OPGAI Successfully Conducts First Volunteer Work Camp for 300 Palestinian Youth

Day One

Arrival, procession, and precedent
The First Volunteers’ Work Camp of the Occupied Palestine and Syrian Golan Heights Advocacy Initiative (OPGAI), of which the AIC is a central member, kicked off on August 10. The camp began with a large, brightly-colored procession through the West Bank town of Beit Sahour, where the 300 Palestinian youth participants, women and men aged 18-23 and hailing from all over the West Bank, northern Israel and the Golan Heights, would be based for the next four days.

The evening procession ended at their Beit Sahour campsite where campers heard from Zaher Bulos of Nazareth, Salman Fakher Al Deen of the Occupied Golan Heights, and OPGAI director Adnan Ramadan. The speakers highlighted the impact of such volunteer work camps in Nazareth in the 1970s and 1980s and highlighted the importance of hard work, service and volunteerism within Palestinian society.

The OPGAI Volunteers’ Work Camp follows the tradition set by those once organized by the Nazareth Municipality each year to compensate for neglect and lack of funding by the Israeli Interior Ministry. The Nazareth volunteers took the maintenance and improvement of their community into their own hands, displaying hard work and democratic ideals in the face of external and internal obstacles to the development of civil society.

Day Two

Connecting through hard work and communication

The youth rose early and divided into six groups for their work assignments. One group was dispatched to the Dheisheh Refugee Camp, which has existed since 1948 and has experienced the worst of the occupation over the decades. Volunteers cleared an area for the construction of a kindergarten and cleaned a cemetery designated for those killed under Israeli occupation.
Another group headed east of Bethlehem toward the desert that stretches to the Dead Sea. These youth, plus a delegation of Greek volunteers, met with residents of Dar Salah and

divided into smaller groups in order to get to know each other better. They discussed refugee camps, the Palestinian struggle, and the diaspora. The morning was less about teaching and more about sharing, as the youth opened up about their backgrounds and their stories. The group spent the remainder of the morning fixing up a school in Dar Salah, cleaning it and its surroundings and preparing it to be painted.

In greener surroundings, fifty volunteers spent the morning assisting a farmer on his land near the Al Khader village between Bethlehem and Hebron. The group experienced life under occupation first-hand when three Israeli army jeeps, one Israeli police vehicle, and one intelligence car pulled up to the farmer’s land.

The soldiers filmed the youth and tried to intimidate and provoke them. The soldiers threatened the farmer, ordered the youth to remove their red OPGAI camp t-shirts, and tried to provoke more escalated interactions. The volunteers moved to another site, farther from the main road, to continue assisting the farmer, but the Israeli police remained present at a distance.
Back in Beit Sahour, another group divided into five smaller groups and canvassed area shops, pharmacies, and restaurants, explaining to shop owners the importance of boycotting Israeli goods and showcasing Palestinian products in their businesses. The youth told shopkeepers: “If we boycott Israel and their products, it will not harm us, but if we buy, we help them to suppress us.” The young activists persuaded business owners that if more Palestinian products are purchased, the local industry will be able to develop.

They presented several effective strategies for helping owners participate in the BDS campaign – to promote the sale of Palestinian goods through proper product placement in stores, for example – and helped shopkeepers hang posters and stickers.

After a period of rest and free time, the youth reconvened for evening discussions on women’s rights and a seminar featuring local political leaders from Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Palestinian People’s Party, who shared personal experiences working in local politics and talked about the roles that youth can play in these movements. The international volunteer leaders, meanwhile, listened to an informative lecture on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

“We have things in common” Across different backgrounds, campers experience bonds of solidarity and the rewards of volunteerism After just one day of work, campers started to realize the importance of making personal connections through volunteering. Returning from the Martyr’s Cemetery in Dheisheh Camp after the first day of work, Omar, 23, relaxed in the shade at the Beit Sahour campsite. He talked about the similarities he felt between life in his native Golan Heights and the West Bank. “Our lifestyle is similar, and how Israel deals with us, as if we are not human, is the same.” He said that like Palestine, residents of the Golan own land that they are not allowed to farm, build on, or collect water from, because Israel wants to keep it empty for its own use.

Aamr, another youth from the Golan Heights, talked about the spirit of resistance in the Golan and the ways that Golani people demonstrate, by celebrating Syrian holidays and commemorating the days under Israeli curfew in the 1980s. Aamr plans to study law in Haifa and return to the Golan Heights when he is finished. “Majdal Shams has given me a lot,” he said, “so I want to stay there, give back, develop, and help how I can.

I want to bring something new to the people—culture, activities—and help develop society and improve life for people there.”

Other volunteers expressed their enthusiasm for the opportunities offered by the camp. Sari, 21, from Beit Jala, said that his primary motivation for coming to the camp was to do volunteer work, but one of the best things so far was building relationships with people from all over Israel and Palestine. Shadi, from Nablus, and Amir, from the Galilee area, said the same: they were excited about the new experiences and relationships they were forming.

Naser, from Hebron and a volunteer with Defence of Children International-Palestine, said: “The reason why I chose this camp is particular. The other camps that I did before were not about community service in different places. I think the volunteer work we do is very important because we need it for many things and people are very pleased when we help them.

For example today, in Zatara, it gave me a good feeling to help the farmer build the wall. The fact that young people gather together is very important as well, it makes them talk about group work, volunteering and political issues. The lectures and workshops we had were very interesting. I am really glad I came here.”

Day Three

Youth show solidarity with farmers, refugees; Canvass area to spread boycott awareness

On the third day of the camp, youth again divided into several groups to receive their work assignments. One group went to Bustan Qaraqaa, a new initiative in the West Bank that promotes the use of permaculture to protect and restore the degrading environment, while restoring dignity and self reliance to people living under occupation. Another group stayed closer to the campsite to repair a wall along the main road in Beit Sahour, while a third group continued the work of the BDS group from the previous day. Today the youth concentrated their efforts on Bethlehem, and worked their way from the central bus station all the way to Bab al-Zqaq, meeting with shopkeepers along the heavily-trafficked shopping route and distributing material urging ordinary Palestinians to get involved in the boycott.

Fifteen volunteers could also be seen painting railings around a stage and gallery at Bethlehem's Aida Refugee Camp. The stage was built this past spring, designed for activities to be held during the Pope's visit to Aida Camp, some of which were ultimately prohibited by the Israelis.Another group of 25 youth headed to the village of Zatara to assist a project led by the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. The campers helped a local farmer remove the small pieces of stone in order to build a wall that prevents ground erosion. They ate lunch at the farmer's place and talked about the situation in Zatara. The youth were happy to be there, they said, to express solidarity with the farmers of Zatara.

All groups met back at the campsite for down time and evening workshops. Camp leaders held an open discussion for some campers, in which the youth were given space to discuss issues in a supportive environment. A group of youth gathered for an informative workshop on swine flu, which has raised some fears in the area for several months. A third group met for a workshop on the Palestinian situation in 1948, and later all of the youth sat for a meeting with OPGAI members and representatives from active local NGOs.

Organizers stress the value of inter-personal connections, communication, and community building

Yasser Hemadan, camp organizer, emphasized the importance of the OPGAI camp by using day three's workshop on the reality of life in 1948 lands as an example. This particular workshop, he said, had three youth from 1948 lands and the remainder from the West Bank. "This is very good for the youth from the West Bank because of the way they view youth living outside of the West Bank, Yasser said. "They know the others don't have checkpoints or Intifadas. But they need to learn about the restrictions and reality of occupation that also exists for people living in the 1948 areas."

Yasser continued, "The name of the camp is 'towaasil,' meaning connecting. This is one of the most important effects of the camp, for youth to get to know others from outside of their own areas. For example, three years, ago, several people came [to the camp] from Nazareth who had never thought to come to the West Bank. Now they come regularly, every couple of months, and bring other youth with them, while maintaining communication with their friends and partners here in the West Bank. The youth have strong ties and friendships, and they will use these friendships now and in the future.

Participants of the OPGAI Volunteer Youth Camp helping to build."I’ve been working with some of these same youth for four or five years now; when they first came, they were only 14 or 15. Now they’re almost 20, and I’ve seen them mature each year. Now I see them working as a team, acting like adults, like leaders. In the long term, all of these youth will be community leaders.

Ahmad Abu Hania, AIC staff member and camp leader, said, "We want to help the youth develop their personalities, their identities, to experience good feelings from this type of [volunteer] work. We want to enable them to do this work without any reward— with the only reward being to help people. We tried to get guys and girls in equal numbers, to show that they are equal. We want guys to see that they can build normal friendships with girls, and for girls to see the same – that the guys are like their brothers.”

Dahoud al-Ghoul, a camp leader from Jerusalem, said that it’s important not just to send the youth out to work in different areas. “You need to teach them the meaning behind the work, what volunteering means, so that they’ll believe in this type of work and do more of it in their communities. This is why it’s important to have lectures, workshops, and group discussions in the evening," he said, to expose them to the ideas and importance behind the work.

Day Four

Manual labor and solidification of new relationships

On the final full day of the camp, volunteers again headed out to work in different communities. A group visited Bethlehem's al-Azza Refugee Camp, which, with its 2,000 refugees living in a one-quarter square kilometer area, is one of the most crowded Palestinian camps. The youth were led on a tour of the camp by a volunteer leader, and visited an elderly refugee from Beit Jibrin who talked about her family's 1948 exodus from that village. The group continued on to al-Azza's Handala Cultural Center. There they got the chance to express themselves creatively by painting murals on the center's walls.

A second group of 20 volunteers headed to the Husan Health Centre, located adjacent to the Israeli settlement of Beitar Illit. The youth here spent the day cleaning the perimeter of the clinic and repairing its fences. Another group went to the Bethlehem-area village of Al Khader to make a second attempt to do agricultural work there. This particular piece of land is located between the Israeli settlement of Neve Daniel and Road 60, which connects Jerusalem and Hebron and was constructed primarily to make it easy for the Hebron settlers to access Jerusalem. The land’s location makes it particularly vulnerable to future confiscation. After working for about an hour, Israeli military, police and settlement security again showed up, and eventually forced the volunteers to leave.

On Thursday the entire camp was treated to a dance performance by a group of 91 visiting Catalans who are touring the West Bank and Jerusalem. The Catalans performed their traditional dance called Ball de Bastons (Catalon for "stick dance"), and then remained for a festive celebration of Palestinian music, food, and dance in which the youth took to the stage and celebrated their hard work and new friendships.

Solidarity and Non-Violent Resistance to Israeli-Imposed Separation Campers appreciated not only the chance to volunteer and make new friends, but the opportunity to meet with others to discuss the Palestinian situation and non-violent resistance. They were able to express their solidarity with youth from all different areas and also members of the communities in which they worked.

Meena of Nazareth, after visiting al-Azza Camp, said, "I think it is unfair to live in the camp like that, and the story about what happened makes me sad. And I want to help them. I saw that it is so hard to live in the camp. I hope freedom will come for them." Omar, a volunteer from the Golan Heights, echoed Meena's thoughts when he said, "To be in such places like al-Azza camp makes me feel sorry about people who live here in such circumstances; but it makes me feel proud that they haven't given up."Shaden, an 18-year-old woman from Nazareth and volunteer with the Palestinian human rights organization Al Haq, was present during one of the confrontations with Israeli soldiers near Al Khader. She was shocked by the army’s actions.

“They just came and had no right to disturb, no business to be there.” She said that in her group were youth from Umm al-Fahem, Jerusalem, and Abu Dis, and she listened to their stories. The incident with the army may have disturbed her more than others, she said, because “the others are used to the army, borders, checkpoints, and I’m not.”

On his immediate surroundings in the West Bank, Aamr, 21, from the Golan said, “You know about the situation here, or in Ramallah, but when you hear it from people here, who are living here, it shocks you.”
Community Reaction

Sameer Odeh, a member of the Popular Committee of Aida Camp, talked about solidarity: "We are very happy to welcome the volunteers to Aida Camp. It is not just the work that they do, which is important, but also for them to learn about how we live here." Sameer went on to explain that as the camp is located beside the Separation Wall, when it was being constructed residents were under a 40 day curfew and some who broke this out of necessity were killed by Israeli snipers. After explaining this context to volunteers, Sameer put them to work. He also remarked that he and other community members appreciated the internationals' presence in the camp, as it encourages them in their struggle and reminds them that the international community is concerned about the Palestinian situation.

Camp leader Ahmad Abu Hania was pleased with the community's reactions to the camp and the volunteers' work. Visible signs of the volunteers' efforts were everywhere – from repaired walls in Beit Sahour to cleaner schools to ubiquitous BDS posters newly displayed over Bethlehem-area shops.