Another Encounter

Another Encounter

     I just met a man who might be 40 years old. He was waiting in the Beit Sahour Center for Rapprochement for his violin student to arrive for a lesson.  The Center offers music lessons at affordable rates to over 85 young people of all ages, which costs about $1000 a month and operates at a loss.

     Back home I have started to read Sandy Tolan’s new book, Children of the Stone, which has given me a new appreciation for the healing power of music for the children of Palestine.

Hence, I wanted to engage in conversation with this man, even though he had only moments to spare.  He told me that he had been teaching music at the Edward Said Conservatory for Music in the city of Hebron, but left that job due to scheduling problems, and now teaches in a music school in nearby Beit Jala, as well as here.  But actually he is an IT professional with full time work in Bethlehem.    

     Before I could find out any more, a boy arrived, a violin case strapped to his back. I would have loved to stay for the lesson, but my taxi was waiting outside. 

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There Is No Future

     Prior to meeting the violin teacher, I had been upstairs in the new offices that house not only the Rapprachment Center but also Siraj - a non-profit that promotes and guides “experiential tourism” through hiking and biking all over the West Bank, and IMEMC, the International Middle East Media Center.  While waiting to see the director, I met Maher, the program coordinator.  Maher is young, lanky, good looking and friendly.  After hello’s and how are you’s, my friend Doris asked him what he saw for the future of Palestine.  “There is no future.  We cannot plan even for tomorrow.”  I wanted to know what he meant. “Is this a choice, in order not to be disappointed when the plans fall through?”

    “No.”  Patiently, Maher explained from his own experience how the restrictions of the occupation shape his life.  He is a basketball player in the top league in Palestine.  Yet he does not have the season’s schedule of games because there is no schedule that anyone can count on. Instead, he has 3 days notice for his next game. For example, he will learn on Monday that there should be a game on Wednesday, which might be 2 hours travel away, not accounting for delays at military checkpoints.   On Wednesday, exactly three hours before the game should start, he gets a call as to whether the game is on or off. It depends on the degree of danger that might be encountered on the way. If the game is on, the team has no time to warm up. If it is off, they have lost valuable time they could have spent at the gym.

     Maher wanted to give another example.  “I went to a private elementary and high school with a class of 35 students. Of the 35, 20 have jobs now. Fifteen do not.”  And how many would leave the country if they could?  “Probably 25. But I will not leave.” He wanted us to understand that even though there is no way to plan for the future, which even keeps him from setting a date for his wedding next year, people survive by living in this moment,  taking what is hard and transforming it into a life for tomorrow.