This is all gone a bit higgledy piggledy as we can't remember what we did when and our notes are all over the place but from what I can remember on Monday we started the day by visiting the Al Kuds (another name for Jerusalem) university, which has been cut in half by the wall. It was the same story as we got from the hospital where staff and students now have to travel (if they have a blue Jerusalem ID) an hour or more, depending on check point delays to get through the wall, a journey that used to take 5-10 minutes. Basically, people have to travel around the city and then wait to get through according the soldiers will.
The univeristy, as in the hospital and even the private cigarette company we visited later in the day (more later) are still paying staff wages for those who can't leave Jerusalem. These are people who live in Jerusalem with West Bank passes but the Israelis have built the wall outside the boundaries leaving them in limbo so they can't travel outside in case they are no allowed back in. There is no work in Jerusalem for them either. People are being paid even though they can't get to work. It just shows the solidarity here and made me wonder about what would hafppen in UK in the same situation.
Staff and students are often hours late becuase of the check points and everyone is suffering stess. Teachers are having to stay in the university sometimes for weeks depending on how bad the check points are or even they might be closed for no reason.
Another element to wear down the Palestinian population is that workiers living in Jerusalem who are allowed in and out (albeit through the wall and numerous check points) pay higher tax and rent than those in the West Bank. Working in the West Bank means they get much lower wages so life becomes impossible.
We were told that teachers used to get special permits to teach in Palestinian schools but this has stopped so roughly 1,300 teachers can't cross the wall and lots of schools have closed. In Abu Dis, where we are staying, there are nearly 2000 children who used to go to school in Jerusalem but are no longer allowed to go there and so are without schools or are massively overcroweded. Thousands of Palestinian people who were born and brought up in Jerusalem are now not allowed to go there at all. Tourists and foreigners and Jewish people go freely.
The most outrageous thing we heard and one that demonstrates the farce that is the regime is that Isreal won't recognise the Al Kuds qualifications. Not because of what they teach but because of the name of the university- Al Kuds means Jerusalem and the Israeli authority say that if they changed it to something else e.g. Olive MOunt unhinversity they would accept it. It all amounts to making Palestinian life shit.
Everywhere we have been there has been 100% union membership but people are finding it harder to pay their dues or even to find work so people are owrking for 80% wages or sometimes working for months without being paid.
The univeristy, as in the hospital and even the private cigarette company we visited later in the day (more later) are still paying staff wages for those who can't leave Jerusalem. These are people who live in Jerusalem with West Bank passes but the Israelis have built the wall outside the boundaries leaving them in limbo so they can't travel outside in case they are no allowed back in. There is no work in Jerusalem for them either. People are being paid even though they can't get to work. It just shows the solidarity here and made me wonder about what would hafppen in UK in the same situation.
Staff and students are often hours late becuase of the check points and everyone is suffering stess. Teachers are having to stay in the university sometimes for weeks depending on how bad the check points are or even they might be closed for no reason.
Another element to wear down the Palestinian population is that workiers living in Jerusalem who are allowed in and out (albeit through the wall and numerous check points) pay higher tax and rent than those in the West Bank. Working in the West Bank means they get much lower wages so life becomes impossible.
We were told that teachers used to get special permits to teach in Palestinian schools but this has stopped so roughly 1,300 teachers can't cross the wall and lots of schools have closed. In Abu Dis, where we are staying, there are nearly 2000 children who used to go to school in Jerusalem but are no longer allowed to go there and so are without schools or are massively overcroweded. Thousands of Palestinian people who were born and brought up in Jerusalem are now not allowed to go there at all. Tourists and foreigners and Jewish people go freely.
The most outrageous thing we heard and one that demonstrates the farce that is the regime is that Isreal won't recognise the Al Kuds qualifications. Not because of what they teach but because of the name of the university- Al Kuds means Jerusalem and the Israeli authority say that if they changed it to something else e.g. Olive MOunt unhinversity they would accept it. It all amounts to making Palestinian life shit.
Everywhere we have been there has been 100% union membership but people are finding it harder to pay their dues or even to find work so people are owrking for 80% wages or sometimes working for months without being paid.
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