The
Scandinavians
During our first morning in Jerusalem, I met a group of Swedes from the Swedish
Rescue Services Agency. They were staying at our hotel while they distributed
food in the West Bank. Unemployment is high in the Palestinian areas and making
sure that residents get enough food is a challenge, they said. A number of nations
have combined their resources to provide supplies that these Swedes distribute.
Jennifer Jordan, one of our hosts, said the food trucks are not allowed into
the West Bank whenever the Israelis impose a curfew. We were there during Ramadan,
a time when Muslims fast during the day. The curfew had been lifted in most areas.
Because of the Israelis’ well-founded fear of weapons and bombs being smuggled
into the country, the Swedes said they had more trouble getting out of areas
than getting in. They come to the Mideast in teams of 12 to 14 members.
We also met a group of Norwegian medical professionals who were there training
paramedics. Several were also working as ambulance drivers. Because of the difficulty
of getting past checkpoints, the Red Crescent uses some foreign nationals as
drivers since they seem to get past checkpoints more easily.
The training program.
Given their personal losses and the constant stress of living in a virtual war
zone, Palestinian children are in great need of counseling. Our job was to train
Palestinian mental health workers who are tasked with helping the smallest victims
of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Two more trips to work with the Palestinians
are in the planning stages.
This time, our team did a four-day training program with 20 mental-health workers
in Ramallah, a West Bank town about 15 miles north of Jerusalem, and four days
with 30 workers in the Gaza Strip. It was technically the best program we have
done. Despite the many limitations under which Palestinians work, they have excellent
electronic equipment. Students and faculty were equipped with small portable
receivers and earpieces. The translators did instantaneous translations, talking
as we talked. It is always a mystery to me how they can do this accurately. This
not only saved time, but we also found that their translations were exceptionally
accurate. This is not always the case in some countries where the team has worked.
Many of the mental-health workers in Ramallah have had limited training in psychology
and social work. Our material was a real advance for them. We have had occasional
problems with getting men to practice new skills, due to their fear of looking
incompetent. That was not the case on this trip as the males entered fully into
the skill-building exercises.
In Gaza, our students were concerned because they were separated from their families.
When curfews are imposed, they never know how long they will be kept away from
home. On the other hand, the occasional sounds of bombs and gunfire did not seem
particularly alarming to them.
A refugee camp
One of our electronic technicians accompanied Jennifer Jordan and
our team on a tour of the largest refugee camp in Ramallah. The camp was started
in 1948 with 16,000 people and was little more than an open field with tents.
Now home to 26,000 people, it resembles a small city with regular buildings
and a sewage system built by the people. It has water and electricity when
the Israelis don’t turn them off. Since the uprising began, there has
been little work for the refugees. They rely on the good will of foreigners
for most of their necessities.
