Program Reviews

The week I've spent in Khalil with Go Palestine feels, at the same time, an incredibly short period and a very long one. Short, because there's so much more I would like to do here, and long, because every day is filled with activities and experiences, and you feel like you're living life at the fullest. Over the days I've stayed here, I have met some incredible people whom I hope to see again, both international volunteers and locals. I knew I was going to meet some welcoming people, but the level of friendliness and hospitality you get is almost overwhelming! You truly get to feel like you are part of the family, both at the Centre and with the friends you make here. When it comes to the experiences you can make, the support of the staff is amazing, they are there to make sure you get to see as much as you can and do as much as you can, according to your skills and interests, never pushing you anyway. So, I can't recommend Go Palestine enough!

My experience with Go Palestine was incredibly rewarding as it was my first time in the region and they made me feel so welcome. Prior to arriving, I was concerned about safety but that feeling quickly left as I was consistent greeted with kindness and care. As for my specific internship, I witnessed and learned quite a lot about the experiences and day-to-day life of Palestinians in the West Bank. I visited refugee camps and how conflict is impacting the lives of those who are displaced. I visited multiple organizations that are working to stabilize and improve their communities. I gained so much insight into what is happening and I highly suggest for anyone to do the same! You won't regret it!

My Experiences in Hebron

About me:
The name I use in Palestine is Gwen Geirionydd, the latter being the beautiful location in North Wales where I live. It has a history of poetry and song, with which I am very much connected. I studied Welsh and Music at the University of Bangor and received a master's degree in Welsh Ethnological Studies at Cardiff University. Before that, I trained as a social worker, and as the research and performance of Welsh music is not paid very well, I continued to work in this profession. I mainly worked in child protection and parenting support, trying to teach parents more cooperative and understanding approaches to child care, listening to their children's needs, rather than making them always obey their own standards.

I am married and have two adult children; my daughter just gave birth to our first grandchild. We live in a small coastal town called Deganwy, near Llandudno, near the coast in North Wales. Llandudno is a tourist town and has just been voted the 'best staycation location in Britain'. We have a garden where we grow some vegetables. I try to be as active as I can, all my shopping is done by bicycle, I am a singer in a Welsh folk usic group; we perform regularly in informal locations. I am also a member of a classical music choir, performing oratorio and traditional choral music, sometimes with large orchestras.

I have come to Palestine to experience for myself the reality of life here and to compare this with the relentless, biased reporting that we are exposed to by the Western media. I have opted for the media internship that GoPalestine offers to obtain some alternative views on reporting on the raw reality that is the daily experience of Palestinians today.

How did I find Hebron?
My first impression of Hebron was at the city tour where we were shown the old city by the manager of the centre, Mr Tamimi. We went to the magnificent old city with its ancient winding walkways and shops that offer traditional crafts, food, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and everyday household items. Mr Tamimi introduced us to some of the shopkeepers who shared with us their experiences. I later conducted some interviews with them as part of my media studies and potential publication work.

What strikes you immediately when visiting the old city is the jarring intrusion by concrete and barbed wire, steel barriers, and checkpoints directly and without consideration for environment or aesthetics imposed on the beauty of the ancient architecture, a deliberate attempt to degrade and to insult the tradition, taking possession of an area that is claimed, taken and occupied. Hebron is surrounded by large settlements since 1967; they are ever-expanding and 'secured' with ever more barriers and checkpoints. Even some houses above the shops have been taken, barbed-wired, barred, and concreted. Settlers regularly throw rubbish and sometimes sewage and other grossities down on the Palestinians who try to protect themselves as well as they can by wire meshing and tarpaulins.

We went to the beautiful and spacious Ibrahimi mosque, which is said to be the resting place of some of the prophets and some of Abraham's wives. However, the actual tombs are only visible through thick steel windows, as the Jewish settlers have taken 2/3 of the mosque under their control. Palestinians are only allowed to visit this remaining third, the other part it permanently occupied for Jewish worship, protected by strong walls, as usual, without any regard to the ancient holiness of the place, encircling it with concrete, barbed wire and checkpoints.

As my passport allowed me to do, I visited the occupied 2/3 of Ibrahimi, which they call the 'cave of the patriarchs'. Huge halls are equipped with a desk on which Jews do their Tora studies and congregate for chanting and dancing. The clear majority of these Jews are orthodox, judging from their attire. The place was full of them, even though it was an ordinary weekday. The occupation of the mosque seems to be firmly established, still, at least four checkpoints with armed soldiers are surrounding it, who claim that they have to protect the place from 'terrorist'. Questioning them about it only meets with derisive sneers, making clear that they firmly believe that it is their god-given right to displace and dishonour everybody else around them, especially those of Arab origin.

While on the other side of the barrier, I also visited the area of Tal Rumeida, a settlement around an archeological site that is claimed to be the resting place of the biblical Ruth, which is for them another excuse to occupy the entire area and claim that all of Hebron and around it belongs to them.

Hebron is also home to a two-hundred-year-old Russian Orthodox church, Al Musquobia. I visited the beautiful church adorned with Christian icons. Its grounds house an ancient oak that is called 'Abraham's Oak'. The withered remains of it are kept in a box to protect them from deterioration. It is said to be 3000 years old.

It is clear that people in Hebron are proud of their tradition and of their Islamic identity. The overwhelming majority of women wear hijab and the calls to prayer are heard from several mosques at the same time, five times a day. There is no compulsion or rejection of this tradition, nobody is obliged to comply. The family is strong and influencial, and although that can be quite oppressive sometimes for the young adult daughters in the familes, they are committed and safe, not in a hurry to make major changes to their lives and to comply with their families' traditions how to be engaged to be married, following a quite strict procedure. All of Hebron people are open, willing to tolerate our few, sumbling attempts of offering our few phrases of Arabic and try their best to practice their often quite sophisticated knowledge of English. They are helpful and will make every effort to be of any assistance you might reasonably require.

The programme:
I was introduced to several television and radio stations in Hebron, many of which has experienced sharp censorship from the inception of the occupation in 1967. On several occasion Radio Hurriya was invaded by IOF soldiers, the staff was threatened with machine guns and the equipment was destroyed. There is no justice for Palestinians, once the occupation destroys or confiscates things, they only need to claim 'Israel's security' and all the damage is to be tolerated by the victims. Therefore, mindless vandalism goes on the rampage. We have seen pictures of the destruction after one of these 'visits', the costs must have been in the 10s of thousands of dollars. Especially poignant was the case of one of the managers of Radio Arooba, who is completely blind and needs a special computer. No replacement was obtained for a long time, which rendered her without the means to function effectively. Only mild mentions in the media about the true situation caused by the occupation will cause these random raids.

This often leads to severe cases of self-censorship. Even the mentioning of the words Palestine, occupation, settler violence and of course genocide might lead to invasion, violence and arrest. Two stations we visited, Hebron Satelilite TV and Hawana TV, clearly indicated the restrictions placed upon them and their compliance. Programmes are restricted to social, musical and entertainment events, sometimes local crime and gossip. This of course contributes to obstacles in the population to experience each others' predicaments and to create ways to object. All radio stations had workable equipment with recording studios for sound and live broadcasting. However, most of them purely rely on advertising and subscription for financial support. Therefore the budget is tight and assaults on them will pose serious setbacks.

We were introduced to the local craftsmen, glassmakers and woodcarvers in the old city and two internatioally exporting local companies, a kaffiyeh factory and Camel, who makes shoes, sandals and other leather items, meeting the requirements and orders of overseas and European markets. Although their machinery is basic it is meeting their needs, producing effective output and employing a number of workers. Of similar size is the kaffieh factory. Contrary to our impression the kaffiyehs only come in black and white, we were introduced to the colours of different localities, all of which are woven on a number of beautiful, electrically powered looms, operated by skilled weavers who can vary the patterns and produce their wonderful embroidery. The economy has sorely suffered since the genocide began in October 2023, people have lost confidence, the salaries have been curtailed and many have lost their jobs. As there are hardly any welfare schemes, people have learned to make do with a dearth of resources for their familes.

In the afternoons we were often asked to tutour young professionals who want to improve their English conversation skills. Their English was generally excellent already, but their ambition is to make it even better and to become as fluent as possible. We had very interesting conversations about their lives, their work, practice of Islam, their attempts and traditions to find partners and the daily harassment they suffer as a result of the occupation. When they talked, I was able to point out some phrases that could be improved, to give them synonyms for simpler words they used or to point out some grammatical or spelling issues that could be addressed. We sometimes had discussions in small groups, which was very helpful for everyone, as it improved conversational interaction and response.

Similar objectives were addressed with Hebron University's English department, whose first-year students were encouraged to practice conversation in everyday situations. While we were there, we were introduced to some other departments, saw the science and medical faculties and were able to talk to the dean of the university, who was inviting some of us to give talks to an international student workshop about a topic of our choice.

All the experiences and impressions were written down in regular journals, as encouraged by the centre. As my friends at home were curious about them, I posted them on a blog in which the centre was included and could regularly monitor the written work. I would have liked a little more feedback on them and perhaps some ideas where and how to effectively publish them in order to reach an audience interested in the issues raised. I also wrote an illustrated travel account of my two-day visit to Jericho, Qumran, the Dead Sea and Bethlehem, which was most appreciated at home.

Arabic:
Before coming to Hebron I tried to master some Arabic sentences via YouTube. Of course, and more or less unbeknownst to me, Fuzha, although universally understood in the Arabic world, is only used in formal settings and not in everyday conversation in the various regions. To my great disappointment, I could not understand anything that was said, apart fron a few words, nor could I use my few stilted sentences effectively. When I tried to learn a bit more in a formal class that was offered in the centre, I found myself to be quite confused, as many words I know had a different alternative in the Levant. So, my preconcepts stood in the way. Possibly it would have been better just to go like an empty vessel to the task, do some cooking with a local woman and learn the words going along with this. But, for others, of course it is of great help to have the one to one formal tuition of local Arabic that is taught in the centre.

Safety:
Although instructed not to go out of the house alone after dark, I was in a position to do that several times and there was no threat or concern of any kind. People were always very helpful and - as we are quite recognisable as foreigners - there is curiosity and friendly attempts to interact with us, especially from children. As we can feel that there is only a sense of excitement or exotic encounter, but never malice, it is completely safe to walk the street or to interact with people who want to practice their English. It is clear that Muslim men will not make eye contact and are in the tradition of not interacting with single women, as they will regard this as indecent.

The only threat I felt in Hebron was when I encountered Israeli soldiers. Their arrogant, insulting, and threatening behavior is in open contrast to the joyful gentleness of Palestinians.

Accommodation:
We were housed in the basement flat of a friend of GoPalestine, a medical doctor, whose family lives in the other part of that spacious house. The flat has three bedrooms, a sitting room, bathroom and kitchen, all in functioning, clean condition, although Westerners with too high expectations might find it rather old-fashioned and basic. The few snags with the plumbing in the bathroom were promptly addressed and our comfort was ensured and was regularly enquired about. The kitchen contains a large fridge-freezer, a washing machine and a gas cooker, all in good condition.
Although we were warned that electricity and water might sometimes be in short supply, there was always enough of it and we made an effort not to waste.

Why would it be valuable for everyone to visit GoPalestine as a volunteer or intern:
I sincerely thank Mr Tamimi and all the staff for the exquisite and unique experience they have given us, enabling us to have a focused impression of the real situation in Palestine. I hope to share this when back in Britain and to be able to counter the still widespread prejudice that exists in the West, most insidiously, that Palestinians have brought the reasons for their control and constant monitoring upon themselves. None of this is true and the awareness in the West is growing that Palestine is the ancient and eternal home of a wonderful people who deserve self-determination, a democratic state with proper elections, to be free from harassment and interference, and to live in peace, like any other nation on earth.

There is a variety of NGOs in Palestine who want to spread social awareness, information about the culture or, more politically motivated, to protect local people from the demolition of their houses and confiscation of their land. These organisations also try to witness the harassment at the checkpoints that is so randomly influencing the daily lives without any apparent reason. Some organisations concentrate on accompanying children who live in other occupied areas to protect them from the daily assaults and insults inflicted on them by settlers, including their children who imitate their parents, on their daily way to school. So, for people who want to be of assistance to the Palestinian people, there is a wide choice.

I am glad that I chose GoPalestine out of the variety on offer. Not only is there a clear mission to make international visitors acquainted with local customs and everyday life, but there is also an internal choice of specialities, tailored to the specific interests of the interns and volunteers. There is a Human Rights internship that will introduce you to the refugee camps and get you in touch with lawyers who can explain the situation. Another internship concentrates on healt; the doctors will take you to the local hospitals if you are a trained nurse or doctor and there are introductions to the local schools and administrative bodies as well. If you have different professional backgrounds, the centre wll do their best to accommodate this with tailored experiences and meetings. If you just want to volunteer and help where needed, an excellent way is to help the very keen children or professionals to improve their English by conversations and language talks. This is such a hands-on experience that gives you a broad insight not only to culture and every day life, but also a direct encounter with people of different wakes of life, differnt characters, opinion and interests. It is an altogether unforgettable experience, safe, colouful and varied, definitely to be preferred over any packaged holiday abroad.

I will try to do my best to spread the word further and we hope and pray for a Free Palestine soon.

It was important for me to visit Go Palestine to understand the plight of local people from daily life that I experienced along side of them. I came to hear about life and the truth and this is what occurred in my time. The aspect of my trip having to do with my program was successful because of the existing strong community connections of the coordinators. Thereof, I had the opportunity to assist in health related projects. This is important to me as a nurse and in my vision to contribute while I travel and have vital cultural exchange in the places I visit and the people I meet. Therefore I am thankful I connected with this program Go Palestine because had I not, I would not have been able to see, speak with and enjoy the people I met and the experiences I had with the help program and it's avid workers. Furthermore, I enjoyed the social and travel excursions offered which gave me variation from the other scheduled events in my day. Altogether this allows me to take away my time with Go Palestine to understand world events, active sociopolitical challenges, and give me the clarity I require to engage conversations about current events and oppressed populations.

I was surprised by the level of depth that I was able to experience with learning about Palestinian culture, understanding the issues that locals face there, and visiting refugee camps in person to see for myself. Although I feel like my contribution with volunteering was just a small drop in a bucket, it was still great to get the sort of perspective that allowed me to share the word and let others know about the human rights issues here. I highly recommend every aspect of this program, from the camp visitation, classes, daily breakfast, host families, and even tours of the city.

Unfortunately, our stay was short, only one week. However, in this short period we were able to make many friends and experience some of the highs and the lows of the Palestinian life. The GoPalestine Center developed an amazing schedule for our week, two Refugee Camps and a visit to the Old City. We were provided with the best breakfast each morning and all the information we needed. I am sad to be leaving here tomorrow, like I am leaving behind good friends. I hope this review can influence someone to take the leap and come, it's very worth it!

I feel very fortunate to have heard about GoPalestine (via a friend of a friend) as the centre has given me an invaluable opportunity to visit Palestine. I was only able to take 2 weeks off work, but the centre has many flexible volunteering oppotunities to suit all lengths of stays. The team at the centre have been so welcoming and helpful, they all work very hard to give visitors the opportunity to learn about Palestine and to give the local people opportunities to improve their English speaking (as well as other learning experiences). It has been very enriching to speak with local people about their day-to-day lives, their experiences, their struggles and their aspirations and I look forward to sharing their stories back home in Australia. The people of Hebron have shown us such warm hospitality, it has been such a privilege to visit and experience the friendliness and generosity of the Palestinian people. If you are considering visiting Palestine, I highly recommend volunteering with GoPalestine.

I would like to thank our friends at GoPalestine for being so kind and attentive to our needs. They always answered our questions (and we had many!), provided us with amazing breakfast everyday and made us feel comfortable when we visited the refugee camps and town centers. They shared many of their experiences with us with humility and transparency, and never made us feel 'silly' for not knowing the most basic of things about their culture. I am leaving soon and am already missing this place and its people. I hope whoever reads this will be influenced to come!

It has been a great experience to visit Hebron. People are warm and kind. I have discovered many things about Palestine and its law system, visiting the Court of Bethlehem and Hebron. Everyone is available to help you. The room of the apartment where I have stayed was almost independent and big, and not so far away from the centre, so you can come by foot. Ask the family or at the centre to clean if it's not clean enough, they are gonna do it. In August, maybe it's too hot, so I recommend coming during spring or autumn.

I had an incredible time, I have tried to come for a while but had scheduling problems that they were always understanding of. I came for two weeks and saw many things. The locals were incredibly hospitable and I was often invited to stay at the homes of others. I would recommend others to research the weather beforehand, I am accustomed to Canada so struggled a bit with the heat. I wish I had come for longer but can hopefully return in winter. I definitely recommend studying a bit of Arabic prior to coming as locals are incredibly friendly.