The staff at Mossawa are amazing, friendly people. The center's mission is to advocate the rights of the Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel by engaging with civil society, NGOs, media, and government officials both foreign and domestic. The center is located in the Arab residential neighborhood of Haifa, a city typically described as a city of "coexistence." I have learned, however, that this is not the case.
On Monday we were introduced to the entire staff at a weekly meeting where everyone discussed current projects he or she was involved in. They were kind enough to explain each project to us and asked us which projects were of personal interest.
Since Monday, I have been working with co-worker Mbarak on developing a detailed schedule for the center's first summer camp which will take place from July 20-July 30. The schedule was given to me in Arabic and translated by Mbarak into broken English. I then developed the English schedule and, as 6 camp participants are coming from Spain, my Spanish translation skills helped out.
I have learned a great deal about Arab Palestinian rights in Israel and current legislation that jeopardizes human rights. Although I take everything with a grain of salt, I am fascinated by all perspectives. Everyone is very passionate about their political and ethnic identification and it makes for great conversation. I feel very included in all aspects of the center and hope that next week will be just as productive.
My goals for next week are to help out during the center's presentation in the Negev ( we will be going on Monday). We will be teaching Bedouins how they can best address the human rights issues they suffer. I also hope to learn the exact nature of village demolitions and how the society deals with the situation.
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| I had a co-worker take this picture today in front of the sign that reads "Mossawa" |
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