I do not think words could accurately articulate my experiences in Hebron, so I hope the pictures included in this post will make up for my lacking words. By the time we reached Hebron, my emotional and physical state was taxed...again. Violence and peacemaking were topics of conversation 100% of the time, and my entire being need a break. However, I quickly realized that I was not going to get that break in Hebron.
Upon our arrival in Hebron, the tour guides, Aziz and Kobi, noted that they would not be able to travel together in certain parts of the city. Why? Because Palestinians were not allowed on the Israeli side and vice versa. It was important for us to stick together "in case we had to make a quick exit". Excuse me?
As we walked into the city, the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) and the border police were in high volume. I noticed many officers becomeing forceful with Palestinian boys trying to sell us some of their goods. We were asked multiple times if the entire group was Christian. Taught to always answer yes to that question, a few students nervously shook their heads.
Throughout our journey in the city, I heard a variety of stories and learned pieces of information that never make the US news. Did you know that Jewish residents of the Old City of Hebron (a place they would have had to occupy) often throw stones onto the Palestinians walking below? I grew up learning that "throwing stones" was an act of Palestinian boys.
Parts of the Old City of Hebron were practically vacant, as its residents fled the area during the Second Intifada. The city shut down and businesses failed.
Many more things could be said about my experience in Hebron, but I think I'll leave you with a story that I will carry with me forever. With my emotions running high, I needed a little quite time--time to just be. Looking for that experience, my friend Lauren and I walked into a pottery shop next to our lunch place. The walls of the shop were covered with beautiful pieces of pottery painted in vibrate colors. Walking deeper into the store, the shop owner and potter was sitting at his wheel shaping and molding clay that would soon be a part of the other merchandise on the shelf.
I stared at the way his hands moved over the clay on the wheel and the gentle way he sprinkled water on the shape to keep it from drying out. It was beautiful, and he made it look easy! As we caught each others eyes he said, "Would you like to try?"in his broken English. Unsure of exactly what I said, a mumbled and nervous response came about that led me to the potter's wheel.
He sat me down at the wheel and covered my clothes with a well used apron. He threw some clay on the table and motioned for me to go for it. Never having sat a pottery wheel or even mold clay, I had no idea what I was doing. Laughing throughout my attempt, I also caught a giggle from him as well. When he finally decided that the pottery wasn't shaping up like it should, he took my hands and helped me mold my first piece of pottery. Together we poked, prodded, and shaped my first vase. A Palestinian man in Hebron brought me into the story of his daily life by allowing me to sit at his pottery wheel. I experienced what he experienced every day. It was a beautiful moment.
What if this is all it takes for peace between people? What if all we need is the opportunity for a shared experience? What if creating something together was an expression of each of our narratives? What if this type of experience could lead us to understand those around us on a deeper level?
The man in the picture below does not know my name, and I do not know his, but in my mind, we walked a journey together that will forever change my understanding of encountering another human being in this world--a being full of dignity and worth.
No comments:
Post a Comment