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Middle East Program Coordinator Faces Many Restrictions on Movement During Summer Visit to Palestine

AFSC Los Angeles News Archive
September 1, 2006

Wafa Shami, Coordinator of the Middle East Peace Education Program at AFSC Los Angeles, recently returned from a summer visit to Palestine. This is her report:

As fun as traveling can be, if you are a Palestinian you learn to expect at least as much stress as fun. Every time I travel internationally with my Palestinian passport, I hold my breath not knowing what to expect. My trip to the West Bank was scheduled July 13, 2006—just a day after the war between Israel and Lebanon started. As I was approaching the airport watching and hearing the news of the escalating conflict in the Middle East, my emotions were mixed with fear, tension, and excitement. My only concern was to make it to Ramallah safe and in one piece. I knew that there might be some obstacles getting to Jordan or crossing its border with the West Bank, but I did not expect that the authorities at Los Angeles International Airport would try to prevent me from leaving the US to Jordan.

Photo: Florencio Briones (Wikimedia Commons)

Yes, I was held at LAX Airport for more than two hours before my airplane took off, ostensibly because I didn't have any documents allowing me to enter Jordan. Palestinians traveling with a Palestinian passport normally enter Jordan without any other documents, such as a visa, but the staff at Lufthansa—the German airline that I was flying on—were assuring me that there were some new regulations in which Jordan was requiring Palestinians to have additional documents. (OK, I understand Israel is not allowing us to enter through the airport, but now Jordan is not allowing us to enter from their borders!!!!)

I was in total shock and despair, confused, and couldn't believe what was happening. After I cried and begged the flight staff to do anything they could to let me get on the plane, they finally tried to call the Jordanian Embassy. All of the staff there had left for the day, however, so they next tried to call Amman. By that time, I had simply lost all hope of leaving LA. I had my luggage next to me and ready to go back to Pasadena. Finally, after two hours of waiting—and 20 minutes before my plane's scheduled departure—the Lufthansa staff came to tell me that they had gotten the OK from Amman and that I could leave.

An Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank. Photo: Deanna Armbruster

This was my first visit to the West Bank since I started working with AFSC, the last time being December, 2004. Every time I visit there are new rules, new checkpoints, and different roads that Palestinians are allowed and not allowed to use.

As a Palestinian who was born and grew up under the occupation, one might think that I'm used to all of the roadblocks and checkpoints. However, every time I visit it feels like I'm going through a new experience, and no matter how well I try to describe the frustration and the suffering under the restriction of movement, you can't get a clear idea of how difficult it is unless you go through the experience yourself.

In my first week in the West Bank I contacted Kathy and Paul, AFSC's Quaker International Affairs Representatives, who were organizing a nonviolence summer camp for youth in Bethlehem. Kathy and Paul were planning to take the youth on a trip to Hebron, a place I had never been before. From Ramallah, where I was located, the trip would normally take about an hour. But due to closures and checkpoints, a Palestinian's journey is filled with uncertainty.

The group planned to leave early one morning from Bethlehem. Since I was coming from Ramallah, and therefore couldn't guarantee that I could be there on time, I had to leave for Bethlehem the night before in order to join the group the next morning. You just never know how long you'll be standing at a checkpoint—it varies from five minutes to five hours…you just never know!!

Barriers and barbed wire in Hebron. Photo: Wafa Shami

Hebron is a magnet for trouble on the West Bank: a city of about 140,000 Palestinians and about 400 of the most extreme Israeli settlers protected by about 2000 Israeli soldiers. We walked through the Old City of Hebron. Most of the stores were closed, as the Palestinian local residents have had to take their business elsewhere due to daily harassment by the settlers. You can see all the entrances to the Old City closed by orders from Israeli authorities. There are cameras and checkpoints at each corner. Such a beautiful place turned into a ghost town.

The most unique place in Hebron is Al-Ibrahimi Mosque, where the tombs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah lie. The mosque is believed to have been built more than a thousand years ago. In order to get to there we had to pass through several security doors and about three metal detectors. The mosque is very unique for its architecture and history. However, nowadays residents of Hebron avoid going there to avoid being held back at the entrance for hours by Israeli soldiers.

The narrow, winding road of Wadi Ennar.

On my way back to Ramallah, the checkpoint was closed and I was waiting with hundreds of other cars and individuals for more than two hours. This checkpoint is called Wadi Ennar, which in Arabic means "Valley of Fire," referring to its nature—it's a very narrow road that goes through the high hills. It's very risky and dangerous. This road is the only road that is available to Palestinians to connect the northern and southern parts of the West Bank. Yet this permanent Israeli checkpoint that was recently placed prevents Palestinians from passing the road freely.

Members of an AFSC youth group in Jenin. AFSC Los Angeles' Middle East Program Coordinator Wafa Shami is second from right.

Meeting AFSC staff in Ramallah for the first time was interesting and exciting. I learned more about their work with Palestinian youth, and I also provided them with a better idea of what we do here in the US. I was very impressed with the "Popular Achievement" youth project. Its model focuses on inviting young people to become active citizens in their society. It teaches and/or enhances skills the youth need to be able to fully contribute to the improvement and preservation of their communities, as well as to the society as a whole.

Each project group consists of 10-12 individuals who are 14-17 years of age. Depending on the social and cultural environment, the groups are either all male, all female, or mixed. Each group is coordinated by one or two college-aged coaches. The participants identify an issue they want to work for a period of eight months. Then they design, implement, and evaluate the project—finally presenting it at a festival that brings together all of the participants from the West Bank and Gaza.

I visited with some of the Popular Achievement groups in Jenin and attended some of their meetings. When talking to some of the participants (ages 13-15) and asking them what they would like to see happening in their future, their answer was: "We would like to have a better life in the sense that we can have more freedom to move from one place to another." Zeina, who is 14, said that one time when her group was trying to visit with other participants in Ramallah, the trip took about 8 hours. (It usually takes about an hour and a half to get from Jenin to Ramallah.) After passing 12 checkpoints, her group was turned back at the 13th. They were very disappointed.

Participants in AFSC's youth program in the West Bank city of Jenin constructing a model for a traffic circle. Their group developed a plan for city beautification and the organization of Jenin's many nameless streets. Photo: Wafa Shami

The Jenin group expressed their excitement and gratitude to the Popular Achievement project and the way in which it changed their lives. They said it gave their life meaning—a feeling that they are productive, and can give back to their community. One of their achievements was visiting an orphanage and raising funds to support it and others like it. The participants learned about several different skills and concepts throughout their 8-month involvement in the project, such as leadership, civil rights, nonviolence, freedom, and democracy.

Imagine my crime—going to pray in the Holy Sepulchre.

Throughout my visit, one thought was in the back of my mind: "Is it going to be possible to visit Jerusalem?" For all of us who grew up in Palestine, we have this strong connection with Jerusalem. I don't think it's exclusively a religious connection, but a strong cultural and historical one. I have no way of explaining it, but for Palestinians who live abroad, we all feel that's the place we need to visit while at home because we never know when we'll get the chance to come back. All of my family members and friends advised me not even to try to sneak in. They said I would be humiliated if I got arrested by trying to do that. Imagine my crime—going to pray in the Holy Sepulchre.

I followed everyone's advice and went to the Israeli Administration office (Beit Eil) to apply for a permit. In order to apply for one, you normally need to have an urgent purpose and some kind of supporting evidence. For instance, if you needed to go to a hospital, your application would include your doctor's name, address, etc. The reason I gave was that I just want to visit the Holy Sepulchre. After standing in line under the heat (85° F) in the middle of the day for about an hour, I finally managed to get into the office. After passing through metal detectors and several doors, I took a number and waited in a second line. Upon reaching the counter, I handed my application to a female Israeli soldier. She immediately said "No." I asked "Why?" She said "Closure." That's it. You can't say anymore; you can't argue. So I left, very disappointed. And in the back of my head I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that I made it home and yet I couldn't enter Jerusalem!

That's our life—life for us Palestinians…a nation without a state, a nation under closure, a nation in which the checkpoint is our nightmare. A nation imprisoned and under the mercy of an Israeli soldier. Living with a big monster called the occupation. And the struggle continues…

Blessings.

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