It’s a new dawn…

….listen to it.

Most of you probably already have heard it, if not you seriously need to reboot your grapevine.

KaosPilots NL is no more.

After two years of rollercoastering around the plug has been pulled.
This has happened for various reasons: a lack of funding, a lack of agreement with KaosPilot International, and a lack of applicants.
This meant that everyone had to decide what it was that they wanted to do with their lives. Some have decided to continue in a new format under a new name, some have decided to do something completely else, others have decided to continue what they were doing before they started KaosPilots and I have decided to finish my education with the KaosPilots in Aarhus, Denmark.

Together with a few others I will be joining Team14 for our last year with the World Internship and an individual final project.

I want to thank everyone who’s been in on the ride. Over the course of the short lived excistense of KaosPilots NL countless marvelous people have contributed with so much. I am grateful for having the opportunity that changed my life.

For those who want to read more about our three month outpost in the Middle-East: Stories <- click!

Got Wild – from a Bedouin tent to a Sami Kota

Two weeks ago I went to Sweden for a Nature Quest training in Valadalen Nature Reserve.
An annual training initiated by Martin Cadee, co-founder of KaosPilots Netherlands. Inspired by the vision quests of the native American tribes, by the Australian Aboriginals, by the Nordic Sami’s, and by the South American Mayan tribes, all who have a certain rite of passage for transformation into adulthood. Something we lack in western society, especially for men to celebrate, honour and mark the transition to becoming an adult.
Martin is a firm believer of the fact that the source of many of our societies current problems are due to the fact mankind has lost its connection with nature. After reading the book “Presence” and joining a Vision Quest facilitated by John Milton, he invited John Milton to organise something similar in our own Scandinavian backyard together with Göran Gennvi.
So this year was the second time around that Martin and Göran organised their GetWild nature training, this time with the help of KaosPilots Rowan Simonsen and Henrique Vedana.
Being completely full with all the impressions from a three month trip in the Middle-East, and closing down another year as a KaosPilot student I had a lot to process, and this seemed like the ultimate way to do so.
I’ve spent a 72 hours “solo” on the top of a Swedish mountain with nothing but my tent, my wet clothes and one package of rice crackers. So no telephone, no Ipod, no books, nothing but me, myself, and I.
Where last year people got their ass skin burned by the vast amount of sunshine and good weather, we found ourselves stuck in an ice cold storm, that even sent some people back down again.
Part of the training entails vasting, a.k.a. deliberate temporary starvation. And leading up to the training I put myself on a cleansing diet which I’m currently still continuing. So for a total of six weeks it’s for Bert:

• no meat
• no fish
• no cigarettes (permanent)
• no alcohol
• no recreational drugs
• no prescribed medications
• no sugar
• no caffeïne

The day the jeans ripped…

… happened to be the day that we were saying goodbye to Jalqamus. We’ve worked in Jalqamus for about a month with the local community trying to find ways to empower them in their own lives.
The results of our presence is yet to be seen. Or not?

Pieter Pants

Our original plan was to visit the little town in the Westbank near Jenin for about three days. During these three days we would try to see what had been changed since our departure a month earlier. This was unfortunately not possible as we are almost declared persona non grata. The head honcho. the chairman of the town counsil, Abu Mussa has forbidden us to work with the people in the village. He even tried to go the governor of Jenin to ask for a restriction order. Apparently us working their had disturbed the local chain of command. As a resemblance to the rest of this region, this little town is ruled by corruption by one of the main families, clans or a so called chamula. So whether it is Mitspe Ramon or Jalqamus, people who are currently in charge like to keep the things the way they are and continue filling their own pockets.

Now this has been perceived by some of my team as a success. We stirred things up. But can I really see this as a success?What good can come from kicking againt the shins? Wouldn’t it be a greater success if we would have disrupted the hiearchy in a more constructive way, by working with the current people in charge istead of fighting them? Shouldn’t we be trying to change the system instead of the people caught in it? Will this rebellious behaviour amount into anything sustainable? Or am I just aiming for too much? Should I just be happy that my presence made an impression, evoked emotions, and had an effect?

Checkpoint Chuck-up

The justification of the wall and the checkpoint comes from a safety perspective. And when we were driving to cross Qalandia towards Ramallah, we were held up for a bit on the way. Apparently some man carrying a bomb had been shot. These are things that are being kept out of the news. Therefore it is hard to be properly informed in these regions. Luckily we are in the age of social media.

Yesterday we travelled from Ramallah back to Tel Aviv by way of East Jerusalem, crossing Qalandia checkpoint.
Over the past two and a half months I crossed checkpoints to the westbank several times. Usually we we’re crossing them fairly easy using private taxis. Being europeans gives us a lot of priveleges. Where gates and borders remain closed for others, we’re usually able to pass within the blink of an eye.

This time we actually had to get out of the car and wait in line just like everyone else. As you were ushered through metal gates, waiting between fences, standing in line and watching some being denied access you could hear voices shouting commandos via speakers hanging around. There is no real contact at this checkpoint. You are being observed by CCTV, and the turning gates are operated from a safe distance. Bags are to be put through the scanner while you pass through a metal detector. This in itself is nothing new as it is a procedure even used at bus stations here. But the fact that people are on a distance behind bulletproof glass windows shouting at you what to do gives it its glamour.
As my sleeping bag was attached to my backpack, it got stuck in the scanner. Now I had to pull it out, and since I look so harmless I could just take it around the scanner through the beeping metal detector without anyone checking it.
This and the fact that the level of inspection differs so much per checkpoint makes the whole thing feel so random. Some checkpoints are easier to pass than Feyenoord’s goalkeepers.
So what is the point then? If i could so easily carry weapons, drugs, and truthful information. Is it just to humiliate people? To annoy someone within their own country? To rule with terror? To make a point? If so, please tell me, cause I don’t get it.

The rest of the group was still planning on visiting the holocaust museum, but I had my share for the day…

…and what if I throw a big rock?”

During my week of holiday I rented a car together with Zachary, a kid from Boston who I had met in Jerusalem.
We ended up by accident in Majd el Chams, hanging out with the coolest people in Israel.
Majd el Chams is a town of about 4 thousand inhabitant and almost all of them are Druze. Unlike the Druze that live around the Haifa area who are simply loyal to the country that they live in, these families are still loyal to Syria. Majd el Chams lies in the upper Golan territory, taken by Israel in 1967 from Syria. Most of the people here still have relatives living in Syria and the only way they can communicate is at the end of every week, standing as close as you can get to the border without getting your head blown off, shouting news updates through speakerphones.
My friend Moataz showed us around and took us in like family. Here you can see us overlooking the border with Syria standing on a rooftop:

Afraid of Heights

Porn On My Computer

Today I walked back from the kitchen to clear the table. As I looked down, I saw something of what I thought was an out of proportion big ass fly. But when I looked closer I saw that I no longer had to wonder how flies reproduce. It was such a tender moment. I feel blessed for living inside a discovery documentary here in the Negev.

Worst Party Poster Ever!

WTF?!

Manual Labour – Burning Up

Burning friki

And this was even after washing my face

Something I probably shouldn’t post

Idunnowhodisis