Beyond the Checkpoints project 2024 was differentā¦
In the last couple of years this exciting project for young Palestinians has taken teenagers to visit each other’s towns, villages, refugee camps and given them the chance to show the others their own home towns. Last year it was harder as Palestine, always dangerous under occupation, was becoming even more difficult to travel across. Once a group couldnt travel as the Israeli army had locked their village in, closing a military gate on the road. Once a group travelling to a session in a minibus was stopped by the army and the leader arrested. With the isolation that Israel has imposed on the Palestinians of Jerusalem (the Wall, the military checkpoints, the ID system), it wasnt in any way possible to take the West Bank children there.
This year with the genocide raging in Gaza, the situation became even worse in the West Bank. Everyone is avoiding travel if they can because of settler attacks, army attacks and uncertainties on the roads. It just wasnt possible to take groups of children across the West Bank this year and sadly the Beyond the Checkpoints project had to move on to Zoom. (Do read on below the pictures, which were included by the young people in their presentations.)
Even on Zoom, the project was interrupted by the violence if the Israeli occupation. During this time, Jenin Camp has been attacked repeatedly with air fighters as well as the army in the streets shooting, bulldozing buildings and digging up imfrastructure. Tulkarem has suffered similarly. Hebron has been put under siege and complete curfew. People have been shot and killed in all these places.
Some of our small groups come from all of these places and it has been at times impossible for them to join meetings as the streets have not been safe, there has been no electricity or no internet. It was necessary to rearrange sessions (such a part of Palestinian life š) but the group managed to keep going (continued below)
The project has just come to an end. We wondered whether the young people involved had got much from Zoom presentations to each other about their different livesā¦ but it seemsfrom their evaluation that they did! The small groups that glued themselves round youth leaders’ laptops in Silwan, Abu Dis, Hebron, Jenin Camp, villages in Bethlehem, Tulkarem and Nablus districts stayed the course, made great presentations and were interested in each other – their evaluation showed that they had learned much more about their country from a human rights point of view.
Now they want to visit each other in real life!
Currently the groups are contributing to the CADFA Wednesday sessions called “Let’s Talk About Palestine” and they are also waiting hopefully for the chance to apply for a visit to the UK to tell others about their homeā¦ And we want to bring them!
Beyond the Checkpoints is a youth project led by CADFA and Dar Assadaqa each summer in Palestine which helps with preparation for our youth visits to the UK. More info from contact@cadfa.org