Fundraising by Rocco

This summer I was lucky enough to spend a month in Palestine as a volunteer with Operation Dove, Nonviolent Peace Corps of the Pope John XXIII Community. I then joined that group of people who have been taking turns since 2004 in the small 'Dove House' in At-Tuwani, a village in Masafer Yatta, the hilly region south of Hebron.

In and around At-Tuwani I was able to experience firsthand what it means to live under military occupation. Every day - and for 57 years - citizens of the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories are deprived of the most basic rights. One's home can be demolished from one day to the next, boys and girls have increasing difficulty in receiving a decent education (schools can be torn down, it is increasingly difficult for boys and girls to get to their school, or perhaps teachers or teachers are unable to do so), checkpoints - fixed and flying - of the Israeli army can make simple daily activities, work or perhaps travel for medical appointments impossible. One can be arrested on the whim of a policeman or a female soldier; increasingly, one can be savagely attacked by groups of settlers making night patrols with machine guns around their necks and/or armed with iron clubs.

Seeing the senseless violence against defenseless civilians up close strikes you to the core. Looking into the eyes of the attackers freezes your blood, even though they are often the ones who cannot hold their gaze.

It may seem like a movie to us, or we are so used to hearing about this violence that we don't pay much attention to it anymore, maybe we think it is a situation now without a solution.

And, instead, you spend a month in this land and you understand the determination of the citizens of Palestine. Their will to stay on their land, their resolve in the face of injustice, their desire to hold on to a promise made to their mother or grandfather. I have met simple, strong, wonderful people. People - men and women - who by nonviolent methods resist, do not give in and stubbornly want to have a normal life for themselves, for their families, for their communities. Nothing more, but nothing less either.

They are the ones who teach us what it means to fight against injustice while remaining human. And it is important not to leave them alone in this struggle, in this long daily battle. In particular, the presence of international volunteers in the West Bank is crucial for at least three reasons:

1. One is being able, albeit to a small extent, to mitigate settler violence and the arbitrariness of the Israeli police and army. The presence of observers with cameras somehow mitigates their violence
   
2. One stands with the people of Palestine, side by side, and does not leave them alone. They are fighting a just battle and it gives them a lot of strength to know that there are other people who - simply - are on their side
   
3. Volunteers who return to their countries make their small contribution to making people understand the reality of the occupation, a reality that unfortunately is only rarely covered adequately by the media
   

There are many ways to help non-governmental organizations present in Palestine: by informing themselves, talking about their work, creating opportunities for discussion, events, etc. It is also necessary to give them a hand from an economic point of view. Operation Dove is maniacally careful in its spending and I can assure you that every euro donated to them will be carefully used, essentially for the expenses of training and managing volunteers, their livelihood, house maintenance, and project communication activities.

When I walked around houses, isolated farms or met Palestinian shepherds, I experienced simple and total hospitality. And I saw many people's eyes light up when I said I was from Operation Dove, an Association they deeply respect. The work of this Association is crucial, along with that of other international non-governmental organizations and that - invaluable - of so many Israeli activists who support the Palestinian resistance struggle.

Here, it is for these reasons that I ask you to make a financial contribution -- to the extent that you can -- to Operation Dove's Palestine project, an activity on the right side.

Also, if you want to stay informed, sign up here to receive their monthly newsletter, or contact them to arrange a meeting or for other reasons, they will always be happy to answer you! Thank you!