The Summer training camp for this year was aimed at training young people in skills needed for nonviolent resistance and to work in their community in order to enhance the role of youth in their communities.
The camp was held at the YMCA camping site from July 13 – 21, 2007, during which a group of 10 participants from Palestine and the USA took part. Nine of the participants were Palestinians from Beit Sahour, Bethlehem , Jenin, Hebron and Abu Dees, while only one participant was from Minnesota , in the USA . The camp included lectures, workshops, film screenings, some practical training and field trips, in addition to some recreational activities.
Training Topics
Specialized trainers and political analysts shared their experience with the participants in communication skills, nonviolence, strategic planning, creative resistance and consensus decision making and campaigning, in addition to many other things.
Friday was the first day of the camp. Participants arrived in the afternoon and setup their tents.
In the morning session, political analyst and writer Nassar Ibrahim, director of the Alternative Information Centre (AIC) in Beit Sahour, gave the participants an overview of the political situation in Palestine including the latest developments between Fatah and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In the afternoon, George N. Rishmawi, director of PCR gave an introduction to conflict and conflict analysis and understanding indicating the different schools of dealing with the conflict. The participants became informed with the basics of conflict resolution, management and transformation.
In the evening, the participants joined a workshop at PCR’s meeting hall by Wassim Qassis, a Palestinian musician working to develop new methods in teaching music. Qassis held a workshop on how to express things through music using very simple instruments such as, cans, wood and drums etc. In addition, participants were asked to express their feelings through drawing or writing as they were listening to music.
On Sunday morning, an analysis of the difference between the first Intifada and the second one was given by George N. Rishmawi. The presentation was focused on the civil based resistance and the community work in the two periods discussing the difficulties of the civil-based resistance in the second Intifada and the need to regain the lost spirit of the first one. Examples of the PCR contribution were mentioned, including the Beit Sahour Tax revolt and how this fits in the theory of nonviolence, indicating the different level of nonviolent resistance.
In the evening, trainees watched a film produced by Palestinian Artist Mohammad Bakri called “Private.” The film talks about the story of a Palestinian family whose house was occupied by Israeli soldiers to use it as a military post, showing the effect on children and the parents in the house. The film was screened at PCR’s meeting hall.
The camp included a trip to the southern West Bank city of Hebron . On that full-day trip, on Monday, participants were introduced to the situation in Hebron . The trip was organized by the International Palestinian Youth League in city. The tour included a visit to the Old market of Hebron which is mostly closed because of the settlers who live on top of the market, and a visit to Tel Rumeideh in which Israeli settlers illegally occupied Palestinian houses and live in them making life of the Palestinian residents very difficult. A short debriefing about the trip made an evening session after they came back to the camp.
Religion was one of the important topics tackled in the camp. Ron Kraybill of the American Friends Service Society ran a workshop on Tuesday morning, on how religion can be a resource for peace in a community of different faiths. The two religions in question were Christianity and Islam since the participants in the camp were Christians and Muslims.
The afternoon session was dedicated for learning the consensus-based decision making process and how to hold a fruitful and organized meeting. Consensus decision making is a very common method used by nonviolent activists. The different stages of the process were explained and the participants were given the chance to practice reaching consensus regarding some camp issues. They agreed to clean the entire campsite and to take on a tour in Bethlehem . This session was given by George N Rishmawi.
Wednesday morning, Father Peter Dougherty of the Michigan Peace Team (MPT) trained the participants in the camp on nonviolent communication and active listening indicating how active and companionate listening can minimize misunderstandings. He also gave advice on how people can express themselves to others in a friendly way to minimize chances for conflict.
On Wednesday afternoon, the participants joined a workshop on strategic planning by Fuad Rammal from Salfit in the northern West Bank . This workshop is aimed at giving the participants an idea on how to plan and strategize their lives and also for their activities.
The workshop was concluded by an exercise where the participants were split in two groups and asked to make a plan and discuss it with the rest of the group. A plan to go swimming in the evening was interrupted because of the windy evening.
Upon the request of the participants, the group was taken on a tour to the church of the nativity and Bethlehem city Thursday morning. The attempt to visit the winery in Crimson Monastery was not successful as the group was a bit late to arrive there.
After the visit, the participants met with Eyad Burnat, member of the Popular committee against the wall and settlements in the village of Bilin to talk to them about the experience in Bilin and the importance of creativity in the resistance. The session was mainly sharing experiences from Bilin.
In the evening, the participants watched a film at PCR meeting hall. The film was Bilin Habibti, produced by Israeli director and film producer Shai, who was there to discuss the film with them. After the film, the group went for swimming at the YMCA indoors swimming pool.
Friday, was the last day in the camp. The full day was dedicated to campaigning. The trainer, Marwan Al-Ahmar gave a full day workshop for the participants about how to plan and run a campaign starting from the setting of the ideas, goals, needs and the implementation of the campaign, ending with the evaluation.
The participants split into two group to suggest and plan their campaigns. They came up with two ideas, one to support the health situation in Bethlehem area and the second is to establish an ongoing contact with those in the camp, previous and future camps.
In the evening, the participants and the organizers had dinner at a restaurant in Beit Sahour for a farewell party. Near the end, everybody were thanked for their contribution in the camp which has enriched the rest of the others.
Saturday morning was day for packing the tents and cleaning the kitchen and the facilities at the camp site. Everybody was sent to the nearest transportation to catch taxis to go home after eight great and hopefully beneficial days at the camp.
