In This Issue:
What is Karama up to: Have a look at Karama's forthcoming projects.
News Section: Get the latest on all things Palestine.
Karama Profiles: Meet some of our members and volunteers.
Frontpage: return to the newsletter frontpage
Member Profile
Shady
Shady turned 15 on Saturday the 6th of March. Karama threw a...read more
Volunteer Profile Paddy
An absolute dynamo. That about describes our Irish volunteer, Paddy.... read more
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Welcome to the Expanded Karama Newsletter
Presentations on Ireland
In preparation for this summer's trip to Ireland, several of the expected participants teamed with our trip coordinatoring volunteers, Eileen and Ethna, to put together a series of presentations about the green island nation (not to be confused with the island nation of Greenland).
Presentation topics focused on history, culture, cruisine and the long struggle of Irish resistance to their own foreign occupation. The children were largely unaware of Irish cultural distinctiveness, despite being aware of the sense of solidarity often expressed between the Irish and Palestinian peoples.
As representatives of not only Karama, but Palestine as well, it is important that the members chosen to travel to Ireland this summer be prepared as much as they can to be both respectful and well-informed guests. For many of these young adults, the trip may well represent a once-in-a-lifetime chance to travel to a European country. Karama will continue to encourage them to prepare themselves for the experience as the month of July approaches.
Karama Represented at Volunteer Fair in New York City
Our former volunteer, Mary from the United States, recently sent us this update about her continued efforts to support Karama:
On February 1st, 2010, Idealist.org hosted their Global Volunteering Fair in New York City. The event presented an array of different opportunities for potential volunteers to travel and offer their services abroad. Each organization was given a table upon which they’d present pictures, anecdotes, and concerns for a foreign region in hopes to entice more Americans to join in their cause. I couldn’t help but notice, as I watched the flood of a wide-eyed volunteers spill into Barnard College’s LeFrak Gymnasium, that Karama's table, as humble as it was, maintained a crowd around it larger than any other table in the room.
Not only was Karama the only organization to offer assistance to Palestinians, but we were one of the few that were not supported by an American cooperation. Perhaps it was the alternative option we presented to the volunteers that warranted such attention. From my conversations with those around our table, it seems Americans have grown weary of “faux-volunteerism,” in which students pay large sums of money to do very little; their donations support offices and administrators more than the people who need it most. With that said, the most appealing aspect of Karama Organization is that people can work directly with the children, and are encouraged to develop their own projects, classrooms, and creative endeavors that will guide them as they learn and grow. Furthermore, living in the refugee camp creates an environment wherein stereotypes can be dispelled and volunteers can begin to understand the community. I told the potential volunteers , “You will go there to teach, but be prepared to learn as well!”
With regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the awareness of the volunteers to this situation varied extremely. Some people were completely unaware of what is happening in the West Bank and Gaza, while others appeared outraged that a non-Zionist organization was present. Despite this, Bashar Saleh and I spoke with people about how the crisis has affected Deheishe and our different experiences in the West Bank. In the end, over thirty people showed interest in volunteering at Karama by providing their emails and asking for further correspondence. This was a successful event in not only exposing people to some of the realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but introducing them to an exceptional opportunity to support women and children caught within this crisis.
From all the members and volunteers here with Karama now, we want to thank Mary for everything she continues to do for us. Shukran!
Karama Lecture Tour through Europe
From January 9th until Feruary 28th, representatives from Karama have been on tour in Europe meeting with local community, education and political officials. The following is the second in a series of chapters from their travelogue:
Check back next issue for more of Karama's adventures in Europe...
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