I'm going to change tack - moving away from a day-to-day diary to a general impression sort of record.
The greatest strength of FTW for me was to break down the barriers and dilute the alienation that exists between me, as a 'Westerner', and the Middle East. Now I have personal connections throughout the Middle East making it a more familiar and welcoming place. I want to go there again, want to reconnect and spend more of my life there. And so, for me, Follow the Women was an immense success. Yes, it was different to many of my expectations and sometimes I felt very uncomfortable with the set up (as expressed below) but that's all superficial. The depth of the experience, the cross-cultural learning, was something special. And so, I have to thank everyone who was involved! Especially, of course, Detta, the founder.
Syria, Lebanon and Jordan were all incredible and eye-opening, but it was when I was standing on top of Mount Nebo (where the Israelites first sited the Holy Land and Moses died), having just ridden there with the group from just outside Amman, that I remembered what had called me to this area in the first place: Palestine.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Thursday, May 3, 2007
April 10 ---- Sidon to Beirut
Everywhere we go we have a train of police and army taking us along. They use their sirens so that the other cars move out of the way. One of the women said that it makes her feel like a visiting minister or something like that. I just looked at her and said 'but we're not'. I know I've mentioned this before, but truly, I don't like it. It makes me embarrassed.. Sometimes this aspect of the ride gets me down. But then something will happen - a conversation, an unofficial ride through Beirut - and it all feels good again.
We cycled from Sidon to Beirut, it was probably a bit less than 50km, but by the end of the day I was exhausted - not from the cycling but from all the stress!! So many cyclists to watch out for, so much traffic and not-so-good roads! There was also one moment when I was far from anyone else (due to a series of unfortunate events!) and had to catch up! My word!!! Weaving in and out of the deadly city traffic I just had to take the word of traffic police and general road users when they pointed me down one road and not the other because I had no idea which direction the ride had gone in. At round abouts I just took the turn that someone, anyone, was pointing to! The funny thing was that while I was actually cycling, I was loving it! The adrenalin and just the reckless joy at cycling madly through the streets of Beirut was incredible! But once we reached our destination, all that stress and anxiety that I must have been holding at bay reached the surface! I was literally shaking!
The Syrian participants didn't take part in the ride - they stayed in the hotel all day.
The politics of Lebanon blows your mind! The country is on constant tenterhooks, especially now it seems. Old bullet holes in many of the buildings are testament to the suffering of this country. So many different factions, but all of them extreme. It's so sad, because it's really such a wonderful place. The people seem so much more filled with vibrancy than they were in Syria! Though perhaps I only feel that way because Lebanon is so much more closely related to Europe. I think they called it the Paris of the Middle East! Or at least something like that.. And it's true.
We cycled from Sidon to Beirut, it was probably a bit less than 50km, but by the end of the day I was exhausted - not from the cycling but from all the stress!! So many cyclists to watch out for, so much traffic and not-so-good roads! There was also one moment when I was far from anyone else (due to a series of unfortunate events!) and had to catch up! My word!!! Weaving in and out of the deadly city traffic I just had to take the word of traffic police and general road users when they pointed me down one road and not the other because I had no idea which direction the ride had gone in. At round abouts I just took the turn that someone, anyone, was pointing to! The funny thing was that while I was actually cycling, I was loving it! The adrenalin and just the reckless joy at cycling madly through the streets of Beirut was incredible! But once we reached our destination, all that stress and anxiety that I must have been holding at bay reached the surface! I was literally shaking!
The Syrian participants didn't take part in the ride - they stayed in the hotel all day.
The politics of Lebanon blows your mind! The country is on constant tenterhooks, especially now it seems. Old bullet holes in many of the buildings are testament to the suffering of this country. So many different factions, but all of them extreme. It's so sad, because it's really such a wonderful place. The people seem so much more filled with vibrancy than they were in Syria! Though perhaps I only feel that way because Lebanon is so much more closely related to Europe. I think they called it the Paris of the Middle East! Or at least something like that.. And it's true.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
April 9 --- Over to Lebanon
I've begun to think about law and the Israeli occupation and how the two correlate. There has to be some form of legislation relevant in matters such as illegal occupation, though I suppose that the problem is probably not the existence of such legislation, but whether it can be enforced..
We crossed to Lebanon today.
Sitting at the border crossing (for about 3 hours!) there were groups of young boys trying to sell us gum and chocolate wafers etc. However, it was obvious that they weren't meant to be there because every so often the border guards would attempt to remove them. There was one guard in particular who kept going after the boys. He looked like a real rambo army guy - American style - with his military hair cut, black army boots, very masculine black sunglasses and his walk - what a walk! Slow, deadly and bloody determined! A scary look! He kept walking after the boys, I say walking but it was more like strutting, and he really looked like he meant business. I was actually quite worried for the boy's safety, but I noticed that when he managed to get a boy, he just held them by their shoulder and steered them away. The boys didn't appear frightened at all, more like this was an oft-repeated game!
The crossing took so long because of the Palestinian Team and the nature of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon. FTW had been given special permission to allow them to cross with us, but it still caused massive delays. I'm beginning to wonder how long it will take us to enter the Israeli crossing when it is already taking hours to enter countries not infamous for holding people at border crossings!
By the time we entered, we had already missed much of the program that had been prepared for us in Lebanon (including cycling into Beirut), so we just went straight to the official welcome speeches. It was in these speeches that the first conflict occurred within FTW. It seemed that one of the groups hosting us in Lebanon was actually a political party. That causes many problems but I don't think anyone expected it to have the results it did. Unbeknown to those of us who did not speak Arabic, in the speeches made to us at the welcome were thinly veiled accusations towards the Syrian government that they were the ones responsible for the assassination of the very popular Lebanese leader Hariri, which had occurred the year before. This party was adamant that Syria had backed the assassination. This didn't go down well with the Syrian participants of the cycle, who walked out during the speeches and returned directly to the hotel where we would be staying, refusing to take part any further in the Lebanese-planned activities.
I wish that I knew exactly what the speeches said..
We crossed to Lebanon today.
Sitting at the border crossing (for about 3 hours!) there were groups of young boys trying to sell us gum and chocolate wafers etc. However, it was obvious that they weren't meant to be there because every so often the border guards would attempt to remove them. There was one guard in particular who kept going after the boys. He looked like a real rambo army guy - American style - with his military hair cut, black army boots, very masculine black sunglasses and his walk - what a walk! Slow, deadly and bloody determined! A scary look! He kept walking after the boys, I say walking but it was more like strutting, and he really looked like he meant business. I was actually quite worried for the boy's safety, but I noticed that when he managed to get a boy, he just held them by their shoulder and steered them away. The boys didn't appear frightened at all, more like this was an oft-repeated game!
The crossing took so long because of the Palestinian Team and the nature of the relationship between Israel and Lebanon. FTW had been given special permission to allow them to cross with us, but it still caused massive delays. I'm beginning to wonder how long it will take us to enter the Israeli crossing when it is already taking hours to enter countries not infamous for holding people at border crossings!
By the time we entered, we had already missed much of the program that had been prepared for us in Lebanon (including cycling into Beirut), so we just went straight to the official welcome speeches. It was in these speeches that the first conflict occurred within FTW. It seemed that one of the groups hosting us in Lebanon was actually a political party. That causes many problems but I don't think anyone expected it to have the results it did. Unbeknown to those of us who did not speak Arabic, in the speeches made to us at the welcome were thinly veiled accusations towards the Syrian government that they were the ones responsible for the assassination of the very popular Lebanese leader Hariri, which had occurred the year before. This party was adamant that Syria had backed the assassination. This didn't go down well with the Syrian participants of the cycle, who walked out during the speeches and returned directly to the hotel where we would be staying, refusing to take part any further in the Lebanese-planned activities.
I wish that I knew exactly what the speeches said..
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
April 8 --- To the Coast
Beautiful day! We took a train and bus to Lattakia (on the coast) and then cycled for about 32km to the beach. The most gorgeous ride! Tough, though.
I'm meeting more and more women from around the Middle East especially, which is really good. Talking to women from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine really challenges standard viewpoints of what occurs in those countries and the apparent gender relations. This is especially the case with the Iranian team, who are hardly meek and submissive! But then, I'm also aware that the women on this ride, especially the Middle Eastern women, are from particular socio-economic classes.
Tonight we are staying at Le Meridien - a fancy hotel! I'm staying with the other two 'single' teams, that is, the woman representing Germany (Jana) and the woman representing Holland (Marianne). It's really good that we get put together, it means we can make a little mismatched team of our own!
During the ride there were crowds of people everywhere throwing flowers, cheering, offering us snacks etc. It was so amazing, but also embarrassing. And I wondered - why are they here? Did someone tell them to be here?
The First Lady of Syria - Mrs. Assad - rode with us for a bit, but again, I didn't know what to think! The Syrian FTW riders seem to love her, but then she is the wife of a leader whose government you cannot criticise. The problem is that I just don't know enough about Syrian politics to order my thoughts over the matter - I'm woefully ignorant!
Yet again, we were welcomed by a marching band - yikes! It's so very different from anything I've experienced before!!
I'm meeting more and more women from around the Middle East especially, which is really good. Talking to women from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine really challenges standard viewpoints of what occurs in those countries and the apparent gender relations. This is especially the case with the Iranian team, who are hardly meek and submissive! But then, I'm also aware that the women on this ride, especially the Middle Eastern women, are from particular socio-economic classes.
Tonight we are staying at Le Meridien - a fancy hotel! I'm staying with the other two 'single' teams, that is, the woman representing Germany (Jana) and the woman representing Holland (Marianne). It's really good that we get put together, it means we can make a little mismatched team of our own!
During the ride there were crowds of people everywhere throwing flowers, cheering, offering us snacks etc. It was so amazing, but also embarrassing. And I wondered - why are they here? Did someone tell them to be here?
The First Lady of Syria - Mrs. Assad - rode with us for a bit, but again, I didn't know what to think! The Syrian FTW riders seem to love her, but then she is the wife of a leader whose government you cannot criticise. The problem is that I just don't know enough about Syrian politics to order my thoughts over the matter - I'm woefully ignorant!
Yet again, we were welcomed by a marching band - yikes! It's so very different from anything I've experienced before!!
April 7 -- FTW begins
Today was the first day of cycling! We rode about 36km to Saint Simeon Citadel, which was named after a hermit who was a shepherd who became a monk after a revelation in a dream. It had the most incredible view of the surround area!!
It is high up on a mountain from which you can look over the surrounding valleys, it is just beautiful! The environment is so barren but so glorious. It's such a rocky country but, at this time of the year, there are also flowers everywhere poking up between the rocks. Most significant to me were the red poppies - they are everywhere! They struck me deeply because of their symbolic connection to the fallen soldiers in the great wars.
I'm experiencing a bit of a culture shock! Firstly, there's all the men! The streets have a signicant gender bias towards the men! I'm also having a bit of difficulty getting used to the some aspects of the ride - such as the constant military and/or police presence. As well as the huge welcome we receive at our destination - dancing troupes and bands and lots of flags! It blows my mind!
Tomorrow we leave to go to Lattakia, on the Syrian coast!
It is high up on a mountain from which you can look over the surrounding valleys, it is just beautiful! The environment is so barren but so glorious. It's such a rocky country but, at this time of the year, there are also flowers everywhere poking up between the rocks. Most significant to me were the red poppies - they are everywhere! They struck me deeply because of their symbolic connection to the fallen soldiers in the great wars.
I'm experiencing a bit of a culture shock! Firstly, there's all the men! The streets have a signicant gender bias towards the men! I'm also having a bit of difficulty getting used to the some aspects of the ride - such as the constant military and/or police presence. As well as the huge welcome we receive at our destination - dancing troupes and bands and lots of flags! It blows my mind!
Tomorrow we leave to go to Lattakia, on the Syrian coast!
April 5 to April 6 ----- Sydney to Aleppo, Syria
THE OUTGOING PASSENGER CARD
The conflict for me had already begun by the time I reached the airport and started to fill in my Outgoing Passenger Card to get through customs.
'Country where you will spend most time abroad: ___________'
Palestine or Israel?
My immediate impulse was to put down 'Palestine', after all, that is where I'd be staying for the longest time - in the West Bank in the Palestinian Territories. But 'Palestine' is still not an actual sovereign country, it does not officially exist. To post a letter to Palestine, you must address it to Israel (which I consider akin to posting a letter to Iraq to the USA)! So, what should I write? It was such an absurdly political question! Whichever country I put down I will be making a powerful political statement, and at this very first point in my journey I didn't really want to do that. So, I rang dad.
"Just put down Israel, it's only to get out of the country - you don't want any trouble."
And that's what I did - I wrote 'Israel'.
DAMASCUS AIRPORT - five hour stop-over
First impression - cigarette smoke. Everyone here smokes! Even mothers with young children and babies! Ironically, in some areas people are smoking directly below large signs telling them not to!
Second impression - men. There are so many of them! The only women around are with men and/or with children.
On the plane I got talking to a man who is from Damascus, he was returning home from Dubai. He asked me a lot of questions about why I was coming over. I told him about Follow the Women and suddenly the man became quite intense. He said - "don't get involved with politics or the government. Syria is not like Australia". I assured him that the ride was not making any political statements about the Syrian government, but he unnerved me. It also made me feel suspicious of the Syrian government, and ignorant about the fact that I knew almost nothing about it! All I know is that the US places it in the 'axis of evil', and that tells me nothing.
FOLLOW THE WOMEN
Women everywhere! How can you find your way through all these women?? Especially as a team of one! But I didn't have to worry long. I was asking someone in a corridor where I should go now when a European/Canadian voice called out 'is that an Australian accent I hear?'. I had met Cathy - coordinator for Canada, Belgium and Holland! From then on, she also took me under her wing, letting me know what was happening and where I should be.
That night, my first night with the cycle, I sat in my room (which I had to myself) and looked out the window, thinking to myself - 'well, there you go, you're in Syria'.
The conflict for me had already begun by the time I reached the airport and started to fill in my Outgoing Passenger Card to get through customs.
'Country where you will spend most time abroad: ___________'
Palestine or Israel?
My immediate impulse was to put down 'Palestine', after all, that is where I'd be staying for the longest time - in the West Bank in the Palestinian Territories. But 'Palestine' is still not an actual sovereign country, it does not officially exist. To post a letter to Palestine, you must address it to Israel (which I consider akin to posting a letter to Iraq to the USA)! So, what should I write? It was such an absurdly political question! Whichever country I put down I will be making a powerful political statement, and at this very first point in my journey I didn't really want to do that. So, I rang dad.
"Just put down Israel, it's only to get out of the country - you don't want any trouble."
And that's what I did - I wrote 'Israel'.
DAMASCUS AIRPORT - five hour stop-over
First impression - cigarette smoke. Everyone here smokes! Even mothers with young children and babies! Ironically, in some areas people are smoking directly below large signs telling them not to!
Second impression - men. There are so many of them! The only women around are with men and/or with children.
On the plane I got talking to a man who is from Damascus, he was returning home from Dubai. He asked me a lot of questions about why I was coming over. I told him about Follow the Women and suddenly the man became quite intense. He said - "don't get involved with politics or the government. Syria is not like Australia". I assured him that the ride was not making any political statements about the Syrian government, but he unnerved me. It also made me feel suspicious of the Syrian government, and ignorant about the fact that I knew almost nothing about it! All I know is that the US places it in the 'axis of evil', and that tells me nothing.
FOLLOW THE WOMEN
Women everywhere! How can you find your way through all these women?? Especially as a team of one! But I didn't have to worry long. I was asking someone in a corridor where I should go now when a European/Canadian voice called out 'is that an Australian accent I hear?'. I had met Cathy - coordinator for Canada, Belgium and Holland! From then on, she also took me under her wing, letting me know what was happening and where I should be.
That night, my first night with the cycle, I sat in my room (which I had to myself) and looked out the window, thinking to myself - 'well, there you go, you're in Syria'.
Catch up time!!!
I'm very sorry that I haven't kept this site up to date! I will now devote myself to catching up! In truth, I am now finally back in Australia and that means back to university and a lot of overdue assignments. However, I'm going to devote a bit of time everyday to fill in all the gaps.
These last 25 or so days have been among the most challenging and incredible of my life. A new cultural paradigm, a new way of life and a new way of thinking.
And, I made it to Palestine.
These last 25 or so days have been among the most challenging and incredible of my life. A new cultural paradigm, a new way of life and a new way of thinking.
And, I made it to Palestine.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
And tomorrow will dawn..
My journey begins tomorrow. Half an hour ago I handed in my last assignment (it was an electronic submission) and so now university is behind me and the Middle East ahead. Time to start following the women..
Feeling nervous..
..scared...
..but good...
...calm.
I know it's a good thing and I'm glad to be doing it.
PS - Sorry to those I didn't get to say good bye to! My head has been in the clouds or in the books these past weeks! Lots of love to you all!
Feeling nervous..
..scared...
..but good...
...calm.
I know it's a good thing and I'm glad to be doing it.
PS - Sorry to those I didn't get to say good bye to! My head has been in the clouds or in the books these past weeks! Lots of love to you all!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Not this week but next-
It's getting closer to April, which is a frightening prospect but also an exciting one. However, I believe that my mother is more anxious than I am - I heard on the family grape vine that she's having long talks with my auntie about her concerns. My greatest concern at the moment is how to organise my university assessment so that I don't fail my subjects! But my teachers are being supportive, which is good.
Though I have a deeper concern that just struck me - the role of the media in reporting on conflicts. Information has so much power and so does the source of the information. If we hear something on our television or in our newspapers we'll believe it more than if we go onto the Internet and look up Al-Jazeera (an Arab news network). That's not to say we believe everything we're told, but we believe enough. Also, news broadcasters act as a filter - reporting only what they choose. Just think of all that goes unreported.
Media is so important. Everyone needs a valid journalistic source to represent them or they go unheard. Reading emails from people in Palestine, I hear about a lot of officially unreported events and think, is the same happening in Israel? Are there several violent events perpetrated by Palestinians upon Israelis that go unreported? Or is that just something the Palestinians suffer - the lack of wide media coverage?
Makes me want to stop studying law and take up journalism in unrepresented countries!
Though I have a deeper concern that just struck me - the role of the media in reporting on conflicts. Information has so much power and so does the source of the information. If we hear something on our television or in our newspapers we'll believe it more than if we go onto the Internet and look up Al-Jazeera (an Arab news network). That's not to say we believe everything we're told, but we believe enough. Also, news broadcasters act as a filter - reporting only what they choose. Just think of all that goes unreported.
Media is so important. Everyone needs a valid journalistic source to represent them or they go unheard. Reading emails from people in Palestine, I hear about a lot of officially unreported events and think, is the same happening in Israel? Are there several violent events perpetrated by Palestinians upon Israelis that go unreported? Or is that just something the Palestinians suffer - the lack of wide media coverage?
Makes me want to stop studying law and take up journalism in unrepresented countries!
Friday, March 16, 2007
the Palestinian Cycling Club (PCC)
Below is an article taken from the website of the Siraj Center for Holy Land Studies based in Palestine (http://www.sirajcenter.org/cycle.htm)
The Palestinian Cyclist Club
Inspired by the Peace Cycle and Follow the Women Cycle, a group of young Palestinians in Collage age responded to Siraj center’s initiative and got together to transform their own dream into reality “Creating for the first time ever A Palestinian Cyclists group with a horizon to involve every Palestinian who likes to cycle in a National league, regardless of age or sex under the name of The Palestinian Cyclists Club PCC”.
On February 27th 2007 a meeting took place at Birzeit University it was attended by: Dima Abu Lail, Ahmad Al-Mizyed, Nariman Shahin, Liza Musallam, Sahier Musallam, Tamara Sous, Nida Awine, all Female students at Birzeit University in addition to Mohammad Mohammad, the first Palestinian to Cycle from London to Jerusalem in the company and sponsorship of the Peace Cycle London to Jerusalem 2006, Ahmad Mohammad and Mohammad Abdelhaliem. The meeting was called for and facilitated by Siraj Center represented by Nimer Awine, Michel Awad and George Rihmawi.
The participants expressed a great deal of enthusiasm to take the pioneer step and go through the challenge. I couldn’t imagine Cycling all the way from London to Jerusalem before I did it Mohamad said; forming a cycling group should not be much harder. 10 bicycles are all we need in order to start and I promise to provide the first one. Mohamad kept his promise, being one of the best employees at the bank where he works, Mohamad managed to convince his manager to donate at least one bicycle to the new group.
” I do not think my grandfather will like it if I ride my bike around the neighborhood” Nariman said. This statement has triggered a lengthy anticipated discussion about the expected social limitations. Nariman continued her talk about how fond of sports she is and how she had to give up major parts of her hobbies as a grown up young woman. She also expected the new activity to put some strain on her academic life. She concluded her speech saying none of the above is a good reason not to be a part of the new cycling group.
Dima Abu Lail from Ramallah wondered about her role and how could she become a more significant figure by adding her efforts to the group’s while the sisters Musallam, Liza and Sahier from the town of Birzeit, spoke of how beautiful of an idea it is and how much organized freedom the cycling group activities can provide for them.
Participants made many comments about the many young Palestinian men and women that will follow their lead and join the club. This will happen as soon as they see us cycling down the road in our uniforms and new bicycles. They all hoped to be able to install a bike rack in their universities and town centers.
Both Mohammads and Ahmad, said that it was easier for them to move around on a bicycle. They did not have to stop at check posts and they could carry their bikes over road blocks and continue on. They added “ our stressful day can become stress free when it ends by a long bike ride”. “ We hope to reduce the number of old motor vehicles that pollute the air we breath and become under less control created by the various Palestinian and Non Palestinian policies”.
At the end of the meeting Siraj representatives concluded that they have found ready grounds for their idea among young Palestinians. They did not have to explain reason or justify their suggestions. Young Palestinians had all the answers ready, they only needed the hand of guidance.
The group has the ambition to form -through one year action plan- a Palestinian national Cyclist league. In order for the group to get on wheels and role it needs the following:
In Kind:
• Bicycles at the value of $500 each.
• Training Bicycles
• Bicycle accessories
• Spare parts
• Maintenance tools
• Sports wear
• First aid supplies
Funding for:
• Training camp
• Twelve monthly activities to achieve the intended national league.
The Palestinian Cyclist Club
Inspired by the Peace Cycle and Follow the Women Cycle, a group of young Palestinians in Collage age responded to Siraj center’s initiative and got together to transform their own dream into reality “Creating for the first time ever A Palestinian Cyclists group with a horizon to involve every Palestinian who likes to cycle in a National league, regardless of age or sex under the name of The Palestinian Cyclists Club PCC”.
On February 27th 2007 a meeting took place at Birzeit University it was attended by: Dima Abu Lail, Ahmad Al-Mizyed, Nariman Shahin, Liza Musallam, Sahier Musallam, Tamara Sous, Nida Awine, all Female students at Birzeit University in addition to Mohammad Mohammad, the first Palestinian to Cycle from London to Jerusalem in the company and sponsorship of the Peace Cycle London to Jerusalem 2006, Ahmad Mohammad and Mohammad Abdelhaliem. The meeting was called for and facilitated by Siraj Center represented by Nimer Awine, Michel Awad and George Rihmawi.
The participants expressed a great deal of enthusiasm to take the pioneer step and go through the challenge. I couldn’t imagine Cycling all the way from London to Jerusalem before I did it Mohamad said; forming a cycling group should not be much harder. 10 bicycles are all we need in order to start and I promise to provide the first one. Mohamad kept his promise, being one of the best employees at the bank where he works, Mohamad managed to convince his manager to donate at least one bicycle to the new group.
” I do not think my grandfather will like it if I ride my bike around the neighborhood” Nariman said. This statement has triggered a lengthy anticipated discussion about the expected social limitations. Nariman continued her talk about how fond of sports she is and how she had to give up major parts of her hobbies as a grown up young woman. She also expected the new activity to put some strain on her academic life. She concluded her speech saying none of the above is a good reason not to be a part of the new cycling group.
Dima Abu Lail from Ramallah wondered about her role and how could she become a more significant figure by adding her efforts to the group’s while the sisters Musallam, Liza and Sahier from the town of Birzeit, spoke of how beautiful of an idea it is and how much organized freedom the cycling group activities can provide for them.
Participants made many comments about the many young Palestinian men and women that will follow their lead and join the club. This will happen as soon as they see us cycling down the road in our uniforms and new bicycles. They all hoped to be able to install a bike rack in their universities and town centers.
Both Mohammads and Ahmad, said that it was easier for them to move around on a bicycle. They did not have to stop at check posts and they could carry their bikes over road blocks and continue on. They added “ our stressful day can become stress free when it ends by a long bike ride”. “ We hope to reduce the number of old motor vehicles that pollute the air we breath and become under less control created by the various Palestinian and Non Palestinian policies”.
At the end of the meeting Siraj representatives concluded that they have found ready grounds for their idea among young Palestinians. They did not have to explain reason or justify their suggestions. Young Palestinians had all the answers ready, they only needed the hand of guidance.
The group has the ambition to form -through one year action plan- a Palestinian national Cyclist league. In order for the group to get on wheels and role it needs the following:
In Kind:
• Bicycles at the value of $500 each.
• Training Bicycles
• Bicycle accessories
• Spare parts
• Maintenance tools
• Sports wear
• First aid supplies
Funding for:
• Training camp
• Twelve monthly activities to achieve the intended national league.
Introducing: The Australian Team
In three weeks time the third Follow the Women bike ride will take place in the Middle East. This bike ride is a global peace movement drawing together hundreds of women, all with a passion for creating a more peaceful future and empowering women to take a more active role in the peace process.
The cyclists have had enough of their leaders constantly misrepresenting their position and their values. Instead, these women have decided to take a proactive step and communicate directly with their international counterparts, particularly with women in the Middle East, and demonstrate loudly and clearly that they do not support the violent policies of their governments and demand that they stop. By personally going to the Middle East they are searching after their own truth and refusing to rely on the biased reporting of national media outlets that aid in the construction of self-serving stereotypes.
The oft-quoted Mahatma Gandhi said that "we must be the change we wish to see in the world". Well, I want a world of open-communication, energy, support and respect for the feminine and so this year I will be taking up a bicycle and following the women. I will be riding as the Australian team and will represent that part of Australia that still has hope (and desire) for change.
I would like to welcome everyone to my blog site and wish for you to join me on this journey through Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine!
With hope,
Micaela
Post-script: the Follow the Women website is http://www.followthewomen.com/
The cyclists have had enough of their leaders constantly misrepresenting their position and their values. Instead, these women have decided to take a proactive step and communicate directly with their international counterparts, particularly with women in the Middle East, and demonstrate loudly and clearly that they do not support the violent policies of their governments and demand that they stop. By personally going to the Middle East they are searching after their own truth and refusing to rely on the biased reporting of national media outlets that aid in the construction of self-serving stereotypes.
The oft-quoted Mahatma Gandhi said that "we must be the change we wish to see in the world". Well, I want a world of open-communication, energy, support and respect for the feminine and so this year I will be taking up a bicycle and following the women. I will be riding as the Australian team and will represent that part of Australia that still has hope (and desire) for change.
I would like to welcome everyone to my blog site and wish for you to join me on this journey through Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine!
With hope,
Micaela
Post-script: the Follow the Women website is http://www.followthewomen.com/
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