The Spirit Of Palestine

I am back home reflecting on the past two weeks. The Birzeit University International Work Camp seems one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. There was hardly any work, it was extremely disorganised and I was bitter at finding out that I couldn't re-book my flight and had to go back straight after it finished. But the entire journey was filled with an amazing spirit of humanity, it was a heart-warming, uplifting experience, affirming my belief in the oneness, a unity of peoples.

The Palestinian people, who experienced so much suffering at the hands of foreigners, who should be throwing stones at us, were always welcoming, friendly and helpful. Everybody would say 'hello' to us when just walking down the street. Once, when we were in Betlehem, three of my friends were walking past a house where a party was taking place. The people invited them in, to what turned out to be a wedding party, and took them to dance.

I learned so much about the conflict, its effect on the people, the everyday reality as well as the Palestinian politics. Almost everything of what media says about Palestine is orientalist, neo-colonialist, racist, imperialist, eurocentric rubbish. Now I feel compelled to share everything that I know with as many people as possible. To de-construct every single zionist myth and to try aid, in whatever limited way I can, the Palestinian people in acquiring the freedom and independence, which they just like any other peoples in the world, rightly and truly deserve.

Over the coming days, I will share some my experiences here, as well as attempt to write some articles so watch that space. And if you want to learn more about Palestine, a good place to start is: www.zajel.org