International Voluntary Day – 5th December 2003 Calendar of Events 4 – 6 December 2003 Date Time Name of the Event Place Participants Co-Sponsors 004/ 12 12:30 – 17:00 Official IVD Open<strong>in</strong>g Ceremony, Express Old City, Jerusalem Scouts, school children, local volunteers, Old City Youth Association & UNDP/ PAPP/ <strong>you</strong>rself, Fun Day Clown show <strong>you</strong>th, adults & UNVs UNV 04/ 12 10:00– 16:00 Open<strong>in</strong>g Ceremony, Express <strong>you</strong>rself, Gaza Children, Youth, and Adults, Al-Azhar UNAIS & UNDP/ PAPP/ UNV Education is important, & Spirit of Volunteerism University students 04/ 12 10:00– 14:00 Spirit of Volunteerism, Plant<strong>in</strong>g Day, & Al Quds University – Abu Al- Quds University Students, Sharek UNDP/ PAPP/ UNV, Sharek, Al Quds University Theatrical Performance Deiss Campus, Staff, Abu Deiss school for Girls 04/ 12 15:00-18:00 “Lend<strong>in</strong>g a help<strong>in</strong>g hand” Visit<strong>in</strong>g and Ramallah, WB Sheik Zayed Hospital & Da’ar Re’aayit al Palest<strong>in</strong>ian Youth Union, UNVs, Sharek volunteer<strong>in</strong>g at Nurs<strong>in</strong>g Homes and Hospitals Muss<strong>in</strong>een, Local and UN Volunteers, 05/ 12 10:00-15:00 Spirit of Volunteerism & Plant<strong>in</strong>g Day Ramallah, Birzeit Birzeit University Students Birzeit University Volunteer department & UNDP/ PAPP/ UNV 06/ 12 9:00–13:00 Musical Concert & Workshop Bethlehem: Al- dhesheih Students and local volunteers UNDP/ PAPP/ UNV, Sabreen Association for School/ Al dhesheih Camp Artistic development 06/ 12 10:00 –11:45 Cultural Heritage: Traditional act on Yasid/Nablus Arab American University of Jen<strong>in</strong> Environmental Action Plan (EAP), UNVs Volunteerism “Al Awneh” 06/ 12 12:30–13:00 Education is important Asira Al Shamaliya Qasabeh Theatre volunteers EAP, UNDP/ PAPP/ UNVs, Qasabeh Theatre 06/ 12 8:00-14:00 Humanitarian Aid / Food for Work Programme Nablus & North WFP WFP, UNVs For further <strong>in</strong>formation please contact Sa’id Omar or Dania Darwish at 02-6268200 or visit our website at www. unv.org, www.papp.undp.org Al-Quds University, Birzeit University, Arab American University of Jen<strong>in</strong>, Sabreen Association for Artistic Development, United Nations Association for International Service <strong>This</strong> programme is implemented <strong>in</strong> cooperation with: Old City Youth Association, Sharek Youth Forum (SHAREK), Palest<strong>in</strong>ian Youth Union, Near East Foundation/ Environmental Action Plan (EAP), Qasabeh Theatre, (UNAIS), and World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Development Programme/ Programme of Assistance to the Palest<strong>in</strong>ian People/ United Nations Volunteer Programme (UNDP/ PAPP/ UNV) Hell’s Journey: Com<strong>in</strong>g Home to Gaza By Laila El-Haddad, Aljazeera It has often been said that no one goes through more trouble try<strong>in</strong>g to return home than the Palest<strong>in</strong>ian. The comforts of modern day travel are a distant luxury for him. Compla<strong>in</strong>ts about airplane and ticket<strong>in</strong>g service are mere trivialities compared with what he endures on an ord<strong>in</strong>ary day of travel <strong>in</strong>to the West Bank or Gaza Strip. The Occupied Palest<strong>in</strong>ian Territories are riddled with every form and fashion of checkpo<strong>in</strong>ts and border cross<strong>in</strong>gs. There is the Qalandia cross<strong>in</strong>g, which divides Ramallah from Jerusalem, and Erez, which literally closes off the Gaza Strip from the West Bank and Israel. But for a Palest<strong>in</strong>ian travell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to Gaza, the only possible entry po<strong>in</strong>t is the Egyptian cross<strong>in</strong>g. Mak<strong>in</strong>g difficulties The Palest<strong>in</strong>ian airport has been shut down, and all permits giv<strong>in</strong>g Gazans access to Allenby Bridge <strong>in</strong>to Jordan and the Erez cross<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to the West Bank have been denied. The paperwork needed to exit and enter is a bureaucratic maze. The travel itself is physically exhaust<strong>in</strong>g and, more pert<strong>in</strong>ently, utterly humiliat<strong>in</strong>g. It is especially tax<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>you</strong>ng children. <strong>This</strong> <strong>in</strong>tentional Israeli policy of mak<strong>in</strong>g the process of travel <strong>in</strong>to and out of Gaza as convoluted, miserable and humiliat<strong>in</strong>g as possible is no doubt meant to discourage Palest<strong>in</strong>ians from travell<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the first place. Most just get used to it. Start<strong>in</strong>g off I arrived from Boston on 17 September 2003. For the first time <strong>in</strong> my recollection, the Egyptians swiftly stamped my passport and let me through to baggage claim, even after expla<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g that I do not possess an Egyptian visa, but a permit to travel to Gaza. Usually, this revelation would produce at least a threehour wait. After meet<strong>in</strong>g my party and gett<strong>in</strong>g a brief rest, we cont<strong>in</strong>ued onwards across S<strong>in</strong>ai at three <strong>in</strong> the morn<strong>in</strong>g. Palest<strong>in</strong>ians with 6 7 Photo: Majdi Hadid Palest<strong>in</strong>ian Authority passports are not allowed to rema<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> Cairo overnight. They are either to wait <strong>in</strong> the airport or be escorted immediately and directly to the border. Night journey The trip across S<strong>in</strong>ai is five hours long, we have to hurry because the Israelis have strict hours of operation: 7 am to 3 pm. Arriv<strong>in</strong>g after eight <strong>in</strong> the morn<strong>in</strong>g, we pay a man for help<strong>in</strong>g us carry our many bags on a rickety cart across gravel and sand. We proceed quickly through passport formalities, and exit outside <strong>in</strong>to a large sand lot that appears to be under construction. We are told to wait near a cesspool of dirty diapers, rott<strong>in</strong>g tomatoes, and swarms of flies. There are no chairs. No shaded areas. Just sand, sun, and filth. Long wait We wait <strong>in</strong> a long l<strong>in</strong>e of a most eclectic group: doctors, restaurateurs, peasants, merchants and mothers. Here on the border cross<strong>in</strong>g, all l<strong>in</strong>es of social status disappear. You are reduced to the least common denom<strong>in</strong>ator: a Palest<strong>in</strong>ian try<strong>in</strong>g to get home. The Israelis give specific orders to the Egyptians that only one busload of people at a time may be sent over their way. And this busload is not to be unloaded on the other end until every last person has exited the customs area. And so we wait <strong>in</strong> the blister<strong>in</strong>g heat for our bus to arrive. As we wait, we are thankful it is not July, when the number of people travell<strong>in</strong>g is considerably more and the temperature is at least 25 degrees higher. Four or more hours pass by. Still we wait.