well, i have decided to go back to the states. it was s very difficult decision, one that literally i have left to the last minute to make, but it just feels like the right thing to do right now. i did have a great last couple days in the west bank and in jerusalem, however, and it makes me feel really good about coming back here soon.
i went to visit abed in arora, staying at his house. it was incredibly beautiful, the land so green, the trees flowering. i have never seen palestine in this season, and its incredible. and cold! i spent one night freezing, underdressed and no heat, but i managed because of the warm hospitality!
abed and the union leadership are very excited about the clinic, and they are getting to work on fixing the room up for it, and getting supplies. abed, bless his heart, is my biggest supporter, and he said he wants to make fliers and pass them out at the factories telling workers what acupuncture is good for and why they need to come get it. he is my best advocate. he knows everyone in ramallah, and everywhere we go together he tells them, this is my friend mateo, chinese doctor, with the needles! and every person says, "you see, i have this back problem..." or "my neck..." or "my wife has insomnia..." or "there was an acupuncturist in ramallah once, but he charged $100 per visit and after a few months he left town." so people are really enthusiastic. i guess we'll see.
also, abed showed me, from his house, across the valley, on the top of the "mount" as he calls it, the place where a peace village is being built. its supposed to be for christians, jews, muslims, buddhists, anyone can live there. and he supports it and thinks its a great idea. it just gets me thinking...
i go back to jerusalem, through the steel and they x-rayed my organic grapefruit, lemons, and olives from abed's field. thanks!
back in jerusalem i met some ism'ers in the palm hostel, and it was a great conversation through the night. it felt really good to have some good discussions with these folks, i felt an immediate kinship with them. its hard to not do that work anymore, the homestays to prevent house demolitions, the direct action in bil'in, the checkpoint watch. but the head ism coordinator made me feel a lot better about it when he acknowledged that providing acupuncture to ismers or to the community IS being onthe front lines, and is far more important, because not everyone has that tool to offer. i have felt like that, but it was nice to hear that from an "outsider" and helped me feel more comfortable in blending my roles. hisham said that he supports and defends me 100%, and wants to participate in a training, despite his stroke that left his right side paralyzed. he also says that training israeli activists and others in the technique can be of huge benefit in the long term as well, and he wants to organize those trainings. finally! something that resonates with the grassroots! no more of the stuffy, pristine clinic of the trc! yeah!
now i have to travel to eilat, on the border of egypt. i must get a visa from the consulate before entering, which is closed on friday, the muslim holiday, and saturday, the jewish one, so i have to wait until sunday. these borders are so ridiculous. i am essentially stranded here on the border, against my will, but its merely an inconvenience. obviously for many others borders represent so much more. but the principle is what i am trying to highlight.
i am here in eilat and happened to look at the pictures on a camera that a friend passed along to me that was intended for gaza. i was checking to see if it worked and i noticed that there were pictures on it. (i wasn't trying to be nosy!) the pictures were of family at mammoth cave, in kentucky. it made me so sad to think that these pictures, this simple thing, will never arrive to its destination, the imprisoned family members in gaza. another stark reminder of the inhumanity of these borders.
skip the next part if you dont want to hear about a small story that had a chain reaction in my head, its long and probably a ramble:
i wanted to share an experience, i hope its not too long. i was on the microbus to ramallah in the morning from arora and i witnessed something very interesting. a boy was sitting by the window and he immediately opened it. young, energetic and antsy, he was happy to have the wind blowing in his face. the older man in his 60s in the seat behind him was not so pleased. he had no scarf on and it was very cold in the morning. he waited a few minutes, but you could tell he wasnt happy. soon he pushed the window to almost shut. without hesitating, the boy immediately opened it to its original place. the man grumbled, waited, closed it again. the boy opened it. he closed it. it went on like this for almost 15 minutes. there was no talking, but both were pushing one another's limits with this physical language. it was surprising to me on a lot of levels. one, because the boy was so brazenly defiant to an elder, which i dont see often in any society, especially this one. and two, i was waiting for the older man to pull the "age" card and say "enough!", but he never did. he just kept sliding the window almost closed. actually, it was interesting because both had a right, and neither verbally asserted that their personal needs were any more important that the others. this was surprising to me, becuase i was expecting that to be the basis of an argument. but neither did. it seemed like two people from the same small village could talk about something, explain to one another what they needed and come to an agreement, but it almost seemed like a verbal engagement was too intimate, would have taken the thing to another level. so they kept it where it was. it ended finally when a woman in the front seat got off the bus, and the boy went to that window seat and opened the window all the way, and the man closed his window. i dont know why this scene struck me so powerfully, that i am thinking about it days afterwards. perhaps the nature of this conflict, one that is within a discrete time period, i.e. has a definite beginning and certain end (when the bus ride ends) allowed for it to never go to the level of verbal argument. maybe when we can see that the end of the conflict is near, or even that it has an end, we can endure a lot more. but when we look at the future, try to predict what might happen and include time as a factor, and we see that our situation might potentially go on for a long time, if not indefinitely, we become much more agitated, desperate even. indeed, our perception of time is a serious factor when we consider what discomfort we can endure.
a microcosm of conflict. all the essential elements were there. maybe it seems trite. anyway, i know that was long and probably not nearly as meaningful to anyone else, but i felt like i needed to write about it!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
message from the Congress of South African Trade Unions
Soweto yesterday, Gaza today. . .
The forces of apartheid demonstrate limitless capacity for barbarism!
Almost a year ago, Gaza was run down by the occupying forces of Israel in a barbaric show of might and in pursuit of their colonial expansionist ambitions. Schools, clinics, UN buildings, social services, water and electrical installations, cultural institutions and businesses literally crumbled under the weight of heavy bombs and artillery. Dangerous and banned warfare chemicals, like white phosphorus were used in an attempt to annihilate the entire population, in which case women and children were the worst victims. That was Israel at its best, doing what it knows best and what it has always done over the years to instil fear and terror amongst the occupied people.
Funded and supported by the US, Israel has no regard, whatsoever, for international law and continues to expand its colonial project to-date. Illegal settlements are all over Palestine and the inhumane treatment of the people of Gaza bears testimony to the savage occupation that some refuse to see, even when evidence is so naked.
Dear Comrades, we are not hear to tell more of the painful, yet real tales of Palestinian suffering. We are here to welcome back our heroes and internationalists who sacrificed their festive joys for the cause of other people. They set about an impossible mission to invade the lion’s den in a bold effort to demonstrate to the Gaza people that no matter how much their pain, the world community of progressive peoples shall never forsake them. You did that on all our behalf dear comrades and for that, we salute you!
As COSATU, we are proud of our contribution and are fully committed to work with all who share our views and commitment that the crisis in Palestine have gone beyond mere calls for Press statements and sympathies or even charity, to demanding concrete and practical action. The luxury of lamenting is for cowards and armchair activists. We all should be in the streets demanding justice and supporting all attempts to isolate apartheid Israel through the courageous efforts of the Global BDS Campaign. It remains the only peaceful method at the disposal of those in search for justice and a lasting solution to the crisis in that region.
We call upon all organisations, individuals and institutions to join our hands and support the efforts, as outlined in the historic Cairo Declaration, for effective co-ordination of all our efforts for maximum impact. In this regard, the many organisations in our country doing work in solidarity with Palestine are called upon to be part of the initiative towards a united front for solidarity with the people of Palestine, starting with all of us here in South Africa.
COSATU has, on several occasions, been asked by opportunists why is it interested in a matter so far away from our land. The answer is simple, solidarity knows no boundaries or even geography, its about living people and their plight.
Our destiny is tied to theirs, our liberation is tied to theirs, our humanity is tied to theirs. Therefore, no worthy human being would tolerate the suffering and pain of others, wherever they are, worst still, those of us who have fought heroic struggles against apartheid, colonialism and occupation immediately feel it however far. We received solidarity from people we have never seen and were far away from Africa, let alone our country. They heard and responded to our cries. They did not ask how far are we from them. They asked what can we do to assist and they assisted, hence we are free.
Finally, dear comrades, we salute the courageous efforts of the Palestine Solidarity movement for organising these bold initiatives and they have our full support. We shall not be intimidated by attempts to silence us or some of our comrades. We shall be inspired to speak out even more louder and anger for the threat to deny us our right to shout loud against savagery.
We are here to affirm the correctness of our legend, Nelson Mandela’s words,“... our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”. On our part, we do not promise to do everything, but our most humble, yet effective contribution which we have no doubt shall make a decisive difference. Each one of us must do our part and together we shall conquer.
Amandla intifada!!
Bongani Masuku (International Relations Secretary)
The forces of apartheid demonstrate limitless capacity for barbarism!
Almost a year ago, Gaza was run down by the occupying forces of Israel in a barbaric show of might and in pursuit of their colonial expansionist ambitions. Schools, clinics, UN buildings, social services, water and electrical installations, cultural institutions and businesses literally crumbled under the weight of heavy bombs and artillery. Dangerous and banned warfare chemicals, like white phosphorus were used in an attempt to annihilate the entire population, in which case women and children were the worst victims. That was Israel at its best, doing what it knows best and what it has always done over the years to instil fear and terror amongst the occupied people.
Funded and supported by the US, Israel has no regard, whatsoever, for international law and continues to expand its colonial project to-date. Illegal settlements are all over Palestine and the inhumane treatment of the people of Gaza bears testimony to the savage occupation that some refuse to see, even when evidence is so naked.
Dear Comrades, we are not hear to tell more of the painful, yet real tales of Palestinian suffering. We are here to welcome back our heroes and internationalists who sacrificed their festive joys for the cause of other people. They set about an impossible mission to invade the lion’s den in a bold effort to demonstrate to the Gaza people that no matter how much their pain, the world community of progressive peoples shall never forsake them. You did that on all our behalf dear comrades and for that, we salute you!
As COSATU, we are proud of our contribution and are fully committed to work with all who share our views and commitment that the crisis in Palestine have gone beyond mere calls for Press statements and sympathies or even charity, to demanding concrete and practical action. The luxury of lamenting is for cowards and armchair activists. We all should be in the streets demanding justice and supporting all attempts to isolate apartheid Israel through the courageous efforts of the Global BDS Campaign. It remains the only peaceful method at the disposal of those in search for justice and a lasting solution to the crisis in that region.
We call upon all organisations, individuals and institutions to join our hands and support the efforts, as outlined in the historic Cairo Declaration, for effective co-ordination of all our efforts for maximum impact. In this regard, the many organisations in our country doing work in solidarity with Palestine are called upon to be part of the initiative towards a united front for solidarity with the people of Palestine, starting with all of us here in South Africa.
COSATU has, on several occasions, been asked by opportunists why is it interested in a matter so far away from our land. The answer is simple, solidarity knows no boundaries or even geography, its about living people and their plight.
Our destiny is tied to theirs, our liberation is tied to theirs, our humanity is tied to theirs. Therefore, no worthy human being would tolerate the suffering and pain of others, wherever they are, worst still, those of us who have fought heroic struggles against apartheid, colonialism and occupation immediately feel it however far. We received solidarity from people we have never seen and were far away from Africa, let alone our country. They heard and responded to our cries. They did not ask how far are we from them. They asked what can we do to assist and they assisted, hence we are free.
Finally, dear comrades, we salute the courageous efforts of the Palestine Solidarity movement for organising these bold initiatives and they have our full support. We shall not be intimidated by attempts to silence us or some of our comrades. We shall be inspired to speak out even more louder and anger for the threat to deny us our right to shout loud against savagery.
We are here to affirm the correctness of our legend, Nelson Mandela’s words,“... our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians”. On our part, we do not promise to do everything, but our most humble, yet effective contribution which we have no doubt shall make a decisive difference. Each one of us must do our part and together we shall conquer.
Amandla intifada!!
Bongani Masuku (International Relations Secretary)
Monday, January 25, 2010
update
well, things just never seem to settle these days. as soon as i think i know what my next step is, something shifts. its pretty crazy.
after one night in ramallah waiting for my meeting with the trc i decided to meet with neta golani in the morning, one of the ism founders and longtime activist. we chatted about the situation in the west bank and in gaza, and the challenges that ism is facing. right now it seems that she feels like israel is taking on a pretty new policy of widespread arrest, for internationals and palestinian activists, rather than more violent repression. this is a GENERAL trend, not to say that they are still not using violence. while things have "calmed down" in ramallah, night raids continue to terrorize the west bank, especially in places like in Bil'in and NI'lin and masha'a and other places where there are frequent demonstrations against the contruction of the apartheid wall. neta suggested that i could go to bil'in and set up a clinic there for after the demonstration on friday, and that it could be a good starting point for a commnity-style clinic. so that is an option, i could have a free place to stay there in a house and then provide treatments throughout the week.
neta and i also discussed the cairo declaration, which she and a handful of other israeli activists have already signed. she and i agree that it is a great document because it effectively has raised the bar in how we talk about this situation. it repositions us in this debate to talk about the occupation in more truthful terms, calling it by the correct name, israeli apartheid. she says its the first time someone with moral authority has really had the courage to use this language, and the document in itself is a radical tool for education because it demands of the reader to think about the conflict in a new light. she and i are also very interested in how we can ensure that this movement around the declaration is as democratic as possible, and doesnt meet some of the same walls, so to speak, as ism has in its history. we are working together to try to influence the model of organizing from the beginning. i think her experience here is very valuable in terms of trying ot have a massively democratic and international effort, and we need her input in this process. i hope it helps.
after my meeting with neta, i met abed. what a dear man, a kind soul. we had coffee and i basically followed him to various union meetings he had to attend in the morning. he told me hestarted a new hotel and restaurant workers union. his commitment to workers and the most marginalized people in one of the most marginalized societies gives me so much inspiration. abed says that many workers here work 18 hour days and only make around $20. many business owners use the occupation as the excuse to not offer decent rights to their workers, including a day off or maternity leave or a fixed minimum wage. talking with abed only reinforces my wobbly sensibilities, realizing that workers are really getting the short end of the stick all over. i mean, the occupation creates an environment of such struggle, that those who obtain even the smallest advances cling ever so dearly to them, and solidarity is broken. abed told me that many things have changed in palestinian society, that the occupation used to be a source of common bond, that people could unite over it. in fact, the first intifada was very much about community organziations and solidarity. but slowly it has taken its toll. and especially with the industrialization, the commodification, of activism through the well-intentioned infuence of NGOs, resistance has become a business. people make money, they obtain small positions of power and influence, they might get a computer or a land rover. the dumping of millions of international dollars a year for NGOs has been very divisive. now people are focused on individual issues - women, children, water, organic food, fair trade, etc. the problem is that because the grant money is for very niche projects, the result has been a fractured movement, and one that follows the money. so the common worker is still at the bottom, here, but its much more complicated. abed also talked to me about how the fair trade olive oil project is being run by a corrupt man, who pays the workers a fraction and makes millions, literally. he has several land rovers, houses in the US and in the west bank, he is a business man. meanwhile the farmers and workers for the organization are not getting their fair wage. AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON FAIR TRADE COFFEE INDUSTRY in latin america, its the same issue. how these initiative get corrupted i dont really understand. but its very serious.
too many NGOs, too much money, corruption in the movement. solidarity breaks down, compartmentalized movements, nothing coherent. its an unstable place, and it looks quite bleak to me. all the EU and UN money that have been pumped in here have done very little, in the long run, in terms of building a coherent movement. it might as well have been a zionist initiative, similar to any colonial one that seeks to divide and conquer. of course, palestinians have their responsibility here as well, but the pressures on them are so severe that it seems that most people can only resist for so long until they break. its why i maintain that worker organizing and education around class and capitalism is the only way to get to the root of these problems, and many in the PGFTU, including abed, agree.
the palestine general federation of trade unions (PGFTU) is where i had coffee next, with abed, and i began talking to the secretary of the union about the cairo declaration and the situation of labor in general in palestine. we were just talking and talking and drinking tea, and he was asking me about my work, and i told him a bit about acupuncture. then he said, well, the afl-cio solidarity center has helped the pgftu buy their own new building, so they dont have rent anymore and can put their money towards other things. the new building has an extra floor, and the secretary said that he would be very excited to dedicate some space to establishing an acupuncture clinic for workers. i didnt even ask! he just offered, and it sounds amazing, like a merging of so many of my interests. he is going to talk with the general steering committee (which he should have done yesterday, actually) and i will hear back from him. but its a very exciting possibility! i mean, opening a clinic for workers, and eventually training folks here to do the ear 5np protocol, it sounds incredible. and i mean that in the truest sense of the word, unbelievable. almost too good to be true, so i am just trying to not get my hopes up too much. i cant handle too many more dissappointments, each one has been very heavy for me, i find that my resilience, my ability to bounce back, hs been weakened over this past month.
which is a good segue into what happened at the treatment and rehabilitation center for victims of torture (TRC) which i have been putting most of my energy into for the past few years of visits. it seemed like a great place ot get something established. now i realize that it is definitely not the place for me. i went to the clinic and was recieved cordially, but coldly. i feel as though i am looked at now as a sort of novelty, a gimmick, someone who has some amusing toy or trick, that is there for their entertainment. i am sure that there are a lot of factors there. one is that acupuncture is certainly foreign to them, and they dont really know how to relate to it (although its foreign to the union guys too, but they had a very different reaction and respect for it). but i think the most significant factor is that they have their heads way too far up their own asses to see something new. they are from an educated and wealthy and (relatively, of course, considering the context of occupation) priveleged class of people. they are pleased with their status and their modern tools. its the same issues i face when i talk to "real" doctors in the US about acupuncture. i was asked to give a few hours of presentation, which i began by showing a 15 minute video about the 5np acupuncture protocol used for trauma after 9-11, katrina, and around the world. the video is highlighted by pyshiatrists and therapists who talk about how many times the best approach to trauma is non-verbal therapy, which is why acupuncture has seemed to be so effective. well, needless to say, this was a concept that the fancy-pants folks at the center bristled at. immediately guards were up, questions were asked about research and mechanism of action. people completely failed to see effectiveness, and only sought to validate their own ideas. they were afraid to lose their power, and forget perhaps their only reason for work, which is to strive to find the best ways to help their patients. their egos got in the way, as our egos do for all of us, and it was too much for them to see. my conclusion: its not the right time to work with these people, and i have no desire to ever return to their center. i am giving up on years of effort here, because its only fruitful in that perhaps these people are getting educated one tiny interaction at a time that they really need to lose control over the healing process. i guess its a lesson we all need to learn. in fact, watching it happen so clearly before my eyes really resonated with something very deep inside of me, and realizing that i need to strive to do the same. i know that i must do the same thing, perhaps in different ways. i hope i can face those moments when my ego is challenged, bravely, and let what needs to die simply pass away. farewell and good riddance!
after the meeting i had another coffee with my palestinian father, abed, again, and then i left for jerusalem, something he has been denied for decades. it was a sad goodbye, we walked arm in arm to the bus, and i felt the weight of the occupation. you never know if you will see someone again. i crossed through the checkpoint from ramallah, the indignities, watching them check for the proper palestinian IDs, x-rays, gates, cages. the wall! the fucking wall. a scar on humanity.
i went to the bus station, passed through the security gates, they checked for weapons, a search which i find shockingly ironic, considering that the mall and bus station are filled with young men and women armed with uzis. i get on the bus, free travel, to the north back to harduf, the kibbutz where i have my israeli family. so many worlds.
last night i had a long conversation with channah about the failures of the kibbutz movement. her opinion is that the kibbutz has failed to bring about a real sense of community, because people have failed to be truthful with one another, and it leads to lies and pain, and now the kibbutz is comprised of individuals who do their own thing, with no real sense of community anymore. silently i wondered if the seed of a social experiment to find individual liberty and a very tight community could ever grow in an environment that denied that land, freedom, and commnity from others. i mean, can you plant an organic seed in contaminated, poisoned earth and expect it to grow healthy and organic? can a free kibbutz community grow on a land that was stolen and the where the presence of their community essentially represents the denial of the basic rights of the people who had always lived there?
when we talk about healing the earth, i think it also applies metaphorically to healing the environment where we plant our ideas and future. the "earth" is the place where things grow, its not just the physical earth. when we want to plant new seeds of peace in a conflict, in a conversation, we must make sure to consider the earth, not just the seed. maybe it doesnt mean that the land where the kibbutz is needs to be purified of its physical toxins so that organic food can grow. maybe it means that the toxin is the kibbutz itself. that the state is the toxin. maybe purifying the earth means the disestablishment of states, of borders, of divisions. when we look at how we have harmed our earth we tend to only look at a very physical level, of chemicals and oils and resource extraction and pollution, which are all true, but maybe our analysis of healing the earth needs to broaden.
ok, damn, lots of writing, not fully formed ideas, but anyway. so at the end of this i am still not sure if i will be coming home on the first of feb, although that seems like the likliest option. but there is still work here, obviously, and this trip has clarified a lot in terms of where that work might be. so i feel very positive about that. but i am not sure if staying is the best idea for me right now, as i am pretty exhausted, especially at changing directions and intentions so often. we'll see! if anyone has any gut feelings about this, please feel free to write soon, because if i'm gonna change my ticket it has to be within the next day or so. PEACE!
after one night in ramallah waiting for my meeting with the trc i decided to meet with neta golani in the morning, one of the ism founders and longtime activist. we chatted about the situation in the west bank and in gaza, and the challenges that ism is facing. right now it seems that she feels like israel is taking on a pretty new policy of widespread arrest, for internationals and palestinian activists, rather than more violent repression. this is a GENERAL trend, not to say that they are still not using violence. while things have "calmed down" in ramallah, night raids continue to terrorize the west bank, especially in places like in Bil'in and NI'lin and masha'a and other places where there are frequent demonstrations against the contruction of the apartheid wall. neta suggested that i could go to bil'in and set up a clinic there for after the demonstration on friday, and that it could be a good starting point for a commnity-style clinic. so that is an option, i could have a free place to stay there in a house and then provide treatments throughout the week.
neta and i also discussed the cairo declaration, which she and a handful of other israeli activists have already signed. she and i agree that it is a great document because it effectively has raised the bar in how we talk about this situation. it repositions us in this debate to talk about the occupation in more truthful terms, calling it by the correct name, israeli apartheid. she says its the first time someone with moral authority has really had the courage to use this language, and the document in itself is a radical tool for education because it demands of the reader to think about the conflict in a new light. she and i are also very interested in how we can ensure that this movement around the declaration is as democratic as possible, and doesnt meet some of the same walls, so to speak, as ism has in its history. we are working together to try to influence the model of organizing from the beginning. i think her experience here is very valuable in terms of trying ot have a massively democratic and international effort, and we need her input in this process. i hope it helps.
after my meeting with neta, i met abed. what a dear man, a kind soul. we had coffee and i basically followed him to various union meetings he had to attend in the morning. he told me hestarted a new hotel and restaurant workers union. his commitment to workers and the most marginalized people in one of the most marginalized societies gives me so much inspiration. abed says that many workers here work 18 hour days and only make around $20. many business owners use the occupation as the excuse to not offer decent rights to their workers, including a day off or maternity leave or a fixed minimum wage. talking with abed only reinforces my wobbly sensibilities, realizing that workers are really getting the short end of the stick all over. i mean, the occupation creates an environment of such struggle, that those who obtain even the smallest advances cling ever so dearly to them, and solidarity is broken. abed told me that many things have changed in palestinian society, that the occupation used to be a source of common bond, that people could unite over it. in fact, the first intifada was very much about community organziations and solidarity. but slowly it has taken its toll. and especially with the industrialization, the commodification, of activism through the well-intentioned infuence of NGOs, resistance has become a business. people make money, they obtain small positions of power and influence, they might get a computer or a land rover. the dumping of millions of international dollars a year for NGOs has been very divisive. now people are focused on individual issues - women, children, water, organic food, fair trade, etc. the problem is that because the grant money is for very niche projects, the result has been a fractured movement, and one that follows the money. so the common worker is still at the bottom, here, but its much more complicated. abed also talked to me about how the fair trade olive oil project is being run by a corrupt man, who pays the workers a fraction and makes millions, literally. he has several land rovers, houses in the US and in the west bank, he is a business man. meanwhile the farmers and workers for the organization are not getting their fair wage. AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON FAIR TRADE COFFEE INDUSTRY in latin america, its the same issue. how these initiative get corrupted i dont really understand. but its very serious.
too many NGOs, too much money, corruption in the movement. solidarity breaks down, compartmentalized movements, nothing coherent. its an unstable place, and it looks quite bleak to me. all the EU and UN money that have been pumped in here have done very little, in the long run, in terms of building a coherent movement. it might as well have been a zionist initiative, similar to any colonial one that seeks to divide and conquer. of course, palestinians have their responsibility here as well, but the pressures on them are so severe that it seems that most people can only resist for so long until they break. its why i maintain that worker organizing and education around class and capitalism is the only way to get to the root of these problems, and many in the PGFTU, including abed, agree.
the palestine general federation of trade unions (PGFTU) is where i had coffee next, with abed, and i began talking to the secretary of the union about the cairo declaration and the situation of labor in general in palestine. we were just talking and talking and drinking tea, and he was asking me about my work, and i told him a bit about acupuncture. then he said, well, the afl-cio solidarity center has helped the pgftu buy their own new building, so they dont have rent anymore and can put their money towards other things. the new building has an extra floor, and the secretary said that he would be very excited to dedicate some space to establishing an acupuncture clinic for workers. i didnt even ask! he just offered, and it sounds amazing, like a merging of so many of my interests. he is going to talk with the general steering committee (which he should have done yesterday, actually) and i will hear back from him. but its a very exciting possibility! i mean, opening a clinic for workers, and eventually training folks here to do the ear 5np protocol, it sounds incredible. and i mean that in the truest sense of the word, unbelievable. almost too good to be true, so i am just trying to not get my hopes up too much. i cant handle too many more dissappointments, each one has been very heavy for me, i find that my resilience, my ability to bounce back, hs been weakened over this past month.
which is a good segue into what happened at the treatment and rehabilitation center for victims of torture (TRC) which i have been putting most of my energy into for the past few years of visits. it seemed like a great place ot get something established. now i realize that it is definitely not the place for me. i went to the clinic and was recieved cordially, but coldly. i feel as though i am looked at now as a sort of novelty, a gimmick, someone who has some amusing toy or trick, that is there for their entertainment. i am sure that there are a lot of factors there. one is that acupuncture is certainly foreign to them, and they dont really know how to relate to it (although its foreign to the union guys too, but they had a very different reaction and respect for it). but i think the most significant factor is that they have their heads way too far up their own asses to see something new. they are from an educated and wealthy and (relatively, of course, considering the context of occupation) priveleged class of people. they are pleased with their status and their modern tools. its the same issues i face when i talk to "real" doctors in the US about acupuncture. i was asked to give a few hours of presentation, which i began by showing a 15 minute video about the 5np acupuncture protocol used for trauma after 9-11, katrina, and around the world. the video is highlighted by pyshiatrists and therapists who talk about how many times the best approach to trauma is non-verbal therapy, which is why acupuncture has seemed to be so effective. well, needless to say, this was a concept that the fancy-pants folks at the center bristled at. immediately guards were up, questions were asked about research and mechanism of action. people completely failed to see effectiveness, and only sought to validate their own ideas. they were afraid to lose their power, and forget perhaps their only reason for work, which is to strive to find the best ways to help their patients. their egos got in the way, as our egos do for all of us, and it was too much for them to see. my conclusion: its not the right time to work with these people, and i have no desire to ever return to their center. i am giving up on years of effort here, because its only fruitful in that perhaps these people are getting educated one tiny interaction at a time that they really need to lose control over the healing process. i guess its a lesson we all need to learn. in fact, watching it happen so clearly before my eyes really resonated with something very deep inside of me, and realizing that i need to strive to do the same. i know that i must do the same thing, perhaps in different ways. i hope i can face those moments when my ego is challenged, bravely, and let what needs to die simply pass away. farewell and good riddance!
after the meeting i had another coffee with my palestinian father, abed, again, and then i left for jerusalem, something he has been denied for decades. it was a sad goodbye, we walked arm in arm to the bus, and i felt the weight of the occupation. you never know if you will see someone again. i crossed through the checkpoint from ramallah, the indignities, watching them check for the proper palestinian IDs, x-rays, gates, cages. the wall! the fucking wall. a scar on humanity.
i went to the bus station, passed through the security gates, they checked for weapons, a search which i find shockingly ironic, considering that the mall and bus station are filled with young men and women armed with uzis. i get on the bus, free travel, to the north back to harduf, the kibbutz where i have my israeli family. so many worlds.
last night i had a long conversation with channah about the failures of the kibbutz movement. her opinion is that the kibbutz has failed to bring about a real sense of community, because people have failed to be truthful with one another, and it leads to lies and pain, and now the kibbutz is comprised of individuals who do their own thing, with no real sense of community anymore. silently i wondered if the seed of a social experiment to find individual liberty and a very tight community could ever grow in an environment that denied that land, freedom, and commnity from others. i mean, can you plant an organic seed in contaminated, poisoned earth and expect it to grow healthy and organic? can a free kibbutz community grow on a land that was stolen and the where the presence of their community essentially represents the denial of the basic rights of the people who had always lived there?
when we talk about healing the earth, i think it also applies metaphorically to healing the environment where we plant our ideas and future. the "earth" is the place where things grow, its not just the physical earth. when we want to plant new seeds of peace in a conflict, in a conversation, we must make sure to consider the earth, not just the seed. maybe it doesnt mean that the land where the kibbutz is needs to be purified of its physical toxins so that organic food can grow. maybe it means that the toxin is the kibbutz itself. that the state is the toxin. maybe purifying the earth means the disestablishment of states, of borders, of divisions. when we look at how we have harmed our earth we tend to only look at a very physical level, of chemicals and oils and resource extraction and pollution, which are all true, but maybe our analysis of healing the earth needs to broaden.
ok, damn, lots of writing, not fully formed ideas, but anyway. so at the end of this i am still not sure if i will be coming home on the first of feb, although that seems like the likliest option. but there is still work here, obviously, and this trip has clarified a lot in terms of where that work might be. so i feel very positive about that. but i am not sure if staying is the best idea for me right now, as i am pretty exhausted, especially at changing directions and intentions so often. we'll see! if anyone has any gut feelings about this, please feel free to write soon, because if i'm gonna change my ticket it has to be within the next day or so. PEACE!
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