It’s now the third week into our placements, we’ve all settled in, and things feel generally less overwhelming! The project, after several team meetings, brainstorming sessions and a final Gantt chart, now feels clearer and more manageable. The two threads to the work the Sharek volunteers are doing, will, at certain points, overlap and intertwine. The first is the delivery of capacity building lessons and workshops with young Palestinians who are partaking in the Tamayyaz program (‘tamayyaz’, in English, roughly translates to ‘standing out from the crowd’), a national program designed to enable the development of Palestinian youth and increase their chances of competing in the labour market. Youth unemployment is, among other things, a rife problem in the Palestinian Territories, a direct result of the Israeli occupation. Youth comprise one third of the population, and youth unemployment has reached 40%. For university graduates, the rate has reached as high as 50%, whilst 25% per cent of youth living in poverty are unemployed.
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| Reality of Youth Conference @ Sharek 2015 |
A few days ago, the team attended a conference held at Sharek on issues affecting Palestinian youth, and heard from spokespeople from various youth NGOS working in the West Bank who explained how the ongoing occupation confiscates the abilities and resources of the Palestinian people, disabling them from having dignified, self-determining livelihoods. The anger and frustration at the political situation is undoubtedly felt during most interactions, yet at the same time, through conversations with the Tamayyaz students and fellow in-country volunteers, I have noticed a fierce, fiery optimism that seems to penetrate the psyche of those that live here. Resistance and defiance shape the very culture of this society, finding their way into all activities, habits and pursuits of life. Naheel, one of our colleagues, is a talented watch and jewellery maker. She incorporates the spirit of resistance and self-assertion into her art, resulting in beautiful, gold-plated necklaces and bracelets bearing phrases such as ‘She was a Palestinian/She is a Palestinian/She will always be a Palestinian’ in traditional Arabic calligraphy. Naheel has also been giving us Arabic lessons after work, which is hugely enjoyable (albeit ridiculously difficult – though that is just testament to the richness and intricacy of the language!); I can now have a very basic (and very very short) conversation in Arabic, and have familiarised myself with the script.
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| Bethlehem Old City |
The second aspect of our project, Voice of the Youth, also aims to encourage youth participation, using media as its tool. Its goal is to provide a platform for young people in Palestine to voice their views, opinions and concerns, ultimately aiming to raise more and more international awareness of the Palestinian cause. We have been contacting and arranging meetings with different NGOs that deal with youth issues, hoping to gain a broader understanding of the struggles that young people here face and create content that reflects our findings. There is definitely a lot of free rein with this project, and we are all excited about the creative opportunities it will provide. One of the best things, in my opinion, is that we are already going to be having a lot of interaction and engagement with young Palestinians through the Tamayyaz program, and so we hope to all work together to explore ideas. Sustainability is also a primary concern for this project; due to the long gap between the current and the previous cohort, the momentum the previous volunteers built up with it has unfortunately slowed down. We are, in a way, restarting it, with the eventual aim that it will become popular and hold enough impact to raise the issues young Palestinians face to an international level.
Sustainability is definitely something I have thought a lot about since being here; witnessing (to whatever limited extent) the reality of the occupation forces you to think critically about the nature
of development work carried out here. I hope to continue raising awareness of and being active in Palestinian issues on my return home, and am already certain that I want to be back. Even in the relatively cosy ‘bubble’ that is Ramallah, the stories and anecdotes I have heard (often relayed in such a normalised, almost blasé fashion), the little snippets of reality thrown out offhandedly, have made me feel absolutely compelled to continue learning and continue contributing, as best as I can.
Only three weeks in, I have met some wonderful people, sampled some delicious foods and learnt a great deal of stuff. I can only hope that this will allow me to keep growing and developing as a person, for the better. Check this blog again soon for project updates!
Salaam!
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