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.