Alright, more photos from the conference!
It went really, really well. I gave my presentation on Saturday morning before Alison Weir, and led a discussion the following night. I got a great response, people came up to introduce themselves afterward and say that it was important to see a non-Palestinian caring about Palestine. I didn't really believe, until people told me, just how impactful it can be. The Sunday night discussion was awesome as well. I got to hear the students reflect on their experiences with dialogue and activism, and in the end a lot of stories about their treatment, as Palestinian-Americans, getting in and out of Palestine. They'd had their American passports spat in and stomped on, been interrogated for hours, strip-searched, had their phones and computers looked into, been followed and segregated on airplanes and buses, and of course, in some cases, been denied entry into to the balad, the homeland. A place that I was allowed to live in, because I'm the white, I mean right kind of American. I was so angered and saddened by that.
Maybe it's something that would make a good media campaign. Palestinian students with American accents, telling their stories.
I also got a lot of support for a Tubas youth project, some kind of exchange. Hopefully that will bring more attention to the Northern Valley before any more expulsions take place. I'm excited by the idea of channeling the energy I found at the conference!
It went really, really well. I gave my presentation on Saturday morning before Alison Weir, and led a discussion the following night. I got a great response, people came up to introduce themselves afterward and say that it was important to see a non-Palestinian caring about Palestine. I didn't really believe, until people told me, just how impactful it can be. The Sunday night discussion was awesome as well. I got to hear the students reflect on their experiences with dialogue and activism, and in the end a lot of stories about their treatment, as Palestinian-Americans, getting in and out of Palestine. They'd had their American passports spat in and stomped on, been interrogated for hours, strip-searched, had their phones and computers looked into, been followed and segregated on airplanes and buses, and of course, in some cases, been denied entry into to the balad, the homeland. A place that I was allowed to live in, because I'm the white, I mean right kind of American. I was so angered and saddened by that.
Maybe it's something that would make a good media campaign. Palestinian students with American accents, telling their stories.
I also got a lot of support for a Tubas youth project, some kind of exchange. Hopefully that will bring more attention to the Northern Valley before any more expulsions take place. I'm excited by the idea of channeling the energy I found at the conference!
