Anna, Czech Republic

I love travelling, because I love the feeling you get when a whole new world with all its details unfolds in front of your eyes and mixes with the images in your mind. Out of all the places I have visited, Palestine is certainly a special case due to the ever present conflict in this land. Its everyday reality is soaked with reminders of its history, politics, and complicated social structures, and stands in stark contrast to the simplistic and biased picture drawn by the media. This was the first time I came to Israel and Palestine, and I’m glad I did so in the framework of the Zajel program. To be honest, I think I would not have dared to come alone, as a tourist, and I’m sure it wouldn’t have been as rewarding for me either. Although I had problems coping with the strict rules and organization of the camp, I’m convinced that they were a vital part of my experience, and they allowed me to move around in this new territory with the comfort of knowing that I’m well taken care of. The camp provided a chance to spend time with children who live in a refugee camp, organized presentations with well-informed speakers, offered guided tours to various interesting places, and brought together a group of great people, both local and international.

The voluntary work with the children consisted of playing with them, and thus getting to know a little bit of what it must mean to grow up in their conditions. What looked like a noisy, colourful chaos in the beginning slowly turned into a more refined picture, revealing parts of unique personalities and their stories. This challenges you to think beyond simplistic generalizations, and to get emotionally involved with Palestine, which might have been completely unconnected to you only few weeks earlier. Two weeks are not enough to make any deep changes in the community, but our presence gave the children the opportunity to literally touch strangers, and thus to see something from the world outside their constricted space. This is already enough to make me believe that this work, which I enjoyed so much, was not only rewarding for me but also valuable for the children.

In order to provide us with background information about our host country, the camp leaders organized many cultural activities. People from different fields elaborated on their views on the situation of Palestine, and it was inspiring to see their devotion to the struggle for justice and freedom. We strolled through the old city of Nablus, visited other cities such as Hebron – the list could go on, but it is enough to say that the days in the camp seemed endless to me due to the multitude of activities and new impressions. At the same time, time flew by and the two weeks ended much too soon.

I was happy most of the time because I could share all those experiences with a group of great people. I think that a camp like this is prone to attract a good crowd, both from the local and the international side, because it appeals to those who care about people, who are willing to start a dialogue with and learn from ‘the other’, and who are courageous in many different ways. For two weeks, we ate, discussed, cleaned, sang and slept side by side in ‘our’ castle, the beautiful location of this year’s camp, and this short but intense living together brought about many friendships and helped with finding an emotional balance in the midst of this infamous conflict zone.

Zajel gave me the chance to move beyond the second hand accounts about Palestine and to see with my own eyes. Now I can challenge biased accounts in the public perception by drawing on direct experience. My stay in Palestine nourished my critical thinking and my appreciation for freedom and social justice. It also showed me how much work still has to be done until Palestinians and Israelis can live together in peace and dignity. Nevertheless, I leave with ‘hope for tomorrow’. Life goes on in Palestine, this much is for sure. All in all I think that Zajel is a very good program, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who made it happen.