I was a part of the Palestinian women’s
visit to London organised by CADFA. As a buddy, I was extremely involved in the
entire programme. Arriving at the campsite in East Grinstead, I was both
excited and curious about the week to come. Upon arrival, I was pleasantly
surprised by the open nature of the women and the willingness with which they
answered our questions and told us their stories.
Saturday, 16th
May was the ‘British Day’ organised by the British
volunteers/buddies including myself. The
day began with a traditional English breakfast, which the Palestinians did not
seem to have tried before. The meeting that followed was very interesting as it
gave everyone a chance to get to know the entire group better. Each woman
brought with them an object which they felt described their lives as
British/Palestinian women. Many of the Palestinian women brought objects that
bore the Palestinian flag whilst the British women seemed to bring objects such
as planners and diaries. This exercise helped all the women who were part of
the trip learn about each other in a short space of time. A traditional English
lunch followed and then the afternoon was spent making puppets and for each
group to organise their own puppet show. This gave many of the Palestinian
women the opportunity to give us a picture of the true Palestine.
On Sunday, the
Palestinian day was similarly interesting especially as I had
little knowledge of Palestinian culture.
They set up a skills showcase which was varied and exciting, ranging from dance
to henna tattooing. However, the most interesting part of the day was when each
of the Palestinian women gave their presentations of various aspects of life in
Palestine. Some talked about military checkpoints whilst others talked about
political prisoners and house demolitions. I became so much more knowledgeable
about Palestine itself after having listened to everyone’s presentations. Some
of the things I learnt were shocking and gave me the ability to better
empathise with every Palestinian living under the occupation.
Monday was largely a
day for everyone involved in the initiative to just
have a fun day out in Brighton and for
the Palestinian women to see the sea. For most of them, it was their first time
by the sea and they seemed very happy. We all then attended an event at Sussex
University where two of the Palestinian women gave their presentations and
their leader Dr Fadwa spoke. The turn out was exceptional and the women who
spoke did so with confidence and clarity. The Q&A afterwards was satisfying
because we saw that many of those attending the event weren’t familiar with
what was going on with Palestine, which is brilliant because we raised
awareness.
Having gotten back
to London the night before, Tuesday was a jam packed
day, which could not be helped as we were
running on a tight schedule. The Palestinian women seemed to enjoy experiencing
London and seeing the Southbank and traveling on the Thames which was lovely to
see. Then we proceeded to the City Learning Centre to begin the process of
making an animated film which was arguably the most important part of the
visit. The women all came up with thoughtful ideas and plotlines, showing an
enthusiasm for raising more awareness about Palestine in Britain.
Wednesday was a
really important day as it gave my group [RED] which
consisted of 3 British buddies and 3
Palestinian women, a chance to visit and speak at Camden Crossroads women’s
centre. The meeting embodied the objectives of the visit as within it a true
cultural exchange took place. Women in Britain talked about the problems they
faced and the Palestinian women did the same. Information was exchanged and
both sides learnt new things and even took down each others’ email addresses in
order to stay in contact and ideally set up a link between he Camden Crossroads
women’s group and a women’s group in Palestine. In the afternoon, we continued
with the animated film, which was developing well.
The next day saw the
Red group visiting my school where I attend sixth form,
La Swap. The event was fairly small yet
successful as the students who were listening too the presentations given by
the Palestinians were definitely being exposed to new things. The British
Curriculum does not cover the Israel-Palestine issue and I think this fact
surprised the Palestinians but also reinforced the importance of raising
awareness amongst both children and adults in their eyes. After the session at
my school, we travelled again to the CLC to continue with our animated film. As
our characters and backgrounds had been mostly completed, we began to film. The
process was a rewarding one especially when everything came together. By the
end of the session we were ready to begin editing.
Friday was spent
editing and finishing the animated film. Once this had been
completed, the Palestinians had a look
around the British museum. The evening was spent at Finchley Library in Barnet.
The cultural evening did not have as big a turn out as was anticipated but this
was most probably due to the location of the event and the timing.
The last full day of
the visit, Saturday, was both sad yet rewarding. In the
morning, the animated film was showcased
much to the excitement of everyone involved in the making of it. Another film
depicting the visit itself was shown, which seemed a good conclusion to a
wonderful trip. In the afternoon, we were invited to the Islamic Cultural
Centre in Central Mosque, Regents Park. The director was extremely
accommodating and seemed to be interested in the Palestinian cause as well as
CADFA. The women also learnt a lot about the Muslim population in London and
the activities of the Islamic Cultural Centre. The farewell party in the
evening though sad for obvious reasons, was highly enjoyable and gave the
participants in this visit, both British and Palestinian an opportunity to say
goodbye and have one last meal together.
Overall, this
experience volunteering with CADFA in a visit has been
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