Al-Haq: Human rights monitor and advocate

Today Giovanni, an Italian who has also come to volunteer with the International Solidarity Movement, joined me on a hike to the Ramallah headquarters of Al-Haq ("the right" in Arabic), which prides itself in being the oldest human rights group in the region. It has consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. Al-Haq carefully documents human rights violations by both sides, does legal research, offers training through its Center for International Law, and engages in advocacy at the national, international, and UN levels.

Majed Abbadi

Al-Haq program officer Majed Abbadi told us the most flagrant human rights violations the group has encountered are Israel's attempt to annex new land to Jerusalem, continuing home demolitions in Area C (the Israeli-controlled area of the West Bank), and attacks on Palestinian farmers by Israeli settlers while the Israeli Defense Forces stand idly by. You can see some of the problems with your own eyes on Al-Haq's virtual field visits at http://alhaq.mits.ps/index.php/virtual-field-visits (My Internet was too slow to see them smoothly, but they might work on your computer.) Majed personally lost some property when Israel built the wall.

Understandably, Al-Haq is not too popular with the Government of Israel. In 2002, during the second Intifada, Israeli Defense Forces attacked the NGO, took the hard disks from the computers, and destroyed everything. (But Majed says they didn't get any data, which was safely encrypted.) Majed has not  been arrested at Al-Haq, but he was arrested three times as a student activist. He says Israel has been trying unsuccessfully to discourage donors from supporting Al-Haq.

"We can't keep fighting each other forever," says Majed. He's not optimistic about a resolution of the conflict in the next 5 to 7 years, but he is optimistic for the long term. He says that the world's view of Palestine is changing, and it's up to the world "to make Israel honor the conventions it has signed."

Giovanni and I saw the contrast between new Ramallah and old Ramallah today.

Stair we climbed on a shortcut back to our hotel

Downtown Catholic church reminded us Ramallah was settled by Christians

Scene of old Ramallah in the city's mini-museum

Tomorrow we start the International Solidarity Movement non-violence training.If you would like to see what it involves, here is the syllabus:

Hopes and Fears

We will discuss what are our hopes and fears of coming to Palestine are and with working with ISM. Throughout the training we will try to make sure that everyone’s fears are addressed.

Culture

Palestinian culture is very different from western cultures that many of the internationals come from. In this section we will talk about how internationals can respect the culture. We will discuss cultural considerations to keep in mind while living and working in Palestinian villages and cities.

Non-violent Spectrum

We will use a spectrum to talk about what people believe are violent or non-violent actions and if these actions are effective or ineffective in context of the Palestinian resistance. We will discuss what the long-term effects of our actions are on Palestinians living in the regions we work in.

ISM Principles and Structure

We ask everyone who works with ISM to commit to our three principles: Palestinian led, non-violence, and working in groups. We will talk about what these three principles mean and also the structure of ISM in the core group, the ISM regions, the ISM working committees (legal, media, training, financial, problem solving, and campaign coordination), and with international volunteers.

Consensus Decision Making

ISM is committed to working with the consensus decision-making process. We will explain what consensus is and how to use it effectively, provide some facilitation techniques, talk about how people can self-facilitate in meetings, and we will role-play quick decision making at demonstrations.

Sexual Harassment and Assault

Sexual harassment and assault happens all over the world and can happen to anyone. Unfortunately we have heard about a lot of sexual harassment and assault specifically towards women in the West Bank recently. We have included this section to address how women can hopefully avoid sexual assault and harassment, what to do in case it happens, and how we can all help to stop this and support people that it has happened to.

Regional Updates

We will provide updates on all the regions that ISM works in, so people can decide which region they would like to stay in while they work with ISM.

Responding to Violence

If you go to demonstrations you will most likely encounter weapons from the Israeli military such as tear gas, sound grenades, rubber bullets and much less frequently live ammunition. We will discuss how we can non-violently protect ourselves from these weapons, and also from violence we may encounter from settlers.

Media

This section contains two parts. The first part will discuss writing press releases, eyewitness reports, journals, and letters-to-the-editors and how to use our language and words effectively. In the second part we will speak about giving interviews with friendly and unfriendly media, talking with sound bites, and we will role-play being interviewed by the media.

Legal

This section will cover the different types of Israeli law enforcing officials (military, police, border police, secret service) you may encounter and their authority, what you should do if you are arrested or detained, what legal options you have if you arrested, and about returning to Palestine in the future. There will be a role-play to learn what our rights are and how to use them effectively.

Looking after ourselves and each other

Coming to Palestine can be a traumatic experience for many people and can be very emotional for most. However, with the right kind of care for ourselves, we can aim to come out of this experience without trauma and with new inspiration. This section will include ways we can emotionally prepare ourselves before we come to Palestine, what we can do while we are here and when we go back home to take care of ourselves and others working in ISM. Self-care is an area many people in the activist community all over the world have begun to explore more in depth, aiming for many joyful and effective years ahead of us.