Exhibition next month in Beijing!

    From a post-genocide and impoverished village in Rwanda to the oppressed and struggling spirit of refugees in occupied Palestine, the resilience of the human spirit living on through unimaginable adversity shines through in images taken by photographer Teresa Yeh. This photo exhibition reflects the struggle for freedom, dignity and recognition that are the inherent right of every human being yet too often denied and repressed. It is a glimpse into the deep joy, life and love that is the shared birthright of humans everywhere and that can bloom even in the darkest and most broken of places.
    Witness the joy, the pain, and the life.

    从卢旺达经历了种族屠杀后那一贫如洗的村庄，再到被占领后充满压迫与反抗精神的巴勒斯坦难民，叶怀瑛（Teresa Yeh）通过她的摄影作品向我们展现 出在难以想象的逆境中，人类精神中顽强不屈的生存意志。这次摄影展反映了争取自由，尊严以及认同是人人应享有的权利，然而这些权利却往往被否认与抑制。展 出的作品也让我们得以目睹深厚的喜悦，生命和爱，这些是无论地域、世人与生俱来的——纵使是在世界最黑暗、最破碎的疆土仍会生生不息，欣欣向荣。
“见证喜悦，痛苦与生命”

NGO's in West Bank

Boy at children's event hosted by Project Hope in Nablus on Tuesday (projecthope.ps).

Yesterday after leaving Balata, Majdi helped explain to us the anger we encountered at the refugee camp. He told us that although most of the residents are happy to see us, there is a lot of anger particularly now because the refugees feel like they are not being given a voice in the decision making and dialogue. The anger the young man and others expressed towards us yesterday was not personal or against the actual mural-painting, but a symptom of constant underlying tension, and the fact that we, a group of Americans, are here where they can talk to us directly, whereas there is no real way for them to express their feelings to the actual decision makers.

View from a rooftop in Balata of two young boys of a neighboring house. People in the camps are understandably suspicious of foreigners with cameras, about literally 2 minutes after I stepped to the roof edge, a man from a neighboring window told us to stop taking pictures.

Majdi explained how although in the past 60+ years since Balata was established, thousands of foreigners have come and gone, many of them 'documenting' or taking pictures "almost like they are like in a zoo". Yet, no real change has occurred for the better, and in fact the situation of Balata is worse than before. Similarly, though there are 2000+ NGO's in the West Bank and millions of dollars of aid from the US and Europe, again there never seems to be concrete steps towards real and lasting change in the life of the average Palestinian.

Signs of US Aid and various NGO's and organizations abound everywhere, yet most residents, particularly those of refugee camps, feel things have not improved.

Majdi feels that one of the major problems with most of the NGO's is the fact that they don't truly communicate and talk on a grassroots level with the people, but rather come with large sums of money and do their own thing, handpicking a few people or neighborhoods to help, or even conducting expensive services or classes that are affordable only by the wealthier residents and only a few token programs for those who have nothing.

Balata Girl's School Mural Project

Picture update on one of the 3 mural projects we have been working on this past week!

This one is of an olive tree of life incorporating designs and ideas from a workshop with about 45 school girls of Balata. This is our most open working area, right at the intersection of the two main roads of Balata, on the Girl's School wall and across from the UNRWA's Balata Refugee Camp Office Center.

Balata Preparatory Girls School, for grades 5-12.

Whitewashing the wall of where the mural will be.

Lily of Barefoot Artists, Inc and Majdi, our Palestinian coordinator discussing her thoughts for the mural.

Workshop in Balata Girl's School with a class of girls to draw pictures that have meaning to them to incorporate into the mural design.

Oday, who stays with us when Majdi is busy or with other members of our group, is sharing Lily's design with the street vendor who's shop is across from the wall. He and his wife often gift us with cups of very bitter, strong Arab coffee or tea in the mornings while we are working.

Lily drawing in the basic design with oil pastels.

Continuing to draw the design.

Lily let's me help her! Oday helps hold the ladder steady.

Mixing paints this morning with Oday, and another young man who passed by and wanted to help.

Lily is color-coding each part of the mural so it will be clear when people join us to paint.

Lily teaching a young man how to paint.

A young man helping us now shows another boy what to do.

Groups of boys and young men who pass by sometimes stop to observe while others want to join in. Almost no girls walk by on their own or can stop to help as it is harder for women to walk around unescorted here.

Me taking pictures! Photo courtesy of Lily!

The boy I was taking a picture of above. He was a very earnest and hard working painter!

Helping out directing a young boy on painting. Photo courtesy of Lily.

We arranged to have a group of school girl's come with their teacher to help paint. Lynn is also helping to paint and oversee. Elle, an artist from southern England we met in a cafe at the demonstration yesterday also dropped by today to help us out!

Painting!

 I help paint for a while too =D. Dara is painting next to me!

Because our mural is in the open by the intersection of the 2 main roads of Balata, we have a LOT of foot traffic, including thousands of children walking home after school.

Most stop to watch, to ask "What is your name?" "Where are you from?". Today, we had quite a few people yell at us "Obama". Although most residents are friendly, bringing us coffee and tea or Palestinian pastries, there are also a few people who are much more suspicious and angry. Towards the end of the afternoon one young man got in a fight with some other locals who were pulling him back. Apparently he pulled out a knife at one point, but 30-40 other residents helped calm him down. Afterwards however, he stayed for a while to rant to Majdi that "[you] should get out, that [the foreigners] shouldn't be here, that the Americans shouldn't be painting in their camp" etc. A lot of people we have talked to here have been extremely disappointed and shocked by Obama's speech even though they were already expecting him to side with Israel. There is enough tension that Majdi had us move all our art supplies into the Women's Programme Center for security reasons, and to take a break from mural painting then re-assess the situation on Saturday.

Two German Travelers from Ramallah

International Friends Guest House where we are staying while in Nablus.

This afternoon after returning to our hostel after the demonstration, two German travelers, Sammi and Jessica stopped by to see if there were any rooms still open. Our guest house manager, Jihad, is busy preparing for his wedding next Friday so is hardly ever here, so we have become his defacto hostel management.

Unfortunately, Sammi and Jessica had to leave Ramallah unplanned as they had attended the "peaceful and beautiful" demonstration, but afterwards unlike in Nablus the Israeli Army met the dispersing Palestinians at the checkpoints with tear gas and rubber bullets. Even on their way out, the smell of tear gas could be smelled 300 meters up. Sammi told us he saw a group of school children who dropped their school bags on the ground to pick up stones to throw. It was almost like a game to them for they were so young, but after they threw the stones, the soldiers would throw a gas bomb back, they would all run, then they would come back again later to throw stones, soldiers would retaliate, and it just kept keep repeating.

Demonstration on UN vote in Al-Shohadaah Square, Nablus

This morning after some mural sketching outside the Balata Girl's School and a small workshop in the camp, Daniel, Mustafa, Oday and I went to the Al-Shohadaah Square in Nablus around 11 AM to observe the demonstrations.

Al-Shohadaah Square in Nablus during today's demonstration on the UN vote.

In the taxi on the way over, we had Mustafa translate the news on the radio. He told us the news was reporting another settler attack on a village near Ramallah from this morning. He says that the situation is "very unfair", for the settlers always have weapons, they shoot at the villagers, who retaliate by throwing stones, but when the Israeli Army comes it gets worse, for instead of protecting both sides they protect the settlers and arrest the villagers for stone throwing. Often those arrested are young school children. He says that the Palestinian police are not allowed to help the villagers. This is one of the frequent facts of life in living in an occupied territory.

English banners for the media. Part of one of the speeches was a message to America and Obama, stated in English, voicing Palestinian desire for recognition, freedom and disapproval of Obama's promise to veto.

As we arrived closer to Al-Shohadaah, we could see streams of men, women and children waving flags and banners. Police and soldiers patrolled the streets and rooftops to maintain security, one truck was throwing out free bottles of water, there was a band of young boys in uniform playing trumpets and drums, as well as women with young children or groups of school children waving flags. All around I could feel a sense of solidarity, people smiling and cheering, responding to the speeches and music.

Girl's in their school uniform waving flags and a picture of Abbas at the demonstration.

People climbed up everything that could be climbed including each other's shoulders at the demonstration.

 

 

Girl standing on a car holding a sign.

Security on rooftops.

Security forces on the ground.

Many groups of people choose to view the demonstrations from above in coffee shops or other buildings surrounding the square.

View of the stage where I was sitting on a fence with a bunch of young boys.

Me! Picture taken on my camera by Oday, the 15-year old Balata resident who accompanied us to the demonstration today.

The coffee shop where we went to take a break and observe the demonstrations from above. Turns out, BBC was covering the event from the same cafe!

Cafe was playing BBC, when Obama came up, the man next to me said me "Obama", shook his head, and made a thumbs down motion.

The BBC reporter covering the demonstration in the same cafe! Unfortunately that meant us freelance photographers couldn't go to the windows since we'd get in the way...

Haha, we could see the reporter as BBC played live coverage of the Palestine demonstration of Nablus!

Picture taken by Lily of me filming at the demonstration.

Chinese in Nablus

Funny thing today! Apparently there are so few Chinese in Nablus, the fact that there's a Chinese girl walking around with a big camera & a Chinese lady drawing on the walls somehow traveled to the Chinese Embassy who then called Majdi, our Palestinian coordinator, to ask if there was a Chinese national here covering the UN vote or something...!

How strange! But then again, after being here less than a week, random strangers on the street know my name and some say "你好!" or "Made in China!" and "Jackie Chan!" lol

A 15 year-old boy showing us around Balata where he lives invited me to his home for coffee today, and while there his younger sister handed me their baby cousin and took a picture of us!

Upcoming demonstrations on Palestinian bid for UN statehood

Report: Settlers plan march to Palestinian towns

Today our Palestinian coordinator Majdi discussed with us the planned Israeli settler demonstration tomorrow (Tuesday) and the Palestinian demonstration planned in Nablus center on Wednesday. According to him he hopes that neither side wants violence and there is 24 hour policing by the Israeli Army and Palestinian Authority police to prevent the settlers and Palestinians from crossing checkpoints during the demonstrations. We may or may not attend the Palestinian demonstration, although here it is hard to predict what can happen, he feels that the Israeli Army will most likely not be invading Nablus city center where it is under Palestinian authority (Section A). Palestine is divided into three sections: Section A, B, and C, where A is under Palestinian security and authority, B is under Israeli security but Palestine authority, and C is where Israeli's can freely enter and leave and many Palestinians are restricted at checkpoints. This afternoon we made a trip to the Samaritan Village on Mount Gezebim which is considered Area C, and Majdi and our Palestinian driver were questioned by Israeli soldiers and forced to wait for us while we made a short visit.

The Girl's School we are working with in Balata will be closed on Wednesday as apparently all the school's students will be attending the demonstration, so our group must finish the mural we are doing within the school grounds tomorrow so we can begin work on the murals in the refugee camp proper and on the outside wall.

Much more to come in future posts, there seems to never be enough time to write up my notes when there is so much happening and so much to soak in and learn about as we feel our way through completing our work in a very different environment aggravated by immense political tension.