Getting moving on the January 2015 student visit...

See HERE!

Next student exchange from Palestine

Dear students ... CADFA are now organising our next student exchange from Palestine, which will take place in January 2015. This is part of the Twinning in Action project - more info here.

Below (the next post down) is a report from last year's exchange and if you go down this blog further, or look on the CADFA website, you will see what has happened in previous years.

The Palestinian participants are already chosen and have prepared their visa applications. We are looking now for UK student participants!

If your student union/ Palestinan society/ other society  is interested in taking part in this exchange, hosting students, organising events etc, now is the time to be in touch!

contact@camdenabudis.net

Project summary from the student exchange in January 2014

CADFA Winter Olympics was one of a series of exchanges organised by Camden Abu Dis Friendship Association with Dar Assadaqa, Abu Dis.  In January 2014, Palestinian university students travelled to the UK for ten days of activities with students from the UK. The plan was to bring sixteen students (eight from Gaza and eight from the West Bank) to work with sixteen students from the UK – half of the group being women and half of them men. The aim was to support student twinning initiatives by creating an opportunity for university students from Britain and Palestine to meet, learn about each other’s lives and take part in joint activity.    This cultural exchange focused on sports.

Before the exchange the students in Palestine and in Britain each planned a special day of activities focusing on university students’ lives in their own country. They prepared pictures and presentations, food, joint activity and entertainment to show the other group as part of a residential programme. The Gaza group also prepared, as we all expected them to travel. As the political climate made it look less easy, we mounted a campaign to try to get them to travel but unfortunately this was not possible.

The beginning part of the visit was dominated by the difficulty and in the end sadly the impossibility of the Gazan group leaving Gaza and joining the exchange. The first day or two of the exchange was taken up with anticipation of the Gazans’ visit, hope, and in the end, disappointment because, although equipped with visas and ready to come, they were unable to travel through the border at Rafah into Egypt or get to the UK for this project. We were able to include an extra participant of Palestinian origin who had just moved to Britain and an extra leader to help the Palestinian group.

At the beginning of the exchange visit, the group stayed together in an outdoor centre in the Peak District.  The first two days were the 'British Day' and 'Palestinian Day' that the groups had previously organised. There were outdoor activities and sports as well as indoor discussions and activities. Students looked at the products of previous CADFA student exchanges and discussed student twinning. On the third day, students travelled in small groups to different northern universities, where they  met more students, took part in sporting activities and were able to do a first comparison of the university life in both countries. Before they left the Peak District, they reviewed what they had learned and prepared for the main part of the project.

They then travelled to London where they met students from a number of universities that had been involved in our previous visits. They  visited different campuses and learned about students’ lives and visited London’s tourist attractions and the Emirates Stadium. Each day they had the  opportunity to play sport together, with a different sport on each day and in each place. The final events of our ‘CADFA Winter Olympics’ were a day in a local sports centre dedicated to sport and a football tournament on the last day, which also included a student twinning workshop (open to others) at University College London and a celebration of the project including food, presentations and thanks to everyone involved.

Students made plans to organise feedback events at their own universities. Pictures and video of the project were gathered at the events and put on a blog.  The activities of this visit and new links made will strengthen the connections between student unions in Palestine and Britain and contribute to the next visit (funded by Erasmus+) in early 2015.

Students in Gaza

We're thinking even  more of the students from Gaza who couldn't join the visit now, as the Israelis have been viciously attaching Gaza for the past three weeks. We hope they and their families are safe and are scared for them at the current time.

We did have one student from Gaza with us: Malaka. Here is an article about her and her family:.

 Article about Malaka in the Huffington Post.

So many memories BUT not enough pictures! (People who were there, let us have yours...)

Where are all the sports pictures??

Quite a lot of shopping...

Thanks Raast (and Tarek for organising it) - that was a great evening

Feedback pictures - Saif back at his university, talking about the visit

Meeting the students... by two Palestinians from London

" I have enjoyed spending time with the Palestinian students and taking part in the CADFA events. I have learned much more about the Palestinian university life in the West Bank than I ever have, even as a Palestinian from Gaza. It has been very informative and the students have offered insights that I believe I could not have found anywhere else. They are very bright people and I'm happy to have taken part in a short part of their stay"

 

"It's such a fantastic idea and project that would help the world to understand about the Palestinian struggle through a voice of justice. Personally I believe a project which allows the young generation to share their experience on an activity base would bring peace to the region.
I also think that we live through a very tough time, specially the young people, it's very important to keep these projects going and to support them morrally, emotionally and financially.  
I hope to see more of these projects in the future."

Day one at the CADFA Winter Olympics student visit

By Eliza :

Saturday 25^th January

Day one at the CADFA Winter Olympics weekend residential at Lockerbrook, Peak District

The weather being on our side in the morning, our weekend with the Palestinian students started beautifully. Lockerbrook Activity Farm based in the Peak District overlooks Ladybower Reservoir- yes, that’s the view we woke up to.

I need to mention before anything else, the amazing level of cooperation with which all the participants at this cultural exchange have worked with each other. From preparing the meals, helping each other out of muddy puddles, to sharing anecdotes and experiences- this is the essence of a cultural exchange. 

One of the highlights of the day, and something I hope my new Palestinian friends will cherish for life, was our walk from Lockerbrook to Fairholmes. We walked by the reservoir and up to the Derwent Dam, by which time the rain gods decided to pour it down- thunder and all. As soaked and cold as we were, and as excruciating as the steep uphill walk back to Lockerbrook was, the Wellies and our packed lunches served us well. I’ve been to the Peaks before, but having the Palestinian students for company in the Peaks was a first.

What struck me hard was a conversation session I had with the Palestinian girls later in the evening.  Majd Jamal Alkhatib, a student at Al Quds University in Abu Dis, narrated various incidents of students being attacked with tear gas, about what one must do when they are attacked like this (onions and cigarettes!), the use of hot water cannons by Israeli soldiers, and about the very recent break-in at her university campus by the soldiers in which one student got shot. But this isn’t it. It’s the normalcy with which Majd and her friends told us about these incidents, their ability to still laugh and joke which saddened me. I have infinite amounts of respect for the strength and resilience with which they go through their daily life, at the same time it is a cruel situation where people have to get used to living like this. This is not okay, and it is an exchange of this sort that, I am reminded needs to take place between Palestinians and their supporters worldwide, which will then materialize in positive action.

You won't regret it!

Thanks to Sakib : 

In all honesty, when I set out for the Peak District I wasn’t sure what to expect; all I knew was that the prospect of meeting and exchanging stories with Palestinian students was something that really excited me. And, unsurprisingly, I wasn’t disappointed. As soon as I arrived at the location I was warmly greeted by British and Palestinian student alike. Before long I had made a number of friends; by the evening, I’d made friends for life. Attending this event was a truly enriching experience, and I am forever grateful to have had the opportunity to do so. It was a privilege to have been able to get to know the students from Palestine: I certainly won’t forget their kindness. Despite hearing a number of disheartening, sickening stories about their experiences as Palestinian students (such as attacks from IDF soldiers with live ammunition in their University campus, and routine harassment at checkpoints), their positivity and resilience towards it all was humbling, and it certainly made me think twice about the comforts I take for granted here in the UK. Overall, I had a great time with the Palestinian students, and I thank CADFA for giving me this unique opportunity. I recommend anyone thinking of attending future exchanges to do so – you won’t regret it!

Serenity and calm in the Peak District where the student visit started

Wish to visit England again

Thanks to Moussa : 

When we were in England we met new people. They were nice and we discovered a new culture. It was a good experience. We did many nice and amazing things there. The most I liked was the camp and the visit in the university in Leeds. We had a lot of fun and we spent a very nice time. It was so hard for me to say goodbye to the people I met there because we had to go back to Palestine. I hope and I would like to visist England an other time to my new friends again.

Picture taken by Moussa in the Peak District

I use to like football so much and during this visit we enjoyed sports a lot

Thanks to Zaid

We went to the University of Brunel after a long day of work and visits in many other London universities. This visit was very interesting. We met new students and visited new areas in London.

 I use to like football so much and during this visit we enjoyed sports a lot. There was a match between two teams Palestinian and British. I was surprised when I saw the buildings of sports in the university in London. It was really wonderful not like in Palestine, we don’t have a special building for sports there and I dream to have it one day.

I would like to say that clubs here are very wonderful and there are a lot of them.

As a man who likes sport a lot, it is the only thing where I found myself, I can say that I really enjoyed my time in London and I wish to have all  these sport equipments in Palestine as well. 

Life long friends

In January, I took part in the CADFA visit of Palestinian students to the UK. It was a life changing and inspiring experience.

The attitudes and the genuine pride and happiness shown by the Palestinians,  despite the atrocities they face is incredible. I learned a lot about Palestine as a country, their food, pass times and leisure. Although the Israel army tries to hinder their progress in education it only motivates them more.

Meeting individuals in such a vast array of subjects and backgrounds was exhilarating. Brother Saif who was completing his study in law, Sama, doing dentistry, Marah, who is a trapeze artist in a circus and Zaid and Khaled who loved to play tennis. It was warming to the heart knowing that they're not stuck in dead ends but are going places and can make a difference in their lives and the wider world. I am still in contact with some of them and believe I have made life long friends.

The UK students I met were also a great group of people from different backgrounds studying different subjects. We were all,  including the Palestinians,  able to learn a thing or two from each other and had a lot of fun doing it with the trek through the hills, the board games, football and just talking to each other...

I look forward to being involved with CADFA again some time.

powerful :)

Overall I found the experience really worth while. I hope that CADFA continue to be recognised for the amazing work they do in connecting British and Palestinians together in an eternal bond of friendship that would otherwise be difficult to find. I also hope they are able to continue doing the exceptional work in both the UK and in Palestine, because it is only by personal connections that change is ever made. For anyone tempted to get on board with future project, I'd say take the risk and go for it, you will not regret it and it has the potential to change your life forever...

Lockerbrook days

There was no phone signal

A big thank you to Matthew who tells us his story of the last student visit : 

I arrived back from Palestine just before Christmas after spending three months in Abu Dis between September to December. 

So in January I was really happy to hear that a group of Palestinians would be coming to the UK for a sports and students exchange. The place we would meet was the beautiful surroundings of the Peak District in the middle of nowhere, with around 25 people staying  there for the weekend. There was no phone signal (yes we did get very lost), internet, or distractions from everyone just having an abundance of time to enjoy each others company over the weekend. 

I remember seeing my Palestinian friends for the first time, and it was very surreal because I had spent months working with them in Palestine, and here they were in my own country eating our food and trying to avoid our big fat rain. 

We spent the first day going for a massive walk to a lake, which was the perfect place to go fishing for invisible fish and getting exceptionally muddy. 

In the afternoon the British students gave a presentation about their lives as students. In the evening we cooked together and played table tennis and chess. Conversions went on until the early morning, and the next day the Palestinians gave some moving and emotional stories of being a student in Palestine, and made me feel an appreciation of the small things in life, like being able to play tennis or moving freely in my country to get to lectures...

Enjoying London

The student visit organized by CADFA is aslo an occasion for the Palestinian students to visit London and to share nice moments together with the UK students. 

During these days, they had fun and have done a lot things together like playing sport and bowling