Port of Call LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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May 8-9, 2004 Aqaba, Jordan – Hittin Refugee Camp - Study Tour and Cultural Exchange
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Living in a world of concrete, walls and fences is the harsh reality of people forced to live for decades in refugee camps
Palestinian refugees are more numerous than any other refugee population in the world, with nearly 4 million men, women and children living in camps and communities scattered around the Middle East. The majority of people are crammed into overcrowded enclaves, mainly in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Although Jordan grants temporary national passports to Palestinians, in Lebanon they are denied access to education and health services, while being subject to strict political control in Syria.
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Palestinian refugee camps have among the highest population densities of anywhere on earth
The Marka camp in Amman, known locally as "Hittin," was one of the six emergency camps established in 1968 for over 15,000 Palestinians forced from the West Bank and Gaza strip as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Originally a collection of makeshift shelters and tents, the Camp has since grown into a crowded township of nearly 60,000 inhabitants living in basic, concrete housing blocks.
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Students welcoming Peace Boat participants from the balcony of a UN-operated schoolfoundation
After a five hour bus ride from the port of Aqaba, passing through the barren sandstone moonscape of Wadi Rum, the capital of Amman gives the impression of a wealthy, Gulf state city. But with nearly 70 percent of Jordan's population made up of displaced Palestinians, and the national economy and limited natural resources unable to provide for all, it is the United Nations refugee camps that support the people of Palestine still living in exile from their homeland.
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Participants visiting young students in the middle of class and learning about scarce education and other social resources inside Hitten and other refugee camps
Greeting participants of Peace Boat’s first ever study tour to the Hittin community, teachers from a UN-funded girls school explained how the 1,200 pupils squeeze into classes of 50, and how the school day is split into two separate shifts to accommodate all the children of the camp. All general subjects are taught, as well as special classes on Palestinian culture and history, ensuring that the generations of Palestinians born outside the country of their mothers and fathers do not lose their identity. Despite the overcrowding and lack of resources, including books, desks, up to date computers and an Internet connection, the teachers pointed out that they are still better off than most Palestinian refugees living in other countries.
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Residents explained that aside from the rare journalist and aid workers, foreigners never visited places such as Hitten. The young kids reacted first with shyness, followed by tidal waves of curiosity and introductions as participants departed for a walking tour of the camp
Once the tour of the school had finished, Peace Boat participants were led outside by a throng of excited pupils to walk the local neighborhood, seeing first hand the realities of a people pushed from their original homes and forced to "make a space" for themselves in a community that relies upon aid and the hard work of its residents for survival. Many of the narrow streets are without proper drainage or a reliable power supply, and the unemployment rate of Palestinians from the camp is greater than the rest of Jordanian society.
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Yoshioka Tatsuya addresses students, residents, community leaders about the reasons Peace Boat has organized such tours, and how to build the foundations of future relationships
At the camp community center, both participants and residents gathered to meet and hear from the organizers of the visit, as well as watch and take part in cultural exchange performances. Community leaders welcomed Peace Boat to Hittin, and stressed the need for more countries to "co-operate in making peace in the Middle East." Yoshioka Tatsuya, director and one of the founding members of Peace Boat, apologized for the dispatch of Japanese troops to Iraq, and stressed that the "Japanese people do not necessarily support the decision of their government." Expressing sympathy for both Iraqis and Palestinians, Yoshioka also added that Peace Boat supported the people of Palestine in their "right to return" to a Palestinian homeland, and their demand that Israel immediately withdraw from the occupied territories.
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A Peace Boat participant takes a shot during the soccer exchange on the second day
To celebrate the meeting of Peace Boat and the Hittin community, both groups took part in various performances, including Japanese karate, traditional drumming, singing and a spectacular display of Arabic dancing. Returning the next morning for a football match and a cultural exchange with the women of the camp, participants used their crash course in Arabic to make new friends and learn more about the lives of Palestinians growing up having never seen their country. Stories of separation from loved ones, and the burning hope of returning to the villages and homes the families were originally forced from, will no doubt be remembered - and most importantly passed on - by the participants of the inaugural exchange with the people of the Hittin refugee camp.