December 2011, Pages 38-39

Special Report

Go Palestine: An Extraordinary Summer Camp Behind the Wall

Story and photos by Ramsey Langley

Go Palestine campers in front of a Banksy mural on Israel’s apartheid wall near Bethlehem (top), and walking through Haifa’s Old City (above).

I was never a big fan of summer camps. Learning how to carve a miniature canoe out of soap wasn't my idea of fun. So when my mother first suggested I apply to the Go Palestine Camp this summer, I thought, "Here we go again." But as much as I hate to admit that my mom might have been right, it turned out to be one of the best summers I've ever had.

Organized and sponsored by the Ramallah Friends School, the camp brought together 40 high school students aged 14 to 17 from around the world for a chance to learn more about Palestinian culture and heritage. Approximately half the campers were from the West Bank. The other half came from the United States, Europe, Asia and other countries in the Middle East, including Palestinians who are Israeli citizens. The camp was staffed by local and international counselors from many different backgrounds. Their training and experience were excellent.

The program spanned three weeks full of trips and activities, leaving no time for boredom. Even Fridays, which were free days, were filled with getting together with new friends to explore Ramallah. The language of the camp was English, but many of the campers were knowledgeable, if not fluent, in Arabic. Families of local campers in Ramallah hosted the international students, providing a home, meals and transportation to and from the camp. My situation was a little different, since I was able to stay with my uncle and his family in Ramallah.

The camp kept us on the go, with some days devoted to traveling to locations in the West Bank and Israel and other days doing activities in and around Ramallah. The Ramallah activities included playing sports, going to movies, visiting local businesses, learning traditional arts, and engaging in spirited discussions about culture and politics.

Besides visiting such large and familiar cities as Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron and Haifa, we also got a chance to go to places tourists usually don't have the opportunity to visit on their own. We went to Bil'in, one of the many villages in the West Bank that Israel's wall transects. We learned from the villagers how, through peaceful protests every Friday, they were able to get the wall partially relocated. We also visited the Tent of Nations in Beit Jala, where local and international activists nonviolently challenge the expropriation of Palestinian land.

Some of the most memorable and satisfying activities were the community service days. We worked with the Inspire Dreams Program, whose mission centers on nonviolence, conflict resolution, education and community development for Palestinian refugees. Along with local children in the camps, we helped with cleaning, planting and painting projects. We also worked with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, a nonviolent, direct-action organization to resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian houses in the occupied territories. We helped to rebuild a demolished house in a village near Jerusalem.

Go Palestine campers pose in front of Jerusalem’s Old City (top) and help ICAHD rebuild a demolished house in Anata (above).

Working alongside the villagers and the volunteers taught us about the starker realities of life in Palestine. It also allowed us to give back to the Palestinian community. Though the conditions in the refugee camps could be horrifying, I was astounded that neither the refugees nor the family whose house was demolished seemed bitter or angry. I also learned how sometimes the most downtrodden or oppressed people are the most hopeful. I guess that shows the resilience of the people.

The camp did a great job of balancing activities that allowed us to understand both the political situation and the culture in Palestine. In part this was done using movie nights with films that captured various aspects of life in Palestine. We watched documentaries, such as "Occupation 101" (available from the AET Book Club), a history and analysis of the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We also watched cultural movies like "Amreeka" (also available from the Book Club), which humorously chronicles a Palestinian family's immigration to the U.S.

The similarities between local and international campers were revealing—and not just limited to wearing the red camp T-shirts that made us look like a communist brigade when we were out and about in the West Bank. Even though we were born and raised in different countries, I was surprised to discover that the differences among us were superficial, and that we had much more in common with one another than I had expected. In part that's globalization for you, as we all shared some common pop culture likes and dislikes. The other real unifying aspect was that those of us coming from outside brought with us a familiarity with things Palestinian that we had garnered from our families. This helped reduce the cultural gap among the campers that might otherwise have existed, and allowed us to immediately get along and "know" one another.

Overall, I found the camp a very worthwhile experience. I learned first hand about the difficulties that Palestinians confront in daily life, not the least of which is Israel's illegal separation wall, the sole purpose of which is to confiscate more land and to isolate and fragment Palestinians even further than they already are.

The wall's impact hits you from the moment you first see it. Just try to get into Jerusalem with a Palestinian ID, as I had to. Crossing through the checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem feels like passing into a prison as you are herded through iron gates and inspections. What should be a 15-minute commute can take hours.

I found, too, that traveling to the different parts of Palestine brings forth a wealth of contradictions. Walk through Hebron, for example, and you'll notice low-hanging makeshift tarps above you in the old market. No, it's not to catch rainwater, but to shield you from the garbage that the settlers living above throw down. By contrast, the Israeli city of Haifa looks like any major city you'd find in California. From the seemingly normal activities of its residents you'd think you were a world away from Palestine, not just a few short miles.

Most of us in America take a lot of things for granted. And while many Palestinians have to cross a physical wall every day, a wall that stands as a symbol of occupation and oppression, most of us in the United States pursue our normal daily activities not having to fear how life would be if we had our basic human rights taken away. We have yet to cross over the emotional and intellectual wall that shields us from the lives and experiences of people in other countries. We need to always remember the most basic principle on which this country was founded: freedom. If we and other world powers want to assert ourselves as role models, then we cannot compromise our own principles. Instead we must demand for others that which we demand for ourselves.

We youth of Palestinian background coming from abroad tend to know Palestine only through the lens of politics, occupation, repression and loss. We often hear about things Palestinian in a language of struggle and despair that drowns out other voices. The truth, though, is more vital and textured. Camp showed us that what lies beyond the physical wall—and the one we carry inside us—is a Palestine that is as much a people as a place and that it is made of so many facets to be explored and cherished.

For more information on the Go Palestine program visit: <www.summerinpalestine.org> or contact the Ramallah Friends School, PO Box 66, Ramallah, Palestine.

Ramsey Langley is a sophomore at James Madison High School in Vienna, VA, where his favorite subject is history. Of Palestinian descent, he still has family living in the occupied West Bank.