See more photos and watch video of the program
From the 27th of February to the 6th of March 2015 the JAI arranged a program in Palestine for students of two partner schools from Denmark, through DanChurchAid (DCA). 26 students coming from the Midtsjællands Efterskole and 7 coming from the Dronninglund Efterskole . They were accompanied by their teachers and members of the school board.
In their home country the Danish students are taking a class focussing on global citizenship for one year. Palestine serves as the country that they focus most on. All the students were very excited to come to Palestine and see with their own eyes what they had already heard about before in class. They were welcomed by a group of Palestinian youth from Beit Sahour in their age, whom the JAI has trainined and oriented for the students exchange and reception, and accompanied them to some of their program activities and who also opened their homes for one night to the Danish students. The Danish students also visited the Palestinian youth at their schools in Beit Sahour. Many connections and friendships were formed during this time.
The Danish group also went to visit Bethlehem and got a guided tour in the old city as well as a political tour of the Bethlehem area. Everyone was very moved when they saw the Apartheid wall running through Bethlehem, cutting the city from Jerusalem completely. At home the students had prepared a drum performance with little wooden sticks that they now performed on the wall in order to express their hope that this wall will fall one day.
One morning was spent olive tree planting on a field, where nearby an Israeli settlement was constructed, hence, the field is threatened by Israeli confiscation. Danish and Palestinian worked hand in hand and showed great team work. Everybody enjoyed being outside and working with their own hands. Also the students were able to participate in part of the JAI's work and could help to "Keep Hope Alive". Another memory from the planting was certainly the sun burn that everybody got, reminding students about the very different climate from Denmark.
The day in Jerusalem was divided in two parts. In the morning the group was guided through the city by a lady from the joint Israeli-Palestinian organization "GrassRoots", also partner with DCA. Here they learned about the many discriminations Palestinians experience in Jerusalem so that they can be seen as second class citizens. The students drove to illegal settlements in East Jerusalem as part of the tour and witnessed a destroyed Palestinian home. Seeing the injustices was hard for the student, nevertheless everyone agreed on the importance of knowing these facts. One of the Danish students, Astrid, said: "This is not a typical holiday. It goes much deeper. We have seen so many injustices that it is hard to bear. I am just asking myself if there will ever be peace if these injustices continue."
The second part was spent in the old city itself. The group was met by a young Palestinian woman who has lived in Jerusalem for her whole life. She told the Danish youth about her everyday life. The students were very impressed with her and also got a feeling of what it must be like to live in Jerusalem as a Palestinian as the young woman did not like to get filmed or photographed and was not able to speak openly in public spaces when soldiers were passing by.
The group also went to Tel-Aviv for one day, meeting with a Danish journalist who has been living in Israel for the past 30 years. They also enjoyed some free time in Tel-Aviv, though it was always in the back of their heads, that their new Palestinian friends could not enjoy the beach with them together as they are not allowed to enter Israel.
One very memorable experience for the young people was certainly the visit to Hebron. Everyone could feel the tension in the city and felt uncomfortable by the presence of the many Israeli soldiers. Also walking down the closed Shuhada Street while their Palestinian hosts had to wait at the entrance of the street gave them a feeling for the hardships and the segregation that Palestinians face in Hebron every day. Many Danish students later expressed their gratitude about living in a country where they enjoy freedom of movement and freedom of expression as well as their frustration about the ongoing occupation in Hebron as well as the whole West Bank.
The last day was spent in Jericho. The students visited the YMCA Vocational Training Center, as well as a YWCA kindergarten and a YWCA food production centre. It was very interesting for the young people to see the different kinds of education and initiatives in Jericho. They also walked up the Mount of Temptations and visited the remains of the old city of Jericho.
In the evening of their last day their Palestinian young hosts staged a Dabka show for their Danish guests which was met with enthusiastic reactions by everyone watching. Afterwards the day was finished off at a restaurant where goodbyes were said. Rolf, one of the Danish students said at the end: "It was so good to have been here and seen Palestine and what is going on with my own eyes. Most memorable was probably Hebron. It is unbelievable what the Israeli settlers are doing here. I am looking forward to going home now, but I hope to be back one day!"