RAMALLAH DIARY
From: Anthony Richardson
To: Andy
Date: 05 June 2003 08:18
Dear Andy
Busy day, edit as you wish
Day 3
Woken at 8am by traffic, knew that Ramallah was open
again. I learnt later that this had not applied to Bir Zeit, where at the
same time they were using live bullets, as well as tear gas at the checkpoint,
needless to say closing down the university for a second day.
My First visit today is to the Mayor of Ramallah, Ayoub Rabah, Eng,
I present to him the resolution passed by Oxford City Council. He
says "We are sympathetic to any links people to people, with Oxford, any
friendship, we like to expose our people to other cultures, and societies.
He expressed support for the way 'Oxford Ramallah Friendship Association
' was proceeding. He agreed to send a message of greetings to Oxford City
Council, and we agreed to keep him in touch with how the process was going.
The Mayor of Ramallah
Then to the 'Society of Ina'sh Usra'. This was an organisation
set up in the 1950s to help refugees, and had developed nurseries etc. It
now deals with female children, mainly of 'martyrs' (these are anybody who
has been killed by the Israelis). When their is great poverty, it is usually
the young girls who suffer first, usually by having to go in to early marriage,
with little or no education. This organisation tries to stop that by housing,
and seeing the girls through the early education, and then giving them higher
education in nursing, computing etc. People abroad can financially adopt
their girls, and for a relatively small monthly amount see them through their
education.
Clearly they would like to relate to Oxford organisations, and if anybody
meets the girls they would see how they benefit, like Fatem, who I met who
had been there 11 years, and who was only last able to visit her family
in Nablus at Christmas, because of the difficulty of checkpoints.
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Next to the Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre,
where we met the director Adila Laidi. This is in a beautiful old building,
that the Israelis violently raided last April, breaking down doors and shooting
in to walls, some of the bullet holes are still there, and on one of the
walls is a painting by English artist Elizabeth Harden with bullet holes
in it. The centre has exhibitions of paintings, puts on Plays, Music, and
generally is an arts centre, they are working on having a place for sculptors,
as there is not one in Ramallah. It is clear to me and Adila that a cultural
relationship with Oxford would be very useful, to both sides.
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Our final visit is to 'The Palestinian Working Womens
Society' This came out of an organisation formed in the 1980s, the 'Union
of Palestinian Working Women', and it now has a number of branches in the
West Bank and Gaza. One thing that is becoming clearer to me as I talk to
Manal Abdullah PCA, at the centre, that the lack of a state is adding to
the problems of women, in a strongly patriarchal society. How do you deal
with violence in the home? This organisation provides coucilling, but how
do you stop it happening. In reality it is NGOs like this organisation that
provide many of the services that in Britain are provided by the Health, and
Social Services. Manal explains that this is only part of their work, they
have projects to get women voting, and standing for elections. They want
to get involved with any new states legislation, for example where women
at the moment only inherit half of what the male descendents inherit. They
also see a major role in stopping the trap of early marriage. This organisation
would love to twin with Oxford Womens organisations.
In the evening I went for a drink, in one of Ramallahs beautiful coffee
bars, with Emma from the 'Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees'.
This is another NGO which is one of the main medical facilities of Palestine.
Emma agreed to discuss with nurses, and ambulance drivers a linkup.
A street musician being filmed
