Hebron --Reclaiming Itsef from the Inside Out



Walid with promotional poster

     Although I have talked about criticisms of NGOs that receive foreign funding and pay inflated salaries that lull people to sleep, there is an NGO in the Palestinian city of Hebron with a budget of $2 Million that is working miracles. It is the Hebron Rehabilitation Committe (HRC). Because its director of PR, Walid Abu-Alhalaweh, is a friend of George's, we got a last minute appointment with him two days ago. His office is in a beautiful old building, typical of the kind they are rennovating throughout Hebron's Old City.
     Though greater Hebron boasts 600,000 inhabitants, its Old City had been practically abandoned by its residents when violent settlers moved into it under the protection of Israel's army. To push back against this devasting loss, HRC has in the last 15 years of operation rennovated 900 apartments and brought back 5,000 Palestinians to re-inhabit them. They have been joined in this task by Architects Without Borders, the governments of Sweden, Spain and other EU countries, Saudia Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, and other Arab and Western funders.
     Walid had just come out of a staff meeting where they were developing plans for the next 2 years. They will turn their focus from homes to businesses. They will offer to rennovate any Old City business that agrees to keep its doors open, and combine this effort with a campaign to change the city's image to "A Beautiful Hebron," and work on bringing the tourists that will support the businesses.
     It would seem grandiiose were it not for this organization's track record and its absolute dedication to working WITH and serving the community. People are constantly streaming in and out of the Center's offices seeking technical, legal and social help. I think it is this concern for the well-being of the entire community that has made HRC so successful.
     Furthermore, this Center does not let foreign funding cloud the reality of the occupation, which starkly manifests in the presence of 600 fanatical Israeli settlers in the middle of the Old City. Over 500 Palesitinian shops have been closed by miitary order so that settlers may circulate freely in the area they have chosen as their own. As stated in HRC's brochure, one of their objectives is, "to contain and encircle Jewish settlements inside the Old City, by erecting rings of buldings around them in order to stop their horiontal expansion and prevent their urban interconnection by increasing the Palestinian population density between them."
      In past years I knew Hebron as the city were Israeli settler children were throwing stones at Palestinian children on their way to school, and every Palestinian home had elaborate screening and gates over their windows to protect against settlers' regular attempts to break them. According to Walid, there is less of that now -- less tension -- but instead a kind of staqnation, as Palestinians have grown used to settler presence. To brighten their lives and inject some new energy, HRC has painted many doors and window frames a shade of purple that seems to reflect the sun and offsets the red geraniums in people's flower pots. (Forgive the absence of a photo showing this!)
      Another innovation is that local families are encouraged to receive foreign guests for overnight stays, creating a network of B & B's. Walid was working on a list of vocabulary to help hosts and guests navigate the language gap: towel, toilet paper, water, salt, lights, etc. Other families receive significant financial support: free water and electricity, free health care and free rent. Schools and a health clinic haave been added to serve the growing population. The HRC brochure exsplains:

"Breathing life back into the Old City neighborhoods takes more than the mere restoration and preservation of old buildings: it requires caring for the people who dwell there by creating a host of facilities and public services inside the Old City, including a social guidance center and a project to revive the old 'souq' itself."

     Needless to say, the rennovation work and efforts to promote cultural heritage requires skilled labor and craftspeople, so HRC now has a training academy which empowers 17-25 year old men and women by preparing them for real jobs.

     Before I left Hebron, I stopped at one of the famous glass factories to buy some gifts. I hope some of my readers will consider coming to Hebron to spend a night in the Old City, to shop for crafts and to help the city fulfill its dreams.




Ibrahimi Mosque -HRC is renovating interior ancient caligraphy.



 Doris in front of HRC