed my mind.
So I took them up on the challenge. After class, I took a taxi to the Qalandia Checkpoint in East Jerusalem. When you see it, you can understand their point of view. It looks like something from a movie involving Checkpoint Charlie in the Berlin Wall. Except this wall is taller.
It’s in a grubby-looking section of Jerusalem full of auto repair shops, light industrial buildings, toy stores and cheap restaurants. Giant concrete slabs roll back over a hill and behind the buildings on one side of the street, converging on a brightly lit cage of steel bars and fences where the cars funnel through. Someone has painted big pictures of Yasser Arafat and jailed leader Marwan Barghouti amid the graffiti that covers the wall. Pro-Palestinian slogans are spray painted on the concrete barriers that herd cars into the crossing point. I watched Israeli soldiers rooting though car trunks and questioning drivers until they shooed me away with an unfriendly gesture.
It’s hard not feel angry on the Palestinian’s behalf. The wall is an evil thing that they don’t deserve. It’s built on the myth that all Palestinians are terrorists. But it hasn’t changed my mind about being careful of the language I would use in a news story. Careless reporting perpetuates the kinds of myths that led to the wall.
On the way back, I took a mini bus (they call it a “service” here, pronounced sir-VEES) and despite my lack of a sense of direction, managed to find my way from the bus to the hotel. Jerusalem stretches out to the point that it’s hard to see where it ends and Ramallah begins. The outskirts are full of residential towers that they seem to be throwing up as fast as they can. But the part of Jerusalem that I saw is not as attractive as Ramallah. It gives more of a feeling of the sprawling city without a lot of charm. Of course, the historic area of the city, which I haven’t seen, is certain to be another thing altogether.
On the way back, I also passed one of the refugee camps. It’s a bit of misnomer. It looks like a low-rise subsidized housing complex; a bit down at the heels, but still pretty ordinary concrete residential units. I guess after all these years, it would be a surprise to see anything that looked like a conventional refugee camp.
John
PS: You can read more about the course on the Birzeit University blog at:
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