Saturday 25th
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.