Karama Trip to Denmark 2008

In 2007, a group of 9 young people from Karama participated in a summer camp in Denmark, together with director Yasser Al-Haj, and a volunteer from Austria. The project was a great success and an experience of a lifetime not only for the kids who participated in the trip, but also for all of the people they met in Denmark.

Again in 2008 a group of 9 young people aged 13 to 16 participated in the same. The group consists of 3 girls and 6 boys and again Yasser Al-haj lead this trip, along with a local Palestinian volunteer.
The project was in cooperation between Karama Palestine, Karama Scandinavia and Danish-Palestinian Friendship association. The biggest part of the funding for this project comes from Mellemfolkelig Samvirke (MS), one of the biggest NGOs in Denmark. The rest has been donated by private people and schools.

Two of the boys who went to Denmark in 2007, also went in 2008 but this time as assistants. The other 7 had never been outside of the West Bank before, and some of them had only been to Ramallah which is 50 km from Deheishe. The groups spent many hours at the Karama centre, preparing for this trip. A Dutch volunteer taught them English, another volunteer from Belgium practiced drama with them twice a week. They learnt about Denmark, geography, politics, and a little bit of Danish from our great friend Annica Mårtensson, who came to Palestine only to educate and help the children. Additionally, they all practiced the traditional Palestinian Dabka dance, which they performed in Denmark. Two of the boys made a film to show the Danish people. This film focused on life in Deheishe Refugee Camp.

The kids were excited about going, and also quite nervous. The trip started with an exhausting journey to Jordan. To go from Deheishe to Jordan it took them all in all 8 hours, because they were stopped at Checkpoints and asked for their passports and the permission to leave Palestine. The children could not believe it, when they were finally over the border in Jordan, where they "only" had to show their passports and explain their situation at the airport. Besides Yasser and the two boys who went to Denmark the year before no one have ever sit in an airplane and it was a wonderful new experience for them.
With their arrival in Denmark everything was supposed to change. They were friendly welcomed by the Danish kids and both sides could not believe to finally see and meet each other. Furthermore not being bothered and scared by checkpoints and soldiers all the time like in Palestine, the kids experienced a totally new way of freedom of movement. Of course, they had heard a lot about Denmark from the group who went last year and had seen photos, but still it was something totally different to be finally at the place you worked hard for almost a year to go to. There were many new experiences awaiting them and a busy program planned. The kids visited different schools with the whole group and every time they were asked and gave presentations about Palestine and the occupation. The Danish showed a lot of interest and were shocked about the conditions in which Palestinian kids are playing in and what happened in the Camp almost daily. They could not believe that things like a playground did not exist, or that Israeli soldiers were allowed to enter the camp and shot arbitrarily.

Besides the shocking life circumstances of the Palestinian kids, they had lots of fun together and were distracted by making Dabka performances or doing sports competitions. Fortunately, the whole group understood well and visited beautiful places all over Denmark, including a visit of the Danish parliament. This was accompanied by an important lesson about democracy and human rights taught earlier by Hans Nebel (read more about it on the bottom of the page). He explained the kids how the Danish political system works and what aspects are important in a well-functioning democracy. Especially, the slogan "We have a Dream" concerning Palestine's freedom and dignity is still present in the children's mind – they will never forget that there are others who care about Palestine and still repeat it.

Democracy Project taught by Hans Nebel
(as part of our Denmark trip 2008)

A unique opportunity presented itself during the 2008 trip, in the shape of Hans Nebel. A well established Danish politician, he volunteered to teach our young people about democratic governance and its philosophical principles. It is not a subject readily available to observe, let alone learn, in occupied Palestine.

“Uncle Hans,” as he came to be known to the kids, put together an extensive program of discussion and lecture sessions, and made arrangements for them to visit the Danish parliament and to meet with the Youth Minister of Copenhagen. More than simple meet-and-greet opportunities, our young travelers bombarded their experienced political tutors with questions, and followed their answers with rapt attention. They wanted to know all about the history of the Danish democracy, including its constitution and how it came to be implemented.

To say that our young travelers found it interesting would be an epic understatement. While all were familiar with the term, they seized the opportunity to become intimately familiar with more than just the concept. Hans introduced them to the very equalitarian philosophies from which modern democracies take root, such as the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The late Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech is largely unknown here, but thanks to Hans Nebel, our young people were able to experience its simple eloquence and powerful message. It is now a speech well known to all the young people at Karama.
Upon returning home, these young people strove to share these unique experienced with as many of their peers as they could. In depth exposure to democratic concepts and the dynamic leadership of Hans Nebel motivated them to take up their own leadership roles here in Dheisheh. They have been keen to incorporate democracy into all of the social youth programs at Karama, often demonstrating and educating the concepts themselves.

Film about Denmark 2007