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News from the Region
2007 Olive Harvest Delegation

Report #2, Part 3 of 6
Tell the Truth

Delegation members with host family in Jenin.

By Kathleen McQuillen

Jenin, November 1-2 - “If you are to tell our story—tell the truth. The Palestinian people are good people. We want peace but we want homes, and jobs, and our families together.”

That charge given to us by our host in our home stay in Jenin is easy to accept. The Palestinian people are indeed good and beautiful and generous people. My first real introduction to them was through the young boys at the Fair Trade Harvest Festival who were in wonderment and excitement about who were and why we came to their village. Even at their young adolescent age they demonstrated the famous Palestinian hospitality – seeking first water for us, then the Arabic qahwah (coffee), then the deserts being passed, finally bringing to our table an English language booklet on fair trade. They simply couldn’t do enough for us .

Eventually the camera became a great attraction and we laughed, took pictures, and struggled through language differences to learn about each other and our families.

When the dancing, speeches and celebrating ended we traveled to the nearby village where in the morning we would help with the olive harvest. Our driver from the Palestinian Fair Trade Association stopped along the way to proudly show us the olive press in the village. There at 10:00 pm the press was in operation with several men and boys running it. It would run all night long. As word quickly spread that international visitors were at the press, the scene again became one of welcoming and hospitality and another round of Palestinian coffee and picture taking.

Several goodbyes and we were off to our home stay.

Here with an extended family of father, brother, sister, uncles, in laws and children there was more food and drink, story telling and laughter. While the story telling came easier to the men gathered, the wife and daughter were a bit more reticent. There was great curiosity about the American people’s feelings about President Bush, Fatah, Hamas, and the Palestinian people. When the conversation moved toward families, and we pulled out our family photos the young daughter eagerly brought forth some of her family photos and it was here that mother, daughter, and international visitors found an easy common ground.

Children are a part of the olive picking tradition.

Reluctantly we let go of the night and our time with our new friends. The olive harvest lay before us in the morning.

A good night’s sleep on Palestinian style beds, a morning welcome from more family and neighbors, and a Palestinian family style breakfast (sitting on the floor around a very large tray with eggs, pita bread, and olive oil), and we were off to the olive fields.

We’d been told that helping with the harvest was primarily symbolic—the few hours of work were more important for the statement of solidarity than for the results of our labor. The truth of that was immediately clear. As we picked the olives with the women we shared excitement about the children running all around, shared names and ages of children and grandchildren, and sat on the ground under the olive trees celebrating just being together.

Our time in the village was drawing to a close—but one more delight was yet to unfold. As I sat on the couch with my cup of tea a girl/young woman entered and sat next to me. “What is your name? Where do you live?”, and then “I am so happy that you come to our home – welcome.”  She then shared her name and that she was studying for an English test tomorrow and that she is preparing for the university. Two other younger girls came in and also told about their education and their plans for the future.

Because it was hard to leave I asked them to write their names down for me. I put the paper in my pocket. Will I ever do anything with that piece of paper – with those names? I don’t know the answer to that.  I do know that is one way I can carry them with me. I will remember them. I will remember all of them—and I will tell what a very special people are the people of the Palestinian Territories.

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