Fear

Greetings,

While driving home from Winnipeg in February, I heard an interview with David Shulman on CBC Radio. It was with regard to his recent book, "Dark Hope."

With the anticipation that I would be able to travel to the Middle East for my GPE, I was moved to purchase a copy of Shulman's book. Subsequently, it has ended up on my pre-GPE reading list.

Today, a quarter of the way through this reflective diary that documents one person's experience of working for peace in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, I have a sense of the potential drama that awaits me in approximately six weeks time.

Shulman speaks often of the village of Twaneh, in the South Hebron Hills. My curiosity was peeked because this name seemed very similar to At-Tuwani which is supposedly in the same area, and is a village that CPT works in... Well, in a brief internet search I have come to the conclusion that Twaneh and At-Tuwani are one in the same.

In Shulman's words: "If you live in Twaneh or Jinba or Palestinian Susya, you know what it feels like to be helpless in the face of continuous predatory attack, wanton destruction, shots, blows, attempts to kill - all this with the connivance of the heartless machine of occupation." (Dark Hope, p. 59)

When I read these words, recognizing that they are born out of a lived experience, I feel fear. In anticipation of traveling to this area to learn and to work I feel fear for my safety, fear for those who live there, and fear for our world. In my home I am relatively safe; free to live and work and play; free to travel and become educated; free, and living without fear...

And so my challenge is to discover how, in my freedom, I can aid change...

One other internet search brought me to the website for Occupation Magazine where this message was displayed: "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil; but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Blessings,
Rob.