By Alice – Italy

As human beings, all of us need to share something with other humans and also to be comprehended by someone. These two weeks in Palestine have been a great opportunity to create connections with people and with this territory. Spending so much time with local and international volunteers created a sense of community – one which united all the possible differences between us. This was due in part to the perception of the Palestinian people’s condition and the empathy that goes with it. Also, this was due to the characteristics of the local culture: taking food as a small example, we basically shared the meal from the same plate. This was very different to the type of eating which I was used to…just watching my own plate.

We travelled with the university to visit the West Bank far and wide. We dealt with very different and difficult situations, and this personally allowed me to make great strides in understanding a conflict as complex as this.

What Zajel camp aspires to do, in fact, is to make people “breathe” the Palestinian way of being in all its shades. And they succeed, thanks to the organisation and to An-Najah university volunteers. We visited some significant places like the Balata refugee camp inside Nablus, the city of Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and the district of Qalqilia. We also came in contact with the strong cultural traditions of the area such as the traditional dances.

By living here, I felt at home. At the end of these two weeks I can only say this: I wish I could stay more! I think this kind of travel truly changes and inspires you. Because of this and of all the adventures we experienced, I will not forget my (first) stay in Palestine.