| イスラエル／パレスチナ インターナショナル・オブザーバー レポート リソース提供：真野さん |
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GUIDLINES FOR THE USE OF REPORTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM THE OBSERVER: |
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Report #6 YMCA Gaza appears in the midst of Gaza city like a kind of oasis. In this place, the traditional Y youth work is very strong and creative. At this moment, the YMCA youth leaders are preparing for the summer camp, in which 400 children as in past years, will participate over a period of five weeks. In the YMCA kindergarten, currently 200 children aged 3 to 6 years old, attend classes. In many discussions with youth leaders of YMCA Gaza the impression is being confirmed that in fact "Gaza is strangulated by instalments", not just in applying military violence, in the limitation of the freedom of movement and the destruction of the economic structures, but also in community aspects. The YMCA is directly affected by this. The following examples show that besides the daily pictures in our news about destruction in Gaza, the suffering in Gaza is also omnipresent on a subtle level. Fady Salfity, YMCA Youth Leader (age 25) explains: "Currently I am following a complementary training in the Can’an Institute (4) in the field of youth work and organisational development. For the ongoing course, last September, our lecturer ordered 100 sets of educational material in an editing house in Cyprus (5). However, the material never arrived. A few weeks ago, we learned that the shipment of the 100 books was directed via Cairo and reached the Israeli checkpoint in the south of Gaza. After having been held back there for quite some time, it has been returned to Cyprus. As always, this happened "for security reasons". Accordingly, we had to follow the course without books.“ (6) Isa Saba, the director of the Can’an Institute and former director of YMCA Gaza confirmed this and complements: "This way, we lost US$ 800. We are now on the way to print the book here on our own. Certainly, this implies a disproportionate expense. But we will do it." (7) Fifi Saba, YMCA Youth Leader (age 22) has similar experiences from her job: "I work as an office secretary in the American International School in Gaza. Last summer, we ordered winter uniforms in Cairo for our students. We were sure that they would be delivered in time in the fall. But the Israeli held them back. They arrived recently. It was already spring time. It was similar with the books for the new school year. They reached our school after the school year began long ago." (8) Dr. JoAnne Horton, US citizen and principal of the American International School in Gaza confirms this: "What is happening here is apparently part of the Israeli strategy. They want to make everything as difficult as possible and by this limit any development. The shipment of our school material is only one illustration: the container with school materials, laboratory equipment and teaching material arrived in Ashdod (Israeli port, 30 km north of Gaza) last October in time from the US. The material was delivered after incredible procedures in March. In addition, we had to pay a charge for storage summing up to US$ 15'000. Our teachers - apart from a few, they are all American or European citizen - do not get resident permits from Israel and therefore they are here officially only as tourists. This is the reason why they have to leave the country every three months in order to re-enter immediately. In the past year, this caused expenditure of about US$ 500 per teacher to the school. Dr. JoAnne Horton, who knows the YMCA movement well in the US as in Gaza, summarises: "This has nothing to do with guaranteeing security. Mass punishment never did work in the school situation and will in no case work if applied against a whole people. Israel has no right to keep children from having a quality of life". (9) Saad Tathzi (age 23), YMCA Youth Leader, experienced how his vocational training had been turned impossible: "Since April 2000 I attended a one-year vocational training at the ‘Milano Academy for Jewellery and Goldsmith’ in Ramallah, for which my parents paid a monthly school fee of US$ 500. Many times I had to go for the day from Ramallah to a gold smith in Jerusalem for practical on the job training. Every time it represented 'a run the gauntlet': Will I make it or not? One time I had to get down from the bus, after the soldier saw my Gaza identity card. He howled at me, accusing me of being a terrorist and having murdered Israelis. After that he beat me with his stick . Many times I was held back and could not follow the classes. After the beginning of the intifada, my parents became afraid for me. My father said I should return home. Here I am now waiting for the past six months. Also my parents spend a high amount for my vocational training. "I have the impression that this was for nothing. This hurts." (10) The leaders of the two YMCAs in the Israeli state territory continue to answer the question on the use of information about the situation in the different YMCAs in the Occupied Territories in a different way. Jizak Moyo, Chairmen of the International YMCA West Jerusalem states: "These stories have to be told - but not through the YMCA. The YMCA should not interfere in political matters" (11). Whereas Fuad Farrah, Chairman of the YMCA Nazareth, is convinced that the YMCA should play an active role: "In South Africa everybody, the whole world stood up for the rights of the oppressed people. This should also take place here. All the Palestinians are asking for is the end of the occupation and the end of the settlement in their country. The international YMCA should know about it and should stand up for their rights. Otherwise, the YMCA movement loses its essence.“(12) Sources (5) The teaching material mentioned is: "Ideas
for Working with People - An Approach
to
Training and Learning. Based on : Training
for Transformation , by Anne Hope and
Sally
Timbel, Mambo Press, (first Arabic
edition
2000), published by the Arabic Resource
Collective
(ARC), PO Box 27380, Nikosia.“ The
publication
of this book was made possible by institutions
of the European Union, World University
Service,
Christian Aid, Middle East Council
of Churches. (7) Quotes from a personal talk on Friday May,
4 in the Can’an Institute in Gaza
City
(8) see (6) (9) see (1) (10) see (6) (11) Quotes from a phone call on Monday, April 30. The quote is specifically related to the incident experienced by YMCA staff at Jericho Checkpoint (see Report 4) (12) Quote from a personal talk on Saturday, May 12 in the YMCA Nazareth. |
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"For security reasons" (1) During the last few days, the conflict in
the Middle East disappeared from the
headlines
of the international press. The announcement
of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF)
to loosen
the restrictions in West Bank and Gaza
(2),
could make people believe that the
conditions
of life and work of the Palestinian
population
and the YMCA/YWCAs might have improved
these
last days. My own experience, while
travelling
and visiting YMCA/YWCA projects in
West Bank
and Gaza, show another picture. The
blockade
of Palestinian towns and villages and
the
suppression of basic rights of the
civil
population (3) by the IDF was never
enforced
so strictly during the last three months
as in these last days. This is not an isolated occurrence. It proves that these days, the IDF do not even respect documents that are issued by themselves. At the same time, it has to be taken into account that many applications for such permits are refused. For example, Rifat Kassis, Executive Director of YMCA East Jerusalem, was supposed to travel to Amsterdam in his function as member of the Board of Directors of a Netherlands rehabilitation project for handicapped people. His application for an exit permit was ? as expected ? denied (6). Amjad Gosheh is employee of YMCA Ramallah and is taking postgraduate studies at Bir Zeit University. The Israeli army denied him access to the university as they did most of the time during the last months. These days, the students from Ramallah try every morning to reach the university, which means a walk of about 7 kilometres (4 miles), because of streets blocked by the Israeli army which does not allow access for vehicles. Every day, the students get stopped by Israeli soldiers, using teargas and rubber-coated steel bullets, sometimes even deadly ammunition. (Rubber-coated steel bullets are massive bullets of steel, about 2 cm in diameter - almost 1 inch - that are rubber-coated and can inflict deadly wounds.) (7) Muhanad Adawaa, 15 year old son of an employee of the YWCA kindergarten in Kalandia, got hit by such a rubber-coated steel bullet on his forehead and suffered a fracture (8). He lost his eyesight in his left eye and had to undergo several operations. He suffers from severe headaches every day. Because of this he cannot go to school without having problems (9). My personal observation of the student march last Saturday 9th June showed that the peaceful and non-violent rally was stopped by the Israeli army, using tear gas and rubber-bullets at the city border of Ramallah, which hindered the students from continuing towards the university (10). On this occasion, 15 students were injured, as the Israeli press reports (11). On June 12, the Israeli Human Rights Organisation, B'tselem, published a report on the detrimental effects of Israel’s siege of Palestinian villages and towns on medical treatment for civilians. On the basis of case studies, B'tselem shows how the Israeli army refuses access to hospitals for individuals and ambulances with patients. B'tselem insists that these cases are not uncommon (12). The press article published one week ago represents only one fate among many: "A women on the way to the Jericho hospital to give birth, was refused access to Jericho at the checkpoint by the Israeli soldiers and gave birth to her baby in the car. [...] The Israeli soldiers refused to allow the pregnant women access to Jericho, despite the fact that her critical situation was obvious. After waiting for one and half hours, the woman gave birth to her baby on the back seat of the car. [...] It was only when the soldiers heard the baby cry that they allowed the woman to pass to the hospital."(14). The fact that numerous YWCA and YMCA workers cannot reach their work or can only do so under humiliating circumstances, and that family visits in the neighbouring village are made impossible, appears a minor problem compared to all these other issues. Sources: (1) Regular response by the Israeli army to incidents in the Occupied Territories; the last time it was heard was after asking the reason why Ismael Handon, Director of the YMCA Vocational Training Program in Jericho, was not allowed to reach his work on 11th June like previous days. Capt. Peter Lerner, Civil Administration, Judea and Samaria (Tel. 00872 9977017) (2)
For instance, according to CNN, June 6, 2001
at: http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/meast/06/06/mideast/index.html (3) For instance, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 13: "Everyone has the right of freedom of movement and residence in any state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.“ (4) See (1) (5) According to the reporting by Nadeem on Thursday, 7th June in East Jerusalem. (6) Further information on this is available directly from Rifat Kassis, YMCA Beit Sahour, 009722 277 2713. (7) Among others, according to information from a supervisor of the Palestinian Red Crescent in a personal discussion on April 2, 2001 in Ramallah. (8) According to medical certificate of 24.4.01 (...) (9) According to reporting by Muhanad Adawaa and his mother in a personal conversation in the refugee camp Kalandia on June 5, 2001. (10) According to his own observations on June 9, approximately at 11:00 at the road junction in the direction of the refugee camp Jalazon, leaving Ramallah. (11) Ha’aretz (English edition), Sunday 10th June, page 2 (12) Ha’aretz (English edition), Tuesday 12th June or directly at: www.btselem.org (see press release) (13) Al Ayam, Friday 8th June, page 1. - for limited circulation ? By Markus Marti, International YMCA/YWCA
Observer / Jerusalem, 13 June 2001 |
