… 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?
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- 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?
