20th September
20th September 2007.
East Jerusalem.
My meeting with Heather went well, as my ideas were received enthusiastically. I’m now going to make first contact with the institutions I have in mind before handing over to Heather to work on the project. So, if you are in a position to instigate an appropriate scheme where you work then speak now, or forever hold your peace!
Afterwards I taught a couple of students before downloading to my computer the reports of Medical Aid for Palestinians from the last three years, which I’m flicking through in preparation for putting together some publicity for a fund-raising recital I’m hoping to do while I am back in Oban in October. A few choice facts and figures are never a bad idea when trying to represent the reality of life here.
I am also struggling to arrange some Arabic lessons here in Palestine – you would think it wouldn’t be a hard thing to do, but it was much easier in London. Although through practice I’m getting better at the little I already know, I’m not really learning much new so I need to fix up some lessons as soon as I can.
I’m going back to Bethlehem tomorrow and will try to take the opportunity to get a photograph of me at the wall, for a ‘context photo’ that can be used for my concert in Oban. I’ll need to be sensitive about it though, as many Palestinians resent the attention the wall attracts.
It is hard to imagine what this land was like before the wall was built and it’s also difficult to believe that it was built only in 2002 – it seems so permanent. At eight metres high it nearly always totally cuts off the other side from view. It’s a very contentious thing, and I’ll go into it in more depth another time, but the divisions it exacerbates can be made clear by noting that to the Israelis it is known as the ‘Security Fence’, yet to the Palestinians it is known as the ‘Separation Wall’, or even the ‘Apartheid Wall’. One thing is for sure though; as you will see from the photo, it is definitely more than a fence! However, it should also be said that neither is it a wall for it’s entire length.
Like it’s Berlin predecessor, it has become a place for artistic comment, with contributions from various well-known artists and celebrities alongside those of everyday, frustrated Palestinians. The above painting I believe is by British artist Banksy.
