una storia vera

Nello spot gli ex militari chiedono a un altro ragazzo israeliano dove abbia svolto il servizio militare

Internazionale 731, 14 febbraio 2008

Di recente in Israele è stato lanciato uno spot per il servizio militare, accompagnato dallo slogan: "Un vero israeliano non fugge". Nel video si vedono alcuni giovani israeliani che, in quello che sembra un albergo indiano, si vantano delle loro esperienze militari con una ragazza straniera.
È un dato di fatto che, abbandonata l'uniforme, molti giovani fanno lunghi viaggi all'estero. Nello spot gli ex militari chiedono a un altro ragazzo israeliano dove abbia svolto il servizio militare. E questo rimane in silenzio, con gli occhi bassi. Il messaggio è chiaro.
Lo spot è stato girato in un piccolo ristorante di Tel Aviv. Alcuni dei camerieri, infastiditi per essere stati coinvolti nel video, hanno deciso di girare un contro-spot. La scena è simile, anche se i camerieri parlano in ebraico e la ragazza non ha i capelli biondi.
Due dei protagonisti raccontano di aver abbandonato il servizio militare perché non sopportavano quello che erano costretti a vedere ogni giorno. La ragazza, invece, ha lasciato l'esercito, dove faceva l'assistente sociale, dopo il suicidio di due soldati.
Il terzo cameriere ha scelto il carcere pur di non arruolarsi. Gli altri commentano: "Lo stato non si è mai occupato della sua famiglia. Perché mai lui avrebbe dovuto servirlo?". "E tu?", chiedono infine tutti al quarto ragazzo. Che, imbarazzato, non dice una parola. Il video si chiude con una scritta: "Un vero israeliano non fugge… dalla verità".
All'inizio non volevo scrivere di questa vicenda. Per parlare di un fatto del genere, mi dicevo, passo troppo poco tempo in Israele e inoltre conosco gli umori della mia società solo attraverso la tv.
Poi, quando ho scoperto che il contro-spot si era diffuso su internet, mi sono ricordata che oggi viviamo nel mondo virtuale non meno che in quello reale. Inoltre avevo seguito le polemiche sollevate dal video tra gli utenti della rete. Così ho capito che anche voi, cari lettori di Internazionale, meritavate di conoscere questa storia.

fonte Internazionale, Amira Hass

declassata

... mi hanno dato solo 5 ...
solito iter, niente domande ma controlli (al mio portatile hanno rimosso la batteria, sono sparito per 10 minuti, poi l'ho dovuto accendere davanti a loro, aprire un file a caso per far vedere che era tutto a posto!)

si ritorna a casa ...

the meaning of life

Well, it's nothing very special. Uh, try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations. (...)

Whenever life gets you down Mrs. Brown / and things seem hard or tough / and people are stupid, obnoxious or daft / and you feel that you've had quite enough! / just remember that your standing on a planet thats evolving / revolving at nine-hundred miles an hour / its orbiting at ninety miles a second / so its reckoned / a sun that is the source of all our power / the sun and you and me / and all the stars that we can see / are moving at a million miles a day / in an outer spiral arm at forty-thousand miles an hour / of the galaxy we call the Milky Way / Our galaxy itself / contains a hundred billion stars / its a hundred thousand lightyears side to side / it bulges in the middle / sixteen-thousand lightyears thick / but out by us its just three-thousand lightyears wide / were thirty-thousand lightyears from galatic central point / we go round every two-hundred-million years / and our galaxy is only one of millions of billions in this amazing and expanding universe. The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding / in all of the directions it can whiz / as fast as it can go / the speed of light you know / twelve million miles a minute and thats the fastest speed there is / so remember when your feeling very small and insecure / how amazingly unlikely is your birth / and pray that there intelligent life somewhere up in space / cause theres bugger all down here on Earth.

Monthy Piton, The Meaning of life

... oh yeah ...

environment

The editor of This Week in Palestine Tony A. Khoury: un numero dedicato all'ambiente.

Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Bethlehem came to a virtual standstill when President George Bush came to visit last month to give the peace process a push. The residents of Jerusalem, in particular, were happy to see him leave due to the havoc his presence created on the city’s traffic for three days. The peace process is also at a standstill. There are periodic meetings between Palestinians and Israelis but not much seems to transpire from them. Gaza continues to be the hermetically sealed jail that it has become - not that it was much better in the past - with the added punishment of power cuts for hours on end, reduced supplies of fuel (especially during the unseasonably cold spell of a few weeks ago) and food staples, not to mention other products that Israel is not allowing into the Strip, thus bringing the economy to a near total collapse. Many factories and workshops have run out of the raw materials needed for their work, thus forcing them to shut down and lay off their workers. Another casualty of the Israeli occupation, perhaps less visible but no less serious, is the environment. For years now, Israel has been siphoning off the West Bank’s underground water reserves, abundantly supplying Israeli settlements created on Palestinian lands with it, while rationing the water supply to Palestinian villages and farmers. Water is one of the subjects covered in this month’s issue of This Week in Palestine, which is dedicated to the environment. Among the other topics highlighted are wildlife, desertification, global warming, waste management, and biodiversity. Legislation dealing with laws that should be put in place to protect the environment is the focus of one article, while another looks at the effect of the environment on the economy. It is interesting to see how the environment affects many aspects of our lives. Awareness of such issues should start early and be incorporated into the school curricula. Think twice before throwing that candy wrapper or tissue paper on the ground or out of your car’s window.

finita la tempesta?

... oggi almeno c'è il sole e la neve inzia a sciogliersi...
Ramallah sotto la neve è bella anche se la città è assolutamente impreparata all'emergenza neve, i negozi sono quasi tutti chiusi (compresi quelli che vendono il gas per le stufette, ad esempio), le strade e i marciapiedi non sono stati puliti se non da qualche volenteroso, io mi sono spalata la neve intorno alla macchina (un po' di esercizio fa sempre bene) .... ma che freddo in casa, si sta decisamente meglio fuori ... anche se orde di bambini grandi e piccoli fanno a pallate di neve, le strade sono completamente allagate ed è impossibile non bagnarsi!

continua la tempesta ...

... e sta portando la neve...
c'è un vento frtissimo che fischia da tutti gli spifferi della casa, oggi tutto è chiuso, non si lavora, fa molto freddo, non c'è neanche una macchina in giro ...
mi sento un po' in gabbia ....

Last Supper in Palestine

uno spettacolo realizzato da Ashtar for Theatre Productions and Training.
The performance ‘Last Supper in Palestine’ is initiated by Simon Rowe and is part of his ‘Globallocal series’, a series of projects being realized in different cities, internationally, where he has developed a relationship to the place and the people in collaborations during his career. In the last years Simon developed a passionate interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This led to his involvement in the occupied Palestinian territories. After visiting the occupied territories he was inspired to create a performance with Palestinians that would communicate their daily reality of living under impossible conditions with check points, military occupation and now imprisoned behind a wall. Inspired by meeting the Ashtar Theatre in Ramallah, he invited Iman Aoun, director of Ashtar, to co-direct a performance presenting the people, their culture, the situation in Palestine.

Last Supper in Palestine
Concept & Choreography: Simon Rowe
Directed by Simon Rowe & Iman Aoun

Critical reflection of Modern Palestine presented through physical-theatre by a group of Palestinian performers. Approached with a touch of irony tragi-comedy and ridicule, the performance lays bare, the seriousness of the Palestinian situation, the plight of a people living under constant siege. Drawing associations between the fate of Palestine and the Last Supper of Christ, the last stations of the cross, the performers wrestle with their fate, twisting and bending to persist, dedicated to the fulfilment of a dream against all odds. It’s not over yet.

Dancing on the Edge

con 'sta pioggia e con 'sto vento...

c'è poco da bussare, c'è il diluvio e la tempesta fuori e chi si muove dall'ufficio?
speriamo che non nevichi... almeno...

Born in the shadow of a checkpoint

si può nascere anche al checkpoint a Hebron, dove alle ambulanze non è consentito entrare in alcune zone della città e dove bisogna aspettare "ordini superiori" per poter passare ...
l'assurdità della vita inizia davvero da subito qua in Palestina ...

"You'll never walk alone." It's doubtful that a slogan used by the Israel Defense Forces has been read in such a macabre context. The slogan, in the name of the 92nd Auxiliary Unit, appears on the sign next to the checkpoint that blocks off the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron. True, Kifah Sider did not walk there alone. Her husband and brother-in-law were with her. In fact, she did not exactly walk. Groaning with contractions, she was carried by her husband. The young woman of 23 was in labor.

The soldiers held her up at the checkpoint for 20 critical minutes, the family says. In any case, she had to proceed on foot because this neighborhood, where evil stalks - a place ruled by a handful of sometimes-violent settlers who have forced out half the inhabitants - is barred to Palestinian vehicles. Including ambulances that can rush a woman in labor to the hospital in the dead of night. Evildoing resides here. The windows are barred because unruly settler children throw stones. Cars are forbidden entry, and the way home passes through the checkpoint, with the message "You'll never walk alone" on the gate. But the 92nd Auxiliary offered no support that night. Its soldiers only delayed the pregnant woman until her screams finally persuaded them to let her through. On foot, of course. That was 20 minutes too late. It was no longer possible to rush the woman to Aliyah Hospital, a five-minute drive away. Kifah lay on the road, the neighbors brought a mattress, the husband took off his jacket, and in the subzero cold another checkpoint birth took place, delivered by the Israeli occupation. It wasn't the first, it won't be the last. (...)

fonte Haaretz, Gideon Levy

Gaza’s misery has to be stopped

The tens of thousands of Palestinians who burst out of Gaza into Egypt this week in search of food, fuel and medicine have temporarily broken the siege that had tightened like a noose around this teeming territory ever since Hamas took over the Gaza Strip last June.
Like the lid coming off a pressure cooker, the blown-up border fence has avoided a bigger explosion – for now. But Gaza’s humanitarian disaster and conflict shows every sign it could escalate into war if it is not brought under control.
That would put paid to any chance current efforts to resurrect peace negotiations might succeed.
The breach in the Rafah crossing may well be the work of Hamas, the Islamist party that now controls Gaza, to dramatise the plight of the population and put pressure on Egypt to intercede with Israel and the US. It follows Israel’s tightening of the blockade, in response to the continuing barrage of primitive rockets aimed at the Negev town of Sderot from north-west Gaza. Last weekend Gaza’s power went off after Israel suspended fuel supplies.
This siege is not only wrong; it is almost wholly counterproductive.
First, Israel’s tactic of “collective punishment” is illegal. Targeting a civilian population is prohibited by international law: there is no debate to be had about it.
Second, however, two decades of using this tactic, in the occupied ter- ritories and in Lebanon, should have taught Israel that it does not work. It actually strengthens organisations such as Hamas and Hizbollah.
Indeed, this siege is visibly increasing Gazans’ dependence on Hamas as the only source of the means of subsistence.
It is time that Israel, its Arab neighbours such as Jordan and Egypt, the US and the Fatah nationalists they are all backing against Hamas rethought their position.
Their attempt to isolate and topple Hamas after its 2006 election victory – which included arming Fatah warlords in Gaza – has failed.
Arab and international mediators should immediately seek an armistice from Hamas and an end to the Gaza blockade from Israel.
They should then seek to revive the year-old Hamas and Fatah unity agreement and set up a joint caretaker government prior to eventual new elections. The Islamists should be brought into talks – on condition they are ready to work for a Palestinian state on the West Bank and Gaza with east Jerusalem as its capital. Only when that is achieved should Hamas, and all Arab countries, be required to recognise Israel – an Israel with fixed borders, not the moving frontiers it keeps pushing into occupied Palestinian land.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

Inside Story - Gazans pour into Egypt

Thousands of Palestinians have flocked into Egypt through the collapsed Rafah border crossing for a second day. They buy essential supplies made scarce by Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Fonte Al Jazeera English

once again....

...vado in Palestina.... anzi, sono già arrivata :-)

Gazans flood through Egypt border

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have surged into Egypt from the Gaza Strip after masked militants destroyed parts of the border wall.
Gazans rushed to buy food, fuel and other supplies that have become scarce because of an Israeli blockade - aimed at stopping rocket attacks from Gaza.
Egyptian police have so far taken no action to stop people crossing. Israel has expressed concern at the events at the border and has urged Egypt to restore security there. (...)
The BBC's Ian Pannell, who is on the Egyptian side of the border, says thousands of Palestinians have crossed through the breached wall and were stocking up on essentials, petrol and cigarettes.
Among them was Ibrahim Abu Taha, a father of seven, who told the Associated Press news agency: "We want to buy rice and sugar, milk and wheat and some cheese."
One Gaza woman told the BBC as she crossed the border: "We're going over there to our family. They're all there. I haven't seen [them] for 10 years." (...)

fonte BBC News (anche la foto)

Gaza plunged into darkness as Israel restricts fuel

The only power plant in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip has shut down because of a lack of fuel, Palestinian officials say, blaming Israeli restrictions.

Gaza City was plunged into darkness after the plant's turbines stopped. Israel's closure of border crossings amid continued rocket fire from Gaza has brought the delivery of almost all supplies, including fuel, to a halt. But Israel, which provides 60% of Gaza's power, says the territory still has sufficient fuel stocks. The UN believes Gaza's 1.5m inhabitants face serious hardship and one of its officials said unheated hospitals were having to rely on generators for operations. Mahmoud Abbas, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority president who lost control of Gaza to Hamas last year, called on Israel to "end its blockade of Gaza immediately and allow the entry of fuel to facilitate the lives of the innocent". (...)

fonte BBC News

Honorary citizenship of the moon

"Daniel Barenboim, the world-renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, has received Palestinian citizenship" and a Palestinian passport, the Haaretz English edition reported on Monday, using a Reuters story. The Ynet version said that the Palestinian Authority had granted Palestinian citizenship to Barenboim, whereas The New York Times reported that the Argentinian-born Israeli pianist and conductor had agreed to accept Palestinian citizenship and an honorary Palestinian passport. (...)

fonte Haaretz, Amira Hass

... io vengo dalla Luna ...

la luna bambina

E adesso a chi la diamo
questa luna bambina
che vola in un "amen"
dal Polo Nord alla Cina?
Se la diamo a un generale,
povera luna trottola,
la vorrà sparare
come una pallottola.
Se la diamo a un avaro
corre a metterla in banca:
non la vediamo più
né rossa né bianca.
Se la diamo a un calciatore,
la luna pallone,
vorrà una paga lunare:
ogni calcio un trilione.
Il meglio da fare
è di darla ai bambini,
che non si fanno pagare
a giocare coi palloncini:
se ci salgono a cavalcioni
chissà che festa;
se la luna va in fretta,
non gli gira la testa,
anzi la sproneranno
la bella luna a dondolo,
lanciando grida di gioia
dall'uno all'altro mondo.
Della luna ippogrifo
reggendo le briglie,
faranno il giro del cielo
a caccia di meraviglie.

Gianni Rodari

... ciao Marco ...

Chronicling struggles of Italy's poor

ROME, ITALY - Ten months ago, Giampiero Beltotto started writing down what his friends said they were most worried about. They were struggling. They could barely make ends meet. They were part of an Italian middle class "at their limit," he said.
Beltotto compiled their stories and others in a book that offered an intriguing look at Italy in 2007, a year in which writers and bloggers plumbed the inequities and political rot found in one of Europe's most beautiful countries. "I Nuovi Poveri" or "The New Poor," details the uncertainties of an increasingly marginalized class, the people who should make up the bedrock of democracy.

fonte Chicago Tribune

per una volta non parlo di Palestina...

Olmert to assure Bush he will remove outposts 'expeditiously'

Israel will tell U.S. President George W. Bush during his visit to the region this week that it is committed to acting expeditiously to dismantle unauthorized West Bank settlement outposts, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Monday.
Israel has pledged repeatedly to take action on the outposts, generally small encampments settlers have set up in the West Bank.
Olmert spokesman Mark Regev did not say how quickly Israel would take down the dozens of outposts.

Fonte Hareetz, Barak Ravid

our violent presence

There is no Israeli whose presence in the West Bank is neutral. Civilian or armed, soldier or woman settler, resident of a quality-of-life settlement or a nearby outpost, MahsomWatch activist or guest at a settlement, Bezek worker or client at a Palestinian garage. All of them, all of us, are in this Palestinian territory, in the West Bank, because our state occupied it in 1967. (...)

Fonte Hareetz, Amira Hass

buon 2008

Thousands throng Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem

Bethlehem – Ma’an – “This land belongs to God. It must not be for some a land of life and for others a land of occupation and a political prison." (...)

fonte Maan News

... Buon Natale ...

back home ....

ormai non mi tocca più niente ...
poche domande, ribaltamento del bagaglio ma niente di nuovo...
ciao ciao Ramallah ...

henna

Baroque Music Festival - 12/22 December

today in Birzeit

Gaza makes an appeal to you!

About 60 years have passed since our Palestinian catastrophe (Nakba).
Palestinian people have passed through and tasted several sufferings and calamities, and the Gaza Strip, which includes about 1.5 million people, 75% of them refugees, got a big share of this suffering.
By the start of the 2nd Intifada in 2000, Israeli Occupation violated all the taboos international conventions and has tortured Palestinians severely.
In the meantime, the harsh siege imposed on the Gaza Strip has been continuing for the past seven months, but with more cruelty. The siege hinders the freedom movement for people and goods into and out of the Gaza Strip. Therefore, the humanitarian situation has severely deteriorated and the fragile Gaza economy is dying out. That economy was already weak due to
Occupation procedures is now on its knees. Accordingly, the Gaza Strip has turned into a big "Ghetto". All Gaza houses carry stories of pain and suffering!
Basically, the Gaza Strip depends on importing goods through the Occupied Territories that are under Israeli occupation control. Since the start of this siege, the Occupation has prevented raw materials from coming into the Gaza Strip as well as banning the exportation of Palestinian homemade goods!
Additionally, unemployment rates have reached a sharp level of 70% percent.
Therefore, Gaza civilians have not been able to even secure their basic human needs, in addition to the dramatic decrease of income which reached less than $650 per capita yearly.
Until this moment, the Occupation has failed in subjugating the Gazans.
Thus, Occupation is seeking all methods and means to reach this subjugation.
Occupation is targeting all economic aspects in the Gaza Strip. All industry, which amounts to 3,700 workshops and factories, have closed - resulting in making 65,000 laborers unemployed. As the siege continues, farmers joined the harmed classes, especially in the most significant
agricultural season. Thus, another 20,000 laborers became unemployed.
As for the Gaza crossings, there are 5 crossings and borders points that link the Gaza Strip with the world. Four crossings are with the occupied territories and the 5th with Egypt, the "Rafah Terminal". The Occupation takes full control of the 5 crossing points, thus they have made them become completely deteriorated and closed. Occupation doesn't allow people to move outside Gaza but neither are they allowed to come into it. Moreover, it allows some foodstuffs to get into Gaza Strip while raw materials and other sorts of foods are banned from entry.
Statistics report that 37 trucks of these goods are present, while the Gaza Strip needs at least 300 vans per day that bring in raw materials, goods and commodities.
In the health field, there is real danger, as sick people have double trouble with a life of suffering. Occupation doesn't permit medical parts and medications to be brought in. Besides, this occupation prevents sick people to leave abroad for treatment.
Reports and statistics issued by health sections say that there 1500 people in urgent need to undergo surgery for various diseases like kidney failure, heart disease and cancer of all sorts. Three hundred of those sick people are in a very dangerous situation.
More than 137 medical machines are out of order due to unavailability of spare parts, 23 of these machines are for kidney dialysis out of 66 machines. Eighty-six sorts of medications have vanished and another 132 kinds will be not available soon!
Since the launch of Popular Committee Against Siege, PCAS, in November 2007, 29 victims resulted from siege have been counted. Those victims were from the sick people banning from travel. They died in front of cameras and the whole world witnessed the way they died. Yet, no one has done anything or taken any action. Those sick victims were always wondering and asking?when will we travel to be treated? This same question is being asked by hundred
of other sick people!
As for infrastructure domain, the projects of water, sanitation, school and health utilities have stopped due to closure. Raw materials needed in operating these projects were banned from importation into the Gaza Strip.
250 million dollars were earmarked to these projects, and thousand of workers would have benefited directly, not to mention the projects by the UNRWA that are suspended. 93 million dollars that would help people directly are not being spent, as 16,000 people would benefit from this aid. Beside this, the Occupation has decreased petrol supplies that have affected water
and sanitation wells which have since stopped working. Educational, health and other structures were closed, not to mention, there is no available stationary for students. In addition, young people who study abroad were not able to travel back to continue their study in their universities, and their futures are threatened. Some families risk losing the possibility of
re-entry into Gaza.
More than 25 municipality councils are about to suspend providing services for Gaza residents. These cancellations depend fundamentally on fuel, such as the collection of waste and trash.
The previously mentioned images are just some of what the Palestinian people are going through in the Gaza Strip. Occupation is besieging Gazans and violating international charters and human rights conventions including the IV Geneva Protocols and the International Declaration of Human Rights.
Since PCAS started working to face this siege, it has contacted many figures and parties. Yet, we have not heard any position or stance that has been taken. There are no factual actions to alleviate the suffering of people.
Thus, we call upon you and we ask persons of conscious to move on and please do something, even by words, in order to help tens of thousands to avoid a crisis that seems inevitable.

Ramy Abdu Spokesman Popular Committee Against Siege

human rights day

a commemoration

my political standing

I did the test... and this is the result!!!

Your political compass Economic Left/Right: -6.50
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.15

censimento

In quei giorni un decreto di Cesare Augusto ordinò che si facesse il censimento di tutta la terra. (Luca 2,1)
c'è il censimento 2007 in giro per la Palestina o, per essere precisi, per il West Bank: infatti a Gaza non c'è nessun censimento in corso...
comunque hanno intervistato anche me e a parte la stranezza per avere in casa due computer portatili ma nessuna lavatrice, la cosa più difficile è stata spiegare che il mio nome è fatto di nome e cognome e basta, non ci sono altri nomi in mezzo (qua tutti hanno anche i "middle" names, il nome del papà e del nonno... ma noi no!) e non era convinto il mio intervistatore....

Israele: dopo Annapolis, ordinaria amministrazione

Il summit di Annapolis non sembra aver avuto il minimo effetto sulla politica israeliana, né sull'opinione pubblica della maggioranza ebraica della popolazione. Il commento più diffuso è di bonaria condiscendenza verso Bush: l'alleato americano ha chiesto a Olmert di prestarsi ad un piccolo spettacolo mediatico e sarebbe stato scortese rifiutare. Una volta chiuso il sipario, si torna alla normalità dell'Occupazione. (...)

(fonte Altre Notizie)

What are you doing December 8th?

We're using the internet to mount a "virtual global march" on Bali - and anyone can join in. The world's delegates are gathering there from 3-14 December to decide: will they take decisive action on climate change, or ramble and delay?
It's up to us to make sure they hear a massive global outcry. This Saturday, December 8, a wave of protests and marches will sweep the globe--we can make sure it crests at the summit doorstep.
Just join the virtual march below: Avaaz members in Bali will carry your flag and a sign with the number of people who've signed from your country.

Join the March - Sign the Petition to Leaders at Bali:
Climate change is the greatest threat facing our world today - and we are almost out of time to stop it. You must tackle this problem now, decisively and together. Start working toward a new global agreement this year. Set binding global targets for emissions to avert catastrophic climate change. Take bold action immediately - and we will join our efforts with yours.

a good new

.... libero ...

the One State Declaration

In light of these stark realities, we affirm our commitment to a democratic solution that will offer a just, and thus enduring, peace in a single state based on the following principles:

• The historic land of Palestine belongs to all who live in it and to those who were expelled or exiled from it since 1948, regardless of religion, ethnicity, national origin or current citizenship status;
• Any system of government must be founded on the principle of equality in civil, political, social and cultural rights for all citizens. Power must be exercised with rigorous impartiality on behalf of all people in the diversity of their identities;
• There must be just redress for the devastating effects of decades of Zionist colonization in the pre- and post-state period, including the abrogation of all laws, and ending all policies, practices and systems of military and civil control that oppress and discriminate on the basis of ethnicity, religion or national origin;
• The recognition of the diverse character of the society, encompassing distinct religious, linguistic and cultural traditions, and national experiences;
• The creation of a non-sectarian state that does not privilege the rights of one ethnic or religious group over another and that respects the separation of state from all organized religion;
• The implementation of the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees in accordance with UN Resolution 194 is a fundamental requirement for justice, and a benchmark of the respect for equality;
• The creation of a transparent and nondiscriminatory immigration policy;
• The recognition of the historic connections between the diverse communities inside the new, democratic state and their respective fellow communities outside;
• In articulating the specific contours of such a solution, those who have been historically excluded from decision-making -- especially the Palestinian Diaspora and its refugees, and Palestinians inside Israel -- must play a central role;
• The establishment of legal and institutional frameworks for justice and reconciliation.

(The One State Declaration)

the day after Annapolis

Arab and Israeli delegates who took part in the Annapolis diplomatic fiesta should be coming down from the excitement of the world-observed event to the sad truth of reality on the ground: continued Israeli occupation of Arab territories faced by a mix of deep resentment and outright resistance. (...)

(fonte Dina Ezzat, Al-Ahram Weekly, Nov 30, 2007)

tramonto su Ramallah

the Annapolis Conference

Haaretz news
Al Jazeera English
BBC News Middle East

670 Students in Gaza blocked from higher education abroad

"Israel seems determined to punish all Gazans, including students, for the behavior of Hamas," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division. "Israel should not make young people seeking education pay the price for its conflict with a political or military
group."
Universities in Gaza do not offer degrees in a variety of subjects, including undergraduate degrees in languages other than Arabic, English and French, and master's degrees in law, journalism and information technology.
Doctoral degrees are not offered at all in Gaza or the West Bank.
Israel forbids Gaza residents from studying in Israel or the West Bank, and rarely permits foreign professors and lecturers to visit Gaza to teach.
Most of the students are waiting for permission to leave Gaza, either to get visas for the countries where they have been admitted to universities or to travel to those countries directly. Many started their studies in previous years and were trapped in Gaza when they returned home for the summer.
In some cases, Israeli authorities have given students exit permits but then refused to let them leave via the passenger crossing at Erez due to unspecified "security concerns." (...)

(fonte Human Rights Watch)

Billo le grand Dakhar

che effetto vedere un film in italiano (più o meno) a Ramallah....
Billo le grand Dakhar (regia di Laura Muscardin, coproduzione italo-senegalese) è stato premiato alla tredicesima edizione del Temecula film festival di San Diego... interessante ...musiche del meraviglioso Youssou N'Dour ...

Billo, è un giovane senegalese arrivato in Italia clandestinamente. Nonostante sia vissuto in una famiglia povera ha ricevuto una solida educazione ed ha imparato il mestiere di sarto nel quale eccelle. Il sogno di diventare famoso in Italia, patria della moda è forte. Prima di partire ha giurato amore eterno a Fatou, sua cugina. In Italia le cose non sono facili, ma nonostante questo riesce a farsi una piccola posizione ...

a gesture to the prisons Service

un articolo di Amira Hass su Haaretz.

Al Kasaba International film festival

17th-30th November 2007

The festival will screen 35 recent produced feature, documentaries, and shorts films organized into different program sections.
European Cinema: 9 recently produced films will be screened from Different European Countries in cooperation with the European representative offices in palestine. Also the festival will screen films from different Asian and African countires, Al Kasaba participation in durban film festival- South Africa enabled signing agreements with the producers of the films in order to screen their films in the festival.
Films from South Africa, Mali, Benin, Senegal, Congo, Pakistan and India will be also screened in the Festival.
Also, there will be a major part for the Arab cinema throuth the cooperation with the Med Screen program.
Recent Films from Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Palestine will be screen in the festival.

How to Get Out?

an article by Uri Avnery.

waiting for Annapolis

un articolo di Noam Chomsky (in English here).

qualcosa è cambiato...

non ci si può mai annoiare in partenza da Israele: mentre arrivavo in grande ritardo all'aereoporto di Tel Aviv, già consapevole del fatto che avrei dovuto fare tutto di corsa, mi metto in fila per la prima parte dei controlli e ... ta da!!! non ci sono più i patacchini colorati, ma bianchi!
però con dei numeri sopra... da 1 a 6... facile indovinare quale numero mi abbiano dato!
insomma, poche domande, controlli a tappeto di bagaglio e di me (ma con grande gentilezza corrisposta), un caos incredibile (a voler fare in fretta si dimenticavano di attaccare patacchini, per cui ri-controllavano tutto), il check-in fatto praticamente a mano... insomma, tutto nella norma!

Palestine Indipendence day

celebration for the Palestinian Independence day in Ramallah Cultural Palace

un enorme campo rifugiati

Gaza is reverting to its status as the largest of the Palestinian refugee camps. It is a bleak and hopeless territory twice the size of Washington, DC where 1.5 million inhabitants eke out living on $2 a day and handouts from the UN Relief and Works Agency and the World Food Program. The steady deterioration of Gaza life to camp-like conditions is the result of Israeli and American policies toward Hamas, the dominant political party who took power in Gaza in a violent coup this past summer.

The painful irony of Gaza's evolution from regular refugee camp to mammoth refugee camp is that it is being painfully ignored in the run-up to the "international peace conference" for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (...)

(fonte Terry Walz on CNI, Gaza - A Vast Unimproved Refugee Camp)

Yasser Arafat

3° anniversario ...

dead sea

gita sul Mar morto allo stabilimento Mineral.
interessante guardare chi c'è: una prevalenza di russi (che in massa stanno arrivando in Israele...), nord americani in gita, gruppi di coreani che parlano inglese tra loro, israeliani che creano settlement di ombrelloni-seggiole-sdraio-cibarie costringendoti a spostarti sempre più in là.
Israele è una nazione composta da un mix incredibile di culture ed etnie, anche solo osservare le fisionomie di chi hai intorno ti da la dimensione di quanto variegata sia ...

Jazz in Ramallah

in Vatche, cool atmosphere ...

che facciamo stasera?

cosa si fa la sera a Ramallah? o in generale nel tempo libero?
a parte mangiare (tanto), bere, ritrovarsi in casa a fare 4 chiacchiere, ascoltare musica, Ramallah offre sempre qualche possibilità in più grazie a un po' di locali carini (incredibilmente alcuni dall'aspetto occidentale) e a qualche evento (concerti, rassegne di film, mostre, etc.).
Così capita che ci si ritrovi a mangiare in casa, si vada a fare un salto allo Zan, poi al Grand Park (dove chiedono 35 shekels per entrare -circa 6 euro-, quindi se ne fa una questione di principio e non ci si va), poi di nuovo allo Zan...
ma almeno c'è qualche possibilità... a Nablus che si può fare la sera? da quanto mi hanno detto, assolutamente nulla...

ciao Enzo ...

Credo che la libertà sia uno dei beni che gli uomini dovrebbero apprezzare di più. La libertà è come la poesia: non deve avere aggettivi, è libertà.

Enzo Biagi




(foto da Arci Bologna)

Why Are Their Needs Ignored?

Gaza is grim indeed, and this is where any chance of peace malingers if not treated. Since June, when Hamas upended Fatah in Gaza and took over the administration of the area, Israelis have adopted a continuous series of measures harming the civilian population. Border crossings were closed - then, after an international outcry, briefly reopened to allow in food. In September, Gaza was declared "an enemy entity," and imports were restricted to 9 basic materials. Prohibited have been such items as certain medicines, furniture, electrical appliances, cow and cigarettes, and decreased amounts of such basic foods as fruits, milk and dairy products. (...)
The European Union has asked Israel to end the blockade on humanitarian grounds, and Ban-Ki Moon, the UN Secretary General, has also appealed for both an end to the Qassam attacks and to the Israeli blockade.
Where is the US Secretary of State on this matter? Why hasn't she - or President Bush - called on Israel to put an end to actions that are contrary to the Geneva Convention? If they are keen for an Annapolis peace process, why aren't they putting real teeth into the expensive shuttle/photo-op/PR diplomacy thus far practiced? How can they expect anything to emerge from Annapolis other than the usual platitudes when Palestinians of Gaza are living an imposed nightmare existence?

(fonte CNI Fundation, Gaza’s Place at Annapolis)

buttano giù le scuole

On the Thursday, the 17th of October the Israeli Occupation Forces issued a demolition order for Fasayil's primary school and yet another Palestinian family's home in the village. Construction work requires a permit from the Occupation authorities but since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967 not one has been granted. The systematic ban on destruction is clearly aiming at driving out Palestinians of the Jordan Valley.

According to the demolition order issued against the primary school the community has to dismantle the school within 40 days or to face the arrival of the Occupation's bulldozer and a heavy fine for not respecting the construction ban. (...)

(fonte Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Palestinian Primary School in Fasayil to be demolished on the 29th of November!)

Damascus gate by night

Shashat Third Women's Film Festival in Palestine - 2007

SHASHAT is a formally registered NGO in Palestine whose focus is on women’s cinema and the social and cultural implications of women’s representations. Shashat also aims at building the capacity of the independent Palestinian filmmaking sector, especially women filmmakers. Shashat was formed in order to provide sustainability and continuity to these objectives.
This annual women‘s film festival showcases the creativity of Palestinian, Arab, and international women filmmakers. Shashat held its 1st Women Film Festival in 2005, 2nd Women‘s Film Festival in 2006, and is now launching its 3rd Women‘s Film Festival, 2007. This is the only ongoing annual women‘s film festival in the whole Arab world.


.... very very interesting

arrivano i nostri!!!!

4 giorni di intenso lavoro, incontri, workshop, seminari tra Birzeit, Ramallah, Betlemme, Nablus, Jerusalem...
HELP....

Concert in memory of Edward Said

Una serie di concerti in memoria di Edward Said organizzati da Al Kamandjati e The Barenboim-Said Association.
A Ramallah, in Al Sakakini, violini, viola, violoncello e piano ... molto emozionante.

la raccolta delle olive

oggi sono andata a raccogliere le olive a casa del mio amico Mohammed a Al Ram, c'era la sua famiglia, mamma compresa (che mi chiama Amira, principessa, perchè non si ricorda il mio nome...), ed è stato una bellissima esperienza, con i vicini curiosi che si affacciavano a guardare la straniera seduta in terra, le poche parole che riuscivo a scambiare con i figli, la terra di cui eravamo tutti ricoperti, il meritato pranzo alle 3 del pomeriggio ....

Modena City Ramblers

Modena City Ramblers, Ucodep e Coop insieme per garantire il diritto all’educazione e alla salute dei giovani palestinesi, in cui la musica diventa strumento di pace e sviluppo
Il progetto, a sostegno dei giovani palestinesi di Betlemme ed Hebron, ha come obiettivo la realizzazione di un percorso musicale di gioco-studio per i bambini in età compresa tra i 9 e i 13 anni, per migliorarne il benessere psicofisico attraverso la realizzazione di corsi di musica e di danza che facciano riferimento alla tradizione palestinese e l'allestimento di due laboratori musicali, di ripresa e montaggio video.
Il progetto prevede inoltre lo sviluppo di un programma di scambio tra il conservatorio Edward Said di Ramallah e l’Accademia Musicale di Firenze.
Oggi c'è stato il concerto al Ramallah Cultural palace, oltre alle canzoni dei MCR ci sono state canzoni "nate" dai workshop e realizzate insieme agli allievi del conservatorio e a quelli dell'Accademia di Firenze.... veramente interessante!

gran finale con Bella ciao ....

extraterrestre

sono andata a Nablus con la mia PMO oggi: mi sono sentita un'aliena, anzi, ci siamo, eravamo praticamente le uniche senza la testa coperta e ci sentivamo guardate da tutti/e, bambini compresi (nelle scuole)... nessuno è stato maleducato,m però sentirsi addosso così tanto gli occhi... mi faceva venir voglia di coprirmi!!!!

sapore di casa 2

certo, non fanno la fiorentina, l'acqua cotta, anzi non fanno proprio nulla di toscano... però vedere il cartello per le vie di Ramallah fa un certo effetto!

sapore di casa 1

originale mortadella palestinese offerta a una festa di compleanno... ah, adesso sì che mi sento a casa!

Dobbs's concert

un concerto al Sakakini Cultural Centre a Ramallah organizzato da Al Kamandjati con l'amico Dobbs e altri amici palestinesi, musiche di Bach, composizioni di Dobbs (una storiella su una scimmia che ha rubato gli occhiali, un mix di musica, racconti) e musica tradizionale palestinese...

the second Riwaq Biennale in Palestine

RIWAQ: Centre for Architectural Conservation RIWAQ è una organizzazione no profit che ha sede a Ramallah. Il suo principale obiettivo è la protezione e lo sviluppo del patrimonio architettonico in Palestina.
Tra le sue attività, ci sono il Registro Nazionale degli edifici storici, un inventario di 51.000 edifici, la realizzazione di progetti per conservare tali edifici, Piani di protezione per i centri storici, pubblicazioni di libri, etc.
Attualmente è in corso a Ramallah la seconda Biennale di Riwaq in Palestina, dal 17 al 24 ottobre.
In a radical shake-up of the biennale concept, the Riwaq Biennale will not consist of any large-scale, central exhibitions. Instead, it will offer a series of curated conversations and interactions between Palestinian and international artists, architects, Planners, conservationists, curators, and theorists. Through this deliberate omission, the Riwaq curatorial team aims to provide an alternative vision to challenge the perceptions and expectations of what a biennale can be.

... e ho conosciuto Suad Amiry .... :-)

One state conference

17-18 novembre 2007 a Londra
Challenging the Boundaries: A Single State in Palestine/Israel
“The beginning is to develop something entirely missing from both Israeli and Palestinian realities today: the idea and practice of citizenship, not of ethnic or racial community, as the main vehicle of coexistence.”
Edward Said , 1999

ikea

seratona all'ikea, io e la mia conquilina, a cercare di trovare qualche mobile per casa... ovviamente le linee più economiche per i nostri tavolini, libreria, scaffale, armadio, pentole, lampade, specchio, amenità varie ...
che stress ... senza contare ciò che non abbiamo trovato ...

zoo

A zoo. This is one of the ways that Palestinians describe the conditions under which nearly 1.5 million of them have been living: in an area of some 360 square kilometers, closed in on three sides by sophisticated barbed-wire fences, concrete walls and military lookout towers, and to the west by Israeli navy ships that seal them off from the sea. Overhead, in the sky, unmanned aircraft and hot air balloons continually photograph whatever happens inside this closed cage, which has seven gates connecting it to the world, all of which are sealed off almost hermetically. (...)

(Amira Hass, Hareetz, The 41st kilometer)

todo bien

arrivata, tutto bene.
nessuna strana intervista.
ho una casa carina, grande, lunimosa... un po' vuota perchè io e la mia amica la dobbiamo arredare, però va bene, è anche un modo per impegnarsi la sera (cercare mobili in negozi in cui non capisci cosa vendono, contrattare, rendersi conto di cosa veramente ti serve e puntare all'essenzialità....).
Poi abbiamo anche un ospite, un danese che da 30 anni vive a Napoli... uno spasso ....
qui comincia l'avventura ....

preparatevi

pre|pa|rà|re
v.tr.
FO
1a predisporre, mettere a punto qcs. in modo che possa essere usato o sia pronto per lo scopo cui è destinato: p. le valigie, p. l’occorrente per la scuola; p. la tavola: apparecchiare il tavolo, imbandire
1b ottenere mediante una serie di operazioni e manipolazioni di ingredienti: p. un pranzo, gli antipasti, una torta, un cocktail; p. da mangiare, cucinare
1c sistemare, organizzare tutto quanto è necessario per l’allestimento o la realizzazione di qcs.: p. una guerra, una spedizione; p. un viaggio, uno spettacolo, una mostra
1d elaborare, organizzare mentalmente; attendere alla stesura di un testo e sim.: p. un discorso, un articolo
2a addestrare, istruire alla pratica di una determinata attività o a sostenere una prova: p. un atleta per la gara, p. gli alunni all’esame di maturità
2b mettere nelle condizioni fisiche opportune: p. il paziente per l’intervento
2c mettere in un determinato stato d’animo, in una data condizione spirituale o psicologica: bisogna prepararlo alla notizia
3 fig., tenere in serbo, riservare: non si sa cosa ci prepara il futuro

Polirematiche
preparare il terreno loc.v. CO creare i presupposti necessari perché qcs. possa avvenire, si possa realizzare.

(De Mauro online)

il matrimonio della mia migliore amica

siate felici!!!

niente sesso in città

un bellissimo romanzo di Suad Amiry, architetto palestinese di Ramallah.

stanca...

... ma ancora viva, ecco l'oroscopo di Rob Brezsny per le mie prossime settimane:
“Una persona è un poeta se le difficoltà insite nella sua arte gli suggeriscono delle idee”, ha detto il poeta dello Scorpione Paul Valéry. “Se invece lo privano di idee, allora vuol dire che non è un poeta”. Sulla base di questa definizione, ti nomino poeta onorario dello zodiaco per le prossime tre settimane. È il momento ideale per sfruttare i tuoi problemi, sia generando idee incredibilmente utili sia creandoti affascinanti opportunità. Per aiutarti nel tuo compito, ti offro altri due aforismi di Valéry: “Due pericoli minacciano costantemente il mondo: l’ordine e il disordine”; “ Il modo migliore per realizzare i tuoi sogni è svegliarti”.

documentare

oggi, tra le tante esperienze vissute con i colleghi palestinesi, mi piace segnalare la breve visita alla Zelig, Scuola di documentario, televisione e nuovi media di Bolzano.
Mi piace pensare al forte legame che esiste/puó esistere tra documentari ed educazione, tra l'occhio della videocamera e lo sguardo dell'educatore ...

viaggio all'estero

perché in pratica arrivare a Bressanone significa venire all'estero.... non mi sento in Italia per niente, non solo perché la maggior parte della gente parla tedesco ma anche per la cultura completamente diversa: ad esempio, ieri sera un mio collega e´passato a prenderci con la bici e l'ha lasciata per una decina di minuti parcheggiata fuori dall'hotel senza lucchetto (e ovviamente l'ha ritrovata).
E, essendo arrivati qua alle 9 di sera, abbiamo fatto fatica a trovare un locale che avesse ancora la cucina aperta e dove poter mangiare....
insomma, un altro mondo ...

se ...

... sopravvivo a questo training-tour de force fantozziano in cui contano di più le competenze da agente di viaggio che quelle del ricercatore di Didattica e pedagogia speciale ...
... arrivo fino alla fine senza strozzare nessuno ...
... nessuno strozza me ...
se, se, se, allora forse avrò ancora le forze per scrivere su questo blog ...
... se ...

un popolo diviso

"Ho visto tutto quello che c'era da vedere, ho vissuto sulla mia pelle il peggio di questa vita e dell'occupazione", dice Muna. "Esilio, morte, bombardamenti, la lontananza da mio marito. Ho assistito al suo assassinio e l'ho sepolto. Ma la spaccatura che c'è oggi nella società palestinese, l'ostilità che ci circonda, è la cosa peggiore che abbia mai visto".

(Amira Hass su Internazionale)

birra!

ecco, anche quest'anno mi sono persa l'Oktoberfest palestinese, a Taybeh ....

struggle

WHEN MY friends fall prey to despair, I show them a piece of painted concrete, which I bought in Berlin. It is one of the remnants of the Berlin wall, which are on sale in the city. I tell them that I intend, when the time comes, to apply for a franchise to sell pieces of the Separation Wall.
Sometimes, when I give a lecture before a German audience, I ask: "How many of you believed, a week before the fall of the wall, that this would happen in their lifetime?" No one has ever raised their hand.
But the Berlin wall fell. This week it happened here, too - true, only in one place, to a small section of the fence, when the Supreme Court decided that the government must dismantle the obstacle (which at this place consists of a fence, with ditches, patrol roads and razor wire) and relocate it nearer to the Green Line. (...)
in this desperate struggle, even a small victory is a big victory. Especially since it happened in Bil'in.
FOR BIL'IN is a symbol. In the past two and a half years, it has become a part of our life. Here, every Friday, for 135 weeks without exception, a demonstration against the fence has taken place.

(Uri Avnery, BIL'IN! BIL'IN!)

al supermercato

un altro articolo di Amira Hass, Ricominciare da zero

V-day

più di 200mila persone solo a Bologna in Piazza Maggiore
senza bandiere
il discorso di Beppe Grillo si trova qua

Ritornare a fare politica ogni giorno. Al supermercato, a scuola, sul lavoro, al semaforo, nella natura, nel vostro condominio.

PS: il commento della figlia più grande è stato "Mamma, ma hanno detto 31 volte una parola che non si può dire!"

-1 ...

al V-day!!!!
L'otto settembre firma per "Parlamento Pulito", legge di iniziativa popolare per mandare a casa i parlamentari condannati in via definitiva; un massimo di due mandati in Parlamento; la preferenza diretta al proprio candidato. Per maggiori informazioni clicca qui!
DOVE????

Visualizzazione ingrandita della mappa

che scioperata ....

tutto questo tempo senza scrivere niente!
ma ho un'ottima scusa, ho partecipato (in qualità di staff, o, meglio, di Isaura...) alla 1st Summer School su teatro e cittadinanza "TEATRO ED EDUCAZIONE ALLA CITTADINANZA:
ITINERARI DI INCLUSIONE/ESCLUSIONE" a San Marino, all'interno del festival della cittadinanza democratica: 5 giorni di laboratori, seminari, workshop, spettacoli con Roberta Biagiarelli (Reportage Chernobyl), Ascanio Celestini (La pecora nera), David Anzalone (Targato H), Mario Perrotta (Italiani Cincali).
Il teatro d’impegno civile, in particolare, sia nella sua valenza di riscoperta e affermazione della Storia e della Memoria, sia nella sua valenza di critica problematizzata degli scenari più sconfortanti del mondo globale (guerra, fame, ingiustizia e violazione dei diritti umani, catastrofi ambientali, terrorismo ecc.) si interroga, razionalmente ed emotivamente, su che genere di civiltà sia diventata la nostra, una civiltà in cui si “è depositata un’incapacità di memoria e di riconoscenza verso la natura, verso coloro che ci hanno preceduto e ciò che non arriviamo a comprendere”
Questo tema che pertiene alla difficile costruzione di una nuova cultura, di un nuovo modo di partecipare alla vita sociale, di nuove modalità di relazione, di nuovi stili di vita e di consumo, invita ciascuno ad un cambiamento che è prima di tutto trasformazione del sé e che ha dunque bisogno dell'apporto vivo e della riflessione dell'intera società.
In questo senso il teatro civile può costituire uno dei percorsi che aiutano a creare la consapevolezza della necessità di una rinascita civile collettiva e per questo può essere utilizzato secondo un progetto pedagogico chiaro e coerente da quanti operano nei settori dell’istruzione formale e informale.

too many authorities

la lucida analisi di Amira Hass sulla situazione a Gaza (fonte Haaretz)

acqua e trattore

un altro articolo di Amira Hass su Haaretz...
Palestinian shepherds have water tank, tractor confiscated

V-day

partecipiamo numerosi!

8 settembre 2007 nelle città d'Italia

L'8 settembre sarà il giorno del Vaffanculo day, o V-Day. Una via di mezzo tra il D-Day dello sbarco in Normandia e V come Vendetta. Si terrà sabato otto settembre nelle piazze d’Italia, per ricordare che dal 1943 non è cambiato niente. Ieri il re in fuga e la Nazione allo sbando, oggi politici blindati nei palazzi immersi in problemi “culturali”. Il V-Day sarà un giorno di informazione e di partecipazione popolare.

Beppe Grillo

PS: io sono l'ultima della fila nella v-marcia ... o comunque a pag.620 ...

pigrizia e ferie e ....

mancanza di connessione e di tempo... vabbè, un po' per le ferie con le bimbe (finalmente!), un po' per il poco tempo così che la voglia di scrivere è poca e mi dedico ad altre cose.... ma non sto scrivendo quasi nulla!
mi rifarò, suvvia....

Bologna 2 agosto 1980/2007

... per non dimenticare.

XXVII anniversario della strage alla stazione di Bologna
Giovedì 2 agosto 2007 - Giornata in memoria delle vittime di tutte le stragi
Il 2 agosto 1980, alle ore 10,25, una bomba esplose nella sala d’aspetto di seconda classe della stazione di Bologna.
Il bilancio finale fu di 85 morti e 200 feriti.

Il sito dell'Associazione familiari vittime della strage alla stazione di Bologna è ricco di informazioni.