Refugees in Jordan

Friday, December 7, 2007

Today I had an opportunity to ask Nuhad, the executive director of the Middle East Council of Churches, about Palestinian refugees in Jordan, and we met with 2 Iraqi refugees who reported on the situation of Iraqis in Amman.

There have been several waves of Palestinian refugees moving into Jordan. The first was in 1948 when the Zionists of the Haganah and Stern gangs forced Palestinians out of their homes. The Palestinians who came at this time were assimilated into Jordanian society and became Jordanian citizens. Their children completed their educations, and they were able to find employment. The second wave was in 1967 when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. Some, but not all, of these refugees were accepted by the Jordanian government. By 1987

over 150,000 people were without Jordanian citizenship.

In 2003 a new wave of refugees came from Iraq. About 650,000 crossed into Jordan with and without passports. Because these people are not recognized by the Jordanian government as refugees, they cannot receive refugee aid from the United Nations. The government is calling them "guests." A refugee doctor and a Christian pastor, who are in Jordan legally, have been arranging for these families, including some Muslims, to receive food, clothing, furniture and other needed items. They must do this in secret so that the Jordanian government will not find out about the assistance.

We have been told by several people that no one, including "guests", in Jordan is homeless or living in a tent. According to these sources, everyone has a house or an apartment though it may be in a slum.

There are a great number of refugees/guests in Jordan and this is putting a great strain on the financial and social resources of the country.

Ramallah

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Obviously I am behind in my postings as I began writing this on December 1 and finished it on December 7.

On Thursday we visited an organization called Stop the Wall and another named Addameer, which works with Palestinians who have been arrested. Both of these groups have an office in Ramallah, a Palestinian community north of Jerusalem.

At Stop the Wall we met with Jamal Juma, campaign coordinator and supporter of non-violent resistance. This organization is calling for the right of Palestinians to return to their original homes, to be free of settlements, and to support a one state solution which would include all the residents of Palestine. They fear that the Palestinian Authority will accept a divided Jerusalem. What we've heard from a number of people gives credence to this fear.

The wall which Israel has contructed and continues to construct, many times by taking over Palestinian land, is making travel extremely difficult for Palestinians. The combination of detentions at Israeli military check points and rerouting around Jerusalem increases travel times by several hours to days.

Addameer is an organization which offers free legal services for Palestinians. They train lawyers in human rights and monitor prisoners throughout their process in the legal system.

More than 10,000 political prisoners are in jail. 860 are in administrative detention which means they were sentenced without charge or trial. Those in administrative detention may be given sentences from 6 months up to an unlimited period. In one case a man spent 6 1/2 years in jail. He tried to get his case tried in a higher court but was refused. He never knew why he was in jail.

After arrest, the prisoner is taken to one of 5 detention centers for interrogation which can go on for 180 days. Most Israeli jails for political prisoners are outside the Palestinian territory. If the family lives in the West Bank, they must get permission from the Israeli government to visit. Permits are not often given. Sometimes a family must wait one or two years before they can visit their family member.

Conditions in the prisons are very bad. Israel shut down the educational program for prisoners to get a high school diploma. Psychological torture is used but the Israeli government calls it "ill-treatment" rather than torture. Each prisoner is allowed 2.1 square meters. One prison only allowed 1.8 meters. Four square meters is the E. U. standard.

Again we heard what has been related by others: We are not against Israel. We are against the occupation.

Jerusalem Day 2 (continued)

Christian attorney and human rights activist, Jonathon Kuttab contends that the problem between Israel and Palestine goes beyond politics in the usual terms. The state of Israel has obtained much sympathy and support from the government and churches in the United States without having any conditions attached to that support. Israel hasn't signed a non-proliferation treaty, and no one talks about their arms production and sales.
Israel is demanding that the Palestinians accept Israel as a Jewish country. Jews are favored over non-Jews in housing, jobs, social security benefits, visas, and who gets land. In the West Bank separation has been and continues to be set up through the construction of settlements where only Jews can live. There are different health and economic structures and education system, and a system of roads and walls to promote separation even for Palestinians who are Israeli citizens.
According to Kuttab, the challenge is tremendous. He proposes (1) that the peace community needs to say that the Palestinians don't need more weapons. The solutions is not Fatah overcoming Hamas. Neither do the Israelis need more weapons. (2) Human rights violations by the Israelis and by the PLO must stop. (3) The UN should be supporting international law which condemns taking over another people's country. (4) Racism and discrimination are wrong whether it is against blacks, Jews or Palestinians. All ways of discrimination exist in Israel.

G., the young Jewish man who spoke to us about and took us on a tour of house demolitions, was one of three youths who were the first to refuse to serve in the Israeli military. Palestinian homes are demolished on a weekly basis to allow for the construction of the dividing wall, roads or Jewish homes. He said that the locations of the Jewish settlements were chosen by Israel for a significant reason. It's more about control than real estate. The first block of settlements cuts off the West Bank from the rest of the world except through Israel. The second block with 40,000 people was built on the biggest and most accesible aquifer giving Israel total control over Palestinians' water. As a result Palestinians have running water only 2 or 3 days a week while Jews have running water daily. A third block located in the southeast isn't a strategic area. G believes that if an agreement is reached at Annapolis, Jewish settlers will be removed from that site.

The meeting with Rabbi Jahil, who was born and raised in Australia and whose parents were victims of the Holocaust, was troubling. On one hand he spoke of being a member of Peace Now and wanting to show that peacefulness is part of the Jewish faith and on the other spoke of the superiority of Jews over Palestinians. He spoke of what a wonderful place Australia is in which to grow up, and followed by saying how badly he was treated by his gentile schoolmates there. He seemed unwilling or unable to recognize the injustices imposed on the Palestinians by the Jews.

Clarification of Amman Posting

In my posting about our Sunday in Amman, I seem to have left the impression that all refugees in Jordan have been assimilated into Jordan society. We were in Jordan for only one day. We did not visit any refugee camps or speak to any recent refugees. I talked to two people whose families had been forced off their land and out of their homes in 1948-1950. These people have been able to find jobs and start a new life in Jordan. However, later refugees are considered "guests" in Jordan and thus do not have the rights and priviledges of earlier refugees. We will be returning to Jordan near the end of our trip so hopefully I will be able to learn more about the refugee situation then.

Jerusalem, Day 2

This was a full day of meetings with various individuals and a tour led by a volunteer for the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (UCAHD).  We met with Salim Munayer, a Palestinian Christian and leader of MUSASHALA, an organization to promote relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews; Jonathon Kuttab, a Christian attorney and human rights activist; and a rabbi, who moved to Israel from Australia.  

Salim sees the land conflict as a symptom of identity conflict.  He contends that two nations are living in the same house.  Both Jews and Palestinians want to keep a distinct identity.  He believes that each is a threat to the other just because of who they are--not what they do.  In a attempt to find a method to work on conflict resolution, he took 30 Israelis and Palestinians into the desert.  When he put one Palestinian and one Israeli on a camel, each had to depend on the other.  The desert didn't belong to either one and they were forced to share food and water.  Salim believes the imbalance of power disappears when people are on the same level.  

More on the events of this day will have to be shared on another day.

Jerusalem, Day 1

After a morning walking tour of Old Jerusalem and an afternoon at the Holocaust Museum, we met with representatives of the Bereaved Families Supporting Peace, Reconciliation and Tolerance.  This is a group of Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost relatives as a result of the violence.  Rami, an Israeli who was born in Israel, and Aziz, a Palestinian, each told their stories.  Rami's 10 year-old daughter was killed by a suicide bomber in 1997 and Aziz lost his brother who died from the severe beating he received after being arrested.   Their shared pain has made each man more understanding of the other.  They believe that one way to break the cycle of violence is to listen to the pain of the other.  

To promote the principles of the group they have a radio show on 107.2 FM and on the Internet at www.the parentscircle.org.  They have also staged a protest by placing coffins with Israeli and Palestinian flags on them in front of the UN.  In another action, Israeli's sneaked through the dividing wall to give blood to Palestinians.  They contend that the wall dividing Israel from the occupied Palestinian territory will not stop two kinds of people--those who make war and those who want to make peace.

Sunday in Amman

Today we worshipped at an Episcopal church in Amman. The congregation was prepared for us as they provided us with the hymns, creeds and responses written in English. The pastor had also provided us with a summary of his sermon in English. When we sang or read two languages could be heard and at one point in the service the Islamic call to prayer could be heard in the distance. This was a truly multi-cultural experience.

The topic of the sermon was Peace. Three questions were posed and answered. What is peace? Where do we find it? How do we achieve peace?

According to this pastor, peace is a way of thinking and a way of life. It is innate in people that they work for external peace. Real peace is not the absence of war and violence rather it is a way of life. This is why Jesus stressed the fact that peace is at the core of Christian teachings and of the gospel message. Real peace is on founded in truth, justice and equality, freedom and respect for all.

The pastor said that we find peace in Christ. Christ is the source, maker and giver of peace. Peace is something that the children of God are called to pursue and make.

He concluded by saying that we achieve peace by living the message to love God and people at the same time. This is the commandment Christ gave us and we are reminded of, each and every time we draw near and partake of his body and blood. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself." This is our mandate: to make our world one of peace, love and happiness, for peace is justice and justice is peace. Blessed are the peace makers, for they are the children of God.

After the service we were invited to join members of the congregation for brunch. We sat at round tables intermingled with church members, many of whom spoke English. One woman I spoke with said that her family was forced out of Palestine by the Zionists in 1948. Her father always thought he would be able to return to his home and carried the key to their house in his pocket until he died. The 82 year old organist of the church said that he and his family were forced to leave Palestine in 1950. His father was a gifted violinist who owned a Stradivarius. He said they destroyed everything in the house including his father's violin. "I can't tell you the horrible things they did to us," he said.

Several speakers made short presentations on different topics. The pastor's wife talked about the work they are doing to empower women in the church and in governmental and non-governmental organizations. Women work with refugees and in the areas of human rights and family violence. One man spoke of the impact refugees have had and are now having on Jordan. There were waves of refugees entering Jordan in 1967, 1987, 1994 and 2003 after the invasion of Iraq. He said that in a country of 6 million people, 1.5 million are refugees. The cost in dollars is 2 million a day. A neuro-surgeon talked about health care for the Palestinian refugees. The source of his information is personal experience and the World Health Organization and the United Nations. He said that 75% of Palestinian health care workers can't get to work and patients experience long delays at Israeli military checkpoints. Seventy-five percent of Palestinians live below the poverty level of $2 a day.

I was surprised at the number of Palestinians in Jordan-some of whom have been here for many years. Jordan seems to have been welcoming and accepting of the many waves of refugees coming there over the years.