No Images? Click here A Cry for Home e-update If you are new to MCC's A Cry for Home campaign, please visit our website. January 2019 Issue No. 6
From child detention to community building in Beit Sahour, PalestineIn October 2018 an MCC learning tour group visited the YMCA, an MCC partner, in Beit Sahour, West Bank, Palestine. The YMCA offers rehabilitation programs to former child detainees. Every year hundreds of Palestinian children are arrested by the Israeli army, detained, and often serve a prison sentence at an adult detention center or military prison. Part of the visit to the YMCA was to meet and listen to the stories of seven young men who had gone through the rehabilitation program. One of the young men (names are withheld for security reasons), who is now 17 years old, shared how he was in a vulnerable psychological state when he was released. When the Israeli military arrested him at the age of 13, his arm was already in a cast and during the ensuing interrogation the cast was taken off and under torture, his arm was broken for a second time. To this day, he has not regained full mobility. To make matters worse, after his three-month detention and subsequent release, military personnel continued to show up at his house, disrupting his reentry into normal life and re-traumatizing him. He shared, “When I closed my eyes, I saw them coming to arrest me… I thought I would always see that.” All seven of these young men underwent significant psychological counselling, and some received vocational training. The pride of accomplishment and hope was shining in their eyes as they shared about their future plans. However, overcoming trauma in one way or another is not where the story ended for them. These young men are part of a leadership program, designed to allow them to give back to their communities, focusing on matters such as capacity building, communications tools, and teaching others about positive leadership. MCC and our partners are urging the Canadian federal government to prioritize the human rights of Palestinian children and to hold Israeli authorities accountable for widespread and systematic ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian child detainees. Join us by signing this petition! Read the full story about the visit to the YMCA here. The importance of addressing the root causes of the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza“During our visit, we saw and heard that providing steady access to emergency services, health care, and education for children, women, and men devastated by violence, displacement, and social upheaval builds resilience. It also helps ensure that those dealing with trauma— particularly youth—are not at risk of being drawn into further cycles of violence. We were not able to visit Gaza, but we heard, via partners, about the more than one million people in Gaza who rely on humanitarian assistance to meet basic needs. Reports are emerging of a collapsing health sector and growing hunger. For this reason, we thank the Government of Canada for its recent funding announcement to alleviate some of these immediate concerns.” -Paul Gilbert, MCC Canada Board Chair Over the last few months, MCC staff in Jerusalem have expressed the concern they hear from partners about the increasing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They are worried, that as cuts are made to UNWRA, the UN agency that provides assistance for Palestinian refugees, that the situation in Gaza is moving from bad to worse. The Ottawa Office invites you to respond - not only by thanking the Canadian government for increasing their UNWRA contributions in light of the funding shortfalls - but by also encouraging Canada to use their relationship with Israel to pressure for an end of the blockade, which is one of the reasons for the humanitarian emergency in the first place. Paul Gilbert visited Palestine and Israel as part of an MCC leadership learning tour this fall. On December 6, MCC Canada sent an official letter signed by both Paul and MCCC’s Executive Director, Rick Cober Bauman, echoing the letters you sent and emphasizing that, “increased humanitarian aid is an important step forward but dealing with the root causes of the Gazan crisis by lifting the blockade is crucial in ensuring that Palestinians are able to have a sustainable future.” We are grateful to everyone who has spoken up with us by sending letters to their MPs. There is still time to join in and call on the Canadian government to respond to the requests of partners in Gaza. Send a letter to your MP today. Speaking tour updateFrom October 24 to November 7, 2018 the MCC Canada Advocacy Network hosted an A Cry for Home speaking tour in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Sahar Vardi, an Israeli activist based in Jerusalem and Tarek Al-Zoughbi, a Palestinian Christian based in Bethlehem, shared their unique perspectives and reflections of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian areas from both sides of the wall. Vardi works as the Israel Program Coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee in Jerusalem in support of Palestinian-led struggles against house demolitions, child arrests and discrimination in East Jerusalem, Palestine. Al-Zoughbi is the Project and Youth Coordinator at Wi'am: The Palestinian Conflict Transformation Center, an MCC partner. The speaking tour consisted of 29 events and meetings across the four provinces, including seven public events. If you were not able to attend any of these events, you can watch one of the presentations here or read this article in the Canadian Mennonite. Stay in touchPlease help us spread the word about A Cry for Home by sharing this e-update. If you have any questions or concerns about A Cry for Home, please be in touch: acryforhome@mcccanada.ca Thank-you for joining MCC in responding to the cry of our Palestinian and Israeli partners! |