Unforgettable time in Hebron

I spent six weeks at the Excellence Center in Palestine, where I attended the Human Rights program.

I arrived on a rainy day in Hebron coming from Bethlehem and felt unsure, what would expect me. The minute I arrived the people from the staff were extremely helpful and welcoming and told me we would have dinner at the center and then later I would meet my host family. Feeling tired of the new circumstances and unsure about what would expect me I started my first day at the center.

To be honest, I did not know what to expect of the host family and how the cultural differences would affect the co-living. I got to stay with Maha and her family who treated me as part of their family from the second I met them. Even though their English was very limited, their warm heart and hospitality exceeded all of my expectations and enabled me to settle in to my new life in Hebron with no issues at all, moreover it helped me to have a smooth start and gave me feeling of being at home even though I was in a completely new setting.

Quickly I realized that my foreseen three arabic hours a week would not be satisfactory for me as I really developed the want of being able to talk to my host family and connect with locals. Therefore I upgraded my Arabic classes and did about two hours a day with Duha. As there were not that many people at the center because of Ramadan, I got to have my Arabic classes by myself, which I am very grateful for. This setting allowed me to learn a completely new language at my own pace and not feel insecure about asking as many questions as I would need/want. I also enjoyed the fact that my teacher Duha was the same age as me. Through her I did not only start to learn the language. Additionally we could exchange thoughts and views about the different cultures we come from and I could have an insight into the views of a young Palestinian woman, which I really appreciate.

During my program I visited different refugee camps. We went to H2, which is the region in the old town of Hebron controlled by the Israeli authority, and visited a Palestinian family, who is strongly affected by the Israeli authority’s arbitrary aggression daily. We also went to see beduins, who struggle to keep their homes intact as they get destroyed by the Israeli authorities over and over again. We met human rights activists who told us about their work as well as local Palestinian authorities. We met Rani, who is a local artist, expressing the conflict through art.

The other volunteers at the center were all very open and quickly I built new friendships. On weekends we would visit places like Bethlehem, Ramallah or the Dead Sea and would spend many evenings eating Kunafe together or study at a café together. These friendships also helped me to process all the new insights and gave me a feeling of home away from home.

One of my favorite moments was a Ramadan iftar invitation we foreigners got from a big Alkhalili family. It was a big gathering, which was gender seperated. It was an experience I had never had before and the hospitality of this family I will never forget. In general, Palestine has to have the most hospitable people I have ever come across with. People here go out of their way to make you feel welcome and part of their community. I will truly miss this hospitality and kindness in other places.

During my entire stay in Hebron I never had any security issues or did not feel unsafe. There is nothing more to add to that. Of course, we as foreigners are in a privileged position though as we mostly stand out the crowd. People live a normal live here under the given circumstances.