Day 4 - Training
I didn’t get to bed until about 2-3 a.m. last night, but for some reason I feel very energized today. Maybe it’s because I’ve started drinking coffee again (within healthy limits). I got up at 8 a.m. and we began our first day of on-the-ground training at 9:00. The trainees are myself, A, F, F’s partner G, and H. D is also going through training with us, although he has been on-the-ground once before so he’s got a lot more experience than the rest of us. The training is given by J and K. J has only been here for 2 months but is a very confident and informed teacher. K is the Palestinian I wrote about on Day 3.
Training is really just a PowerPoint presentation with occasional discussions, but it’s really helped me get a grasp on what we’ll be doing once we’re assigned somewhere. We learned how to distinguish jeesh (military), shurta and shurta al-hadud (police and border police), and mustawtin (settlers). We learned how to act around each of them, what tactics to use and not to use, and how to make decisions with our partners based on consensus. It all seems very methodical presented in this form, but I know our thoughts won’t be so rational when they’re filled with adrenaline. We watched some scary videos of settlers attacking people from our organization. It seems like their preferred methods of attack are wearing masks, screaming, getting in people’s faces, shoving, and beating them with clubs. Even watching it happen multiple times on video, I still have no idea how I’d react in a situation, even though I know what to do. If we are not near Palestinians when settlers approach us, we should just run away. If we are near Palestinians or are otherwise protecting someone/something, we are supposed to be expressionless barriers doing our best not to provoke. Not provoking means not talking to them, not approaching them, not wearing a mask or carrying anything that looks like a weapon, and of course not threatening or attacking them. At the same time, self-defense is our prerogative so long as we aren’t initiating and it doesn’t directly harm someone else (i.e., no human shields). We can also voluntarily put ourselves between settler violence and whoever they are hurting. In the videos we watched, people stepped in the way to block blows from settlers. I wish I could do this, but I’m not sure I’m brave enough. One person’s job is to record, which sounds terrifying to me. If you are recording and all your comrades are being attacked, it is unwise to run away because you will be alone. So the ideal option is to non-confrontationally stand there and record your friends getting beat. You could also protect them, but then no one is there to document, and there’s really no way to tell whether your documentation or your blocking the blows would be more beneficial. Then again, if you’re standing an recording, it’s only a matter of time before you’re approached too. It’s confusing and scary and there’s a lot to consider.
Thankfully, violent settlers attacks are common, but not enough that all volunteers endured them. Of all the internationals I’ve met here so far, I’m not aware of any of them being physically attacked by settlers. C (who left for good this morning along with B) was once detained, but he said it was a slow and calm process and the jeesh let him go later the same day. Being attacked is obviously a possibility, but not an inevitability. I’m trying to mentally prepare without freaking myself out.
After training, we didn’t do much. I went for a walk with some others, played cards with K and A, and ended up at the same bar we ended up at yesterday. I didn’t really want to go, but someone had mentioned how important it is to seize every opportunity in Palestine since everything can be taken away. It was okay, but I think I was a little too tired and cold to enjoy myself. I ended up staying longer than I wanted to because I have a habit of worrying too much about people who have been drinking, and if I left then A and E would’ve had to walk through the streets of Flat at night alone. I’m certain they could’ve handled themselves (and what would having me there do anyways). I just worry.