Lion's Gate Welcome

1. Just got out of a cab with a friend who speaks Hebrew, and after I stopped zoning out and paid attention (since the extent of my Hebrew is mazel tov and leila tov) , realized he was Arab, and then conversed in Arabic which a) means I'm getting the Palestinian dialect down enough for very, very general convos and 2) cab drivers are the coolest people in all countries (insert 'Gypt reference).

2. So every article on the front page of Haaretz online today concerned terorrism, the Holocaust, or nuclear weapons. Every. Single. One-minus the one about a Jewish poet pretending to be Arab (gasp!). And it's the liberal paper. I know I've mentioned this before, but thought I would do so again to demonstrate how much I was not kidding. Daily dose of fear, anyone? I do enjoy the Jewish World articles, though.

3. I got to see Orthodox Jews dancing to techno music the other day.

4. Turns out, there IS a Minister for Minority Affairs in Israel- Avishay Braverman of the Netanyahu government is the first individual to hold the post since it was abolished after one year of existing in 1949 (the first year after independence). The post was officially reestablished in March of 2009, making it less than 4 months old. What has it done? Not a clue. Can't find anything about it anywhere outside of the fact it exists. Why does this matter? I want to talk to him since the Gypsies, while a minority, are not recognized so by the Israeli government, but simply as 'Arab.' At the same time, when it comes to aid distribution and certain benefits as a minority in the state of Israel, the Gypsy population often does not receive or benefit from them. The chance of me actually getting to do this? Pretty close to zero. But still- the creation of this post is intriguing, although the lack of news coverage suggests its in name only. Braverman himself went to Stanford for economics, worked for the World Bank in DC and served President of Ben-Gurion University for a number of years. He ran for the Knesset in '06, and is now serving in the Netanyahu government (even after calling for the Labor Party, which he is a part of, to not join the government). Anyway, the reason for sharing this is (1) I'm looking for more info (please share!) and (2) I thought it was kinda cool.

5. My summers in the Middle East have officially warped my thinking. As my clothing supply ran drastically low, I had to wear long shorts, that came a little bit above my knees. I was FREAKING out the entire day, completely self conscious about how much skin I was showing.

One Foot in the Door

So I guess I should give a little more follow up on my last post. While I have been working at the center for about three weeks now, I hadn't been officially invited to their homes yet. While Amoun may be the epitomy of Mother Theresa when it comes to welcoming people with open arms, the community at large still remains rather close knit and protective from outsiders. It was mostly the kids- since I live in the Old City as well, (just on the opposite side near Jaffa Gate, while their community is mostly at Lion's Gate), one of the dads drove me back, and then I helped them carry some stuff up a side alleyway to a compound. At that point, I was literally dragged in by the kids. All of one extended family lives in one compound- Grandma, Grandpa, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. It is a lot like college suites, Arab-style. Each family has their own 'apartment,' and they all share a small yard. The one I saw was occupied by Amoun's family. First, Heba pushed me into her family's apartment- she shares a bedroom with her brother Yasr, and then there is a kitchen, a parents bedroom, and a small living room. Most of the others are set up in similar fashion- some of the kids have beds, some don't. There was little furniture in the cramped corners, but if there was, it was obviously second-hand. Yet there was such obvious pride in what they did have- something I have noticed at the center, as well. They take such care of everything they have, through preservation and appearance- which is a completely alien concept to me as a self-identified slobovian. This extended-family style of living is typical (Amoun, even though she is a single woman without a family, still lives in this compound, and it would be unacceptable for her to do otherwise)- yet I think I would go crazy if it were me- people just walk in and out of each others rooms and apartments, no privacy, and your family knows EVERYTHING happening in your life. Yet at the same time, they are all so close, and that inescapable familiarity with one another also means they can read a face or sentiment, and clear out when space is needed or respond when a hug is desired. But still, it would drive me crazy.

Anyway, apartment one I got juice, apartment two I got rice and some weird gooey substance, apartment three fruit and coffee. They own two computers (one recent donated one and one from the 1980's), and it was automatically assumed I would know how to fix them. Right.

I felt so welcome- and elated as I was told literally 6 times by one father that I was invited back everyday, anytime. It was my home as much it was theirs'. And this is what elicited the all-caps previous post.

While walking away (and brilliantly twisting my ankle in the process), I realized how important this home was to this family- Gypsies are often assumed wanderers (although the name refers to an ethnic as well as cultural), but this group developed a lifestyle in this city, settling there over 300 years ago. In this little corner of one of the most disputed and fought over territories in the world, this small community was just attempting to scratch out an existence to be able to continue living in the place they called home. They have to fight for their homes- yet not just from the government (some of their homes have been demolished because they are 'illegal') but from the Arab population trying to kick them out. I heard a reporter recently ask Amoun why they dealt with the sky-rocketing rent costs and difficulties of Old City life, when they could easily move elsewhere. This is their home- not because of political, ideological or religious reasons, but simply because it is their home, where they had grown up, run the streets, and learned to live- and they would do everything they could to keep it that way. I'm hoping to find out more on how the territorial struggles of Israelis and Palestinians externally effect this little corner of the Old City- so more to come!

And then, within the next 24 hours, some mole hills turned into mountains in terms of accomplishing the project, mostly to do with stretched time and resources and Amoun reaching her breaking point in what she can take from the community, friends, and society. More on why will be coming in a later post when I talk about some of the Gypsy community stuff, but in an attempt to limit the increasingly exorbitant length of these posts and to preserve your sanity, I'll stop for now- but I'll be getting to Hebron and general research info soon, promise!