CPTnet
January 3, 2004
HEBRON REFLECTION: Blink. Israel/Palestine. Blink. Canada/First Nations

by Greg Rollins

[Note: Rollins lives near Vancouver, BC.]

Blink. Keep blinking.

The slight sense of guilt has been with me for maybe two or three years. It
comes from working in Hebron to address the Palestinian/Israeli conflict
while a similar, more discreet form of occupation simmers in my own country.
I am talking about how we treat the First Nations people in Canada.

The longer I am here in the Middle East the more similarities I see between
how Canada treats the First Nations and how Israel treats the Palestinians.
In Canada, our government has gone out of its way to crush the First
Nations' way of life. At the same time, Canada shows off First Nation
culture to the rest of the world as if we accept it wholeheartedly.

Blink. Israel is doing its best to destroy the nomadic traditions of the
Bedouin by herding them into specially made cities. Then they emphasize the
knowledge and skill of the Bedouin trackers or pass off rich Arab cuisine as
Israeli.

In Canada, many Native Americans live on reservations. On paper, the
Canadian government gives the people a leashed autonomy, but in practice,
the government often ignores First Nations' sovereignty.

Blink. When people ask me what I see for Palestinians in twenty years'
time, I tell them I see the same reserves that we have in Canada. Israel is
trying to herd Palestinians into "Area A"-- cities like Ramallah and
Bethlehem.

Israel is behind with getting the Palestinians into the cities, but it is
one-step ahead of Canada on muzzled autonomy. It has given limited rule to
Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority (PA), which it then supersedes
daily.

 What about the Israeli settlers and how they take Palestinian land? In
Canada, when the "pioneers" expanded, an outpost would start like this: the
pioneers settle the land. There are squabbles with Native Americans. The
army moves in and pushes the Native Americans back to keep the pioneers
safe. The pioneers expand their settlements and, out of a need to feel
secure, push the Native Americans back more.

Blink blink. This is also how the Israeli settlers expand their own
settlements.
It is common to hear Israelis refer to settlers as "pioneers."

 I think you get the picture. The question remains: if I am a Canadian
concerned about justice, shouldn't I be working on problems at home first? I
suppose the answer is that it is easier for me to see the problems of
others, than my own. I can afford to ignore my own problems and meddle in
the wrongs of others because I tell myself that I didn't do anything wrong.
It wasn't I
who forced the Mohawk onto the reserves. It was my ancestors, not me, who
gave away infected blankets.

Does it make it better that I said these things? Am I forgiven because I can
acknowledge them? Didn't Jesus say to take the log out of your own eye
before
taking the speck out of your neighbour's?

 Sometimes I have trouble blinking.