Life here

The first 3 weeks of our program have been orientation. During these 3 weeks we learned much about the culture, life, and conflict here in the West Bank. We met with various organizations, including UN OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), EAPPI (Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel), Miftah (an organization that focuses on women and children in Palestine), ICAHD (Israeli Committee against House Demolitions), and Machsom Watch (a group of Israeli women who stand at the checkpoints every day to make sure the soldiers are being humane). It has been overwhelming at times to process everything that we are seeing and hearing. To be honest, I had no clue what I would encounter here. I had little knowledge of the Palestinian situation, as the majority of the news media we get in the US focuses on Israel.
Since being here, I have seen firsthand (or as firsthand as I can get, since I am a foreigner) what the separation wall is doing to the people in Palestine. Our meeting with OCHA was very informative in this area, and we learned a lot of statistics and facts about Palestine. One of the things that struck me during this presentation was how difficult the Israeli government is making transportation and movement for the Palestinians. We were talking to a Palestinian man, and he said when he was in the US, he was amazed that he could drive for 5 hours without anyone stopping him, asking for ID, or wanting to know where he was headed and why. That is certainly not the case here. The Israeli government has set up 608 physical barriers, ranging from earthmounds and trenches to checkpoints within Palestine itself. This is not even including the checkpoints and wall that separate Israel from Palestine. The barriers mean that getting to work and school is much more difficult, and family life is more difficult, as some of the barriers have made it impossible for families to live together.