Human Rights Internship

My name is Kate, I am from the Netherlands, and I studied law and politics. At the
Excellence Center I followed the Human Rights programme. I also had around 3
hours of Arabic lessons a week. My teacher was great. He tailored a programme
exactly to my needs and got me motivated to learn. In addition to the lessons, being
around so many people who are willing to teach their language and help you speak
the language really helped me learn so much.

The best thing I liked at the center were the teachers who work there. They did not
only teach us Arabic and Human Rights, but they were truly there whenever we
needed. They were so kind and they really created a warm and comfortable
environment.

During my stay we had many site visits with the Excellence Centre. For example, we
visited the Masafer Yata area, refugee camps, the courthouse, a law firm, a hospital,
the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, and so many more. We also explored
Hebron itself - we received a tour in the Old City, explaining the current situation, and
a visit to the beautiful Ibrahimi Mosque. We also visited the glass factory and the
Kufiya factory in Hebron. Next to site visits, we also had people over at the
Excellence Centre to talk about Human Rights, such as a journalist that covers
conflict areas and warzones.

During the weekend, many volunteers like to travel and visit different places in
Palestine. We’d usually plan something as a group and everyone that wanted, could
join the trip. We’ve been to Jericho, the dead sea, Bethlehem, Jerusalem and many
more places.

The people in Hebron are absolutely amazing. I feel so welcome and they make sure
that you have everything you need and want. The city itself is very lively, at any time
of the day you can find people on the street. There are so many cute shops and the
food is really good! You cannot tell a Palestinian you are full, they won’t listen - they
will keep giving you food. I enjoyed my stay with my host family. The family has
some younger children, and during my stay they taught me some of the basics of
Arabic and I tried to teach them English. The family did live quite far away from the
center, which meant we were really dependant on the driver and/or people from the
host family to drive us to and from the center and a lot of taxi drivers did not know
the area very well. If you’d like some more freedom I would recommend asking for a
host family that lives closer to the center.

Hebron is a pretty safe city. A lot of the people are really helpful and friendly.
Although, like any other city in the world, you have to use your common sense. I
personally was always together with other people, and I rarely went out on my own.
This is a personal choice of course, and this does not mean that it is dangerous to go
out on your own. The culture towards women is a bit different, so keep that in mind
when you get here.

The thing I like most about Palestine is the people. As mentioned before, the people
are so friendly, helpful and welcoming.

My experience in Palestine is one I will never forget. It has been a truly special time
and I would recommend it to anyone that is interested to learn more about the
situation in Palestine, its culture and its people.