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Reflections on PYM Young Adult
Friends Coordinator’s travel to the West Bank
with Christian Peacemaker Teams:
Before
accepting the position as Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s
Young Adult Friends Coordinator, I had already committed
to following a leading to explore the possibility of service
with Christian Peacemaker Teams. I am grateful for the
outpouring of support I have received in PYM for this
witness, and out of the many requests to hear about my
time in the West Bank, I have written the following reflection.
I am grateful to be returning from this experience to
work for a Quaker group which is growing in focus on its
relationship with the Peace Testimony, and committing
to explore this at both the March and July Sessions. It
is good to be in community with others who are seeking
to live their faith more fully.
I
recently spent three weeks traveling in Israel and Palestine.
I was a participant in a delegation co-sponsored by On
Earth Peace (a peacemaking organization of the Church
of the Brethren) and Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT).
CPT was founded in 1986 by the three historic peace churches,
two years after Ronald J. Sider’s challenging speech
at the Mennonite World Conference: “Unless we…
are ready to start to die by the thousands in dramatic
vigorous new exploits for peace and justice, we should
sadly confess that we never really meant what we said,
and we dare never whisper another word about pacifism
to our sisters and brothers in those desperate lands filled
with injustice. Unless we are ready to die developing
new nonviolent attempts to reduce conflict, we should
confess that we never really meant that the cross was
an alternative to the sword...”
I am
attracted to the notion that peacemakers must be ready
to make the same commitment and risk sacrifice as soldiers
do in war. And I am particularly attracted to the work
of CPT, who provide non-violent accompaniment for local
peacemakers when invited to areas with protracted lethal
conflict. They have had a full-time presence in Hebron,
in the Judean hills, since 1995.
In addition to the full-time team presence, the organization
sponsors delegations that seek to soak-in as much about
the experience of life in the conflict region as possible,
and bring home the stories to local communities. Delegations
also provide support and encouragement for local non-violent
activists. We met with dozens of families that have been
drastically affected, and organizations that are working
for peace and human rights.
I have
not become an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,
but can testify to what I have witnessed, and return with
the burden of trying to discern how to communicate about
what I have experienced. Over and over again we were asked
to relay the stories of life in the Occupied Territories
by individuals and groups who know that our news coverage
in the United States does not give a full picture of life
on the ground there. Having been there, I find there are
no words that can adequately describe what I saw and heard.
There
are drastic stories that stand out. Watching young soldiers
perform house raids, or standing at a checkpoint at which
a woman gave birth, forbidden to pass, only five days
previously. But perhaps even more striking was the daily
struggle of life under the occupation. The mobility restrictions
of check points, the barrier wall, and travel permits.
Being there for just three short weeks, and having young
soldiers with large machine guns sit next to me on the
bus become a normalized experience that no longer feels
noteworthy.
The
choice not to leave, not to flee in the face of consistent
harassment, is to resist. To continue to open one’s
shop each day, knowing one isn’t likely to sell
anything, or to send one’s kids to school through
contested areas, knowing they may be beaten up on the
way home is a witness, a belief that life must go on,
and that another life is possible.
Fear
was palpable in each community that we visited. In Jerusalem
we met with an Israeli man whose mother was killed by
a suicide bomber on a bus. He has since joined a cross-community
group of bereaved families called The Parents’ Circle.
This organization provides opportunities for relationship
building among Palestinians and Israelis who have lost
a loved one, and want the violence to stop. When suicide
bombers were consistently targeting the same bus line
in West Jerusalem, CPT began riding that bus, and publicizing
their presence. It is hard to know if their presence alone
was what reduced that sequence of attacks.
Hearing
the individual accounts was an immense gift, and a very
powerful experience. Sometimes they were so horrendous
that I worried I might be physically sick. Most meaningful
for me however was the time the delegation spent with
the CPT full-time teams in Hebron and At-Tuwani (a village
outside of Hebron). It was immediately clear how valued
CPT’s presence was. When I wore the characteristic
CPT red baseball cap, people would call out and thank
me in the street for being there. We used our privilege
at check points, knowing that standing in the back of
the line would help the Palestinians in front of us to
move through faster. Sometimes while someone was being
unduly held there for an extended period of time, we would
wait with him or her until they were released. CPT often
describes its work as “the grandmother effect.”
There are some things so egregious that one would never
do in front of a grandmother – theirs or another’s.
By extension, there are some things that soldiers are
less likely to do if they are being watched. So much of
CPT’s work is walking through the streets to be
sure their presence is visible and known. They also spend
a lot of time drinking tea. They visit families and enquire
about their wellbeing. They encourage nonviolent resistance.
The strong relationship building I witnessed among the
team members and the local populations impressed me. I
was immensely attracted to the clarity with which the
team members approached each day. They were visibly nourished
by their service, and had a rich community in work and
spirit. They held daily worship together at the team apartment.
That grounding is something I miss very much in returning
from this trip.
I heard
over and over again that Palestinians want to bring Israel
to its senses, not to its knees. They are largely not
interested in perpetrating another injustice, but do want
to be afforded basic human rights. The loss and hardship
experienced by Israelis and Palestinians is incomparable.
Their resources, and therefore tactics, are vastly disproportionate.
We were consistently reminded by both Palestinian and
Israeli peace groups of the role that the U.S. government
(and therefore tax-payers like us) holds in funding the
occupation. We heard that Israel receives 40% of U.S.
foreign aid, with no stipulation on the spending. Much
of that money is then used to pay U.S. defense contractors,
who become a powerful lobby to continue strong monetary
support of Israel. This has led me to a heightened interest
in war-tax resistance, having seen the devastation left
by home demolitions enacted by U.S. Caterpillar bulldozers.
Coming
home, I have found it astounding that I can commute to
work without interruption. The lack of soldiers still
feels note-worthy a month after returning, and I am surprised
at what things trigger memories of life in the Occupied
Territories. Shortly after I got back, an exhibit opened
in West Philadelphia of photos taken by soldiers in the
Occupied Territories. I had met with the group sponsoring
this exhibit, “Breaking the Silence”, while
in Jerusalem. I was especially moved by the testimonies
of these soldiers who are speaking out about their experience.
It was humanizing for me to think about the experience
of soldiers and the fear, indoctrination, and boredom,
which fuels much of the egregious actions we hear about.
It challenged me to think of how narrow my understanding
of war victims has been to not have thought more about
the experience of the oppressor in the past.
I was
thankful to have this exhibit come to the United States
for the first time so shortly after I returned, not only
because they have an important voice to lift up in raising
awareness about the crisis in Palestine, but also because
encouraging people to go to their exhibition was a way
to begin to share about my experience, even before I could
find words to talk about it myself. Former CPT Hebron
support staff member Rich Meyer articulated “…encounters
such as this can change us in ways that only happen when
we move our bodies to that new place and see from that
new perspective -- a 'dangerous' thing to do in a world
that strives for certainty. After you've heard and seen,
you have to figure out how to integrate that in what you
do from then on!"
I am
clearly drawn to more service with CPT, and want to encourage
Quaker participation in greater numbers in this peace
work. But it has also left me with many difficult questions
about my life in Philadelphia. About how I do (or don’t)
engage with my neighbors, and how I do (or don’t)
witness to the injustice and suffering experienced daily
in my own city. I believe we have much to learn from this
model and commitment, not just in international work.
The following queries have been useful for me since my
return, and I invite you to consider their relevance in
your own life:
What can you do for peace in your own home &
community today?
Have you looked again recently to see if the
seeds of war lie in your possessions?
(The following queries were taken from a series of essays
entitled
‘Unarmed Heroes’, Compiled & Edited by
Peace Direct in 2004):
How does the pain of the world touch you?
How do you insulate yourself from the pain of
the world?
What kind of pain have you suffered that has
forced you to think about what you can or must do
to stop the pain, either in you or in others, or in
the world?
Our soul community can support us to find the
strength to tell ourselves the truth, face our inner
and outer challenges and do what we need to do. Some
of them will even dream with us, plan with us and
act with us.
~ Sadie Forsythe serves as the Young Adult Friends
Coordinator for
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends.
For stories and photos of Christian Peacemaker
Teams, more information,
or to sign up for a delegation, please visit: www.cpt.org
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