Dear friends,
I hope you are doing well. I had an experience Saturday night that left a big impression on me, and I felt like sharing it in case it can be of inspiration to any of you.
I was doing a protective presence night shift in the Northern Jordan Valley. Me and another volunteer from Jerusalem, named A, had driven up together and received instructions from the activist coordinators of The Jordan Valley Activists to spend the night at the home of an elderly widow named F.
Normally, JVA would aim to station at least two volunteers with each at-risk community, in shifts, 24/7. However, there is currently a shortage of volunteers, so A and I had to be prepared to go back and forth between F and a family that lived down the road.
In addition to myself and A, there were other activists sleeping with different communities in the area who could support if needed.
The purpose of our presence is to deter settler attacks and to document any encounters with settlers and/or the army.
We spent the evening getting to know F and her in-laws, nieces and nephews, being served sweet tea, befriending animals, and introducing ourselves to a family down the road. In broken Arabic, we explained that our instructions were to spend the night with F, but that our phones were on and that we would drive over if settlers arrived.
Most of these communities consist of a handful of families living together off the main road, subsisting primarily on sheparding. The houses typically consist of cement bases with improvised walls and roofs made of cloth or corrugated metal. No front doors.
That night, like most nights these days, settlers came, first to the family down the road and then to F. A and I alerted the regional activist coordinator and drove over and stayed with each Palestinian community until the settlers left. In the end nothing major happened. The settlers inspected the Israeli flags that they had planted at the entrance of each Palestinian community, drove by menacingly and left.
What was different about that night, for me, was seeing the reaction from the Palestinian communities to being caught alone by the arrival of the settlers due to the shortage of activist presence. Though it didn't take A and I more than 5min to arrive after receiving the call from the family down the road, the panic I saw in their faces, seeing grown men and elderly women crying and trembling from fear, begging us to stay with them through the night hit me deep. It really emphasized the profound vulnerability of people who cannot rely on protections from law enforcement or other forms of accountability, and made clear the need for more people doing protective presence (and other forms of advocacy if you physically cannot take on the risk).
If any of you are interested, there are daily rides from both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I am happy to explain more and to pick a day to go together. No previous experience needed.
I want to emphasize that I am really not trying to guilt you in to anything!! It is a truly tragic time for all of the people in this land, and it is a gift to be able to support those in need.
Lots of love
Kai
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