CPTnet
7 August 2007
AT-TUWANI REFLECTION: A day in the life of a CPTer
by Peggy Gish
Even before the sun appears in the east, over the South Hebron Hills, the
village of At-Tuwani is waking to the sounds of roosters and donkeys, of
sheep and goats being milked. As I get up from my sleeping pad on the roof
of the one-room house shared by members of Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT)
and Operation Dove (OD), our neighbor from the stone house next door is
already up and at work.
By 6:45 a.m., we grab our hats, cameras, water bottles, and go to accompany
shepherds in two valleys just below the Israeli settlement of Ma'on and the
Havot Ma'on outpost. In one valley, boys aged eight to fourteen play
together while their sheep graze on dried grasses among the thistles.
In the Humra and Khoruba valleys, we sit on rocks with Palestinian men in
the hot sun and chat as their sheep graze nearby. We are on land they are
reclaiming from Israeli settlers who denied them access to it several years
ago.
By mid-morning, the summer heat intensifies and the shepherds take their
flocks to nearby cisterns for water and back to their pens. We go back to
our house in the village and use the midday for meetings, writing reports,
cleaning chores, and hauling water from the village well in the valley
below.
On other days, a village leader may ask CPTers to monitor a "flying" Israeli
military checkpoint by the road or to take video cameras and document
Israeli settlers planting trees or farming Palestinian land near a settler
outpost, but today is quiet. Next week a summer camp begins for the
children at the school and we will monitor their walking in from neighboring
villages.
At 4:00 p.m., the hottest part of the day is over, and some shepherds graze
their sheep again. This time we only go to the valley to accompany the
shepherd boys. Whoever stays back makes supper for the team, using a burner
on top of a bottled gas canister to cook. Electricity from the village
generator is usually on for about four hours every evening.
Some evenings, a neighbor family will invite the team to share a meal. This
evening a family invited us to their home for a "party," celebrating the
father's passing his driving test and getting his license. When the family
played taped music, the children and some of the adults danced in the middle
of the room. After a hard day of work, the people of Tuwani have fun and,
for a while, forget their troubles.
We finish our work or personal chores before climbing onto the roof for the
night. Tonight a nice breeze is blowing as I lie on my mat and look up at
the stars. I give thanks for the day and for the privilege of sharing it
with these strong and beautiful people.
_______________
To stop receiving messages from CPTNET on MennoLink, do NOT hit reply. Send
a message with only the word, "suspend," in the body to
server@MennoLink.org.
Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) seeks to enlist the whole church in
organized, nonviolent alternatives to war and places teams of trained
peacemakers in regions of lethal conflict. Originally a violence-reduction
initiative of the historic peace churches (Mennonite, Church of the Brethren
and Quaker), CPT now enjoys support and membership from a wide range of
Christian denominations.
To ask questions or express concerns, criticisms and affirmations send
messages to peacemakers@cpt.org.
To receive news or discussion of CPT issues by e-mail, fill out the form
found on our WEB page at http://www.cpt.org/subscribe.php
Donate to CPT on-line with your credit card! Go to
http://cpt.org/donate.php and click the DONATE button to make a
contribution through Network for Good, a secure way to help support CPT.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Aug 31 2007 - 16:03:44 EDT