2008-03-22T08:25:00+00:00 Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=91&uvol=1 2008-03-22T08:25:00+00:00

Dear Boomchucka supporters, sorry for the delay with this report, technical problems! Clowns and computers a heady mix!!! if anyone would like to volunteer to help us with the mailing list we would be very very happy....just get in touch...

Reports from Miss Me 2008

Air strikes in Gaza

1 Israeli civilian killed by Hamas rocket fired from Gaza
120 Palestinians killed, many more injured, the majority civilians- women and... ]]>

Reports from Miss Me 2008

Air strikes in Gaza

1 Israeli civilian killed by Hamas rocket fired from Gaza
120 Palestinians killed, many more injured, the majority civilians- women and children.
In the wake of this there have been many demos in city's across the West Bank.
The circus quickly realised that our up and coming shows would be canceled as it suddenly felt inappropriate and intrusive to clown around. We had shows booked in Hebron and Twani, both places suffering badly at the hands of settlers in the West Bank, due to our schedule being so tight we could not manage the time to reschedule shows that suited everybody, so with understanding but regret we have had to miss theses places this time... hopefully next year.
Due to lack of shows and a desire to do something we attempt to attend a demo in Rhamallah, however as we are on the bus heading for Calandyia check point (a large check point in the wall annexing East Jerusalem and the West Bank) a Red Cresent ambulance goes by at top speed.. I realise that there might be something happening at Calandiya, when we arrive it becomes clear in slow motion that the Shebab (Palestinian youths) are throwing stones at the IDF, they are returning with grenades and live ammunition, we flail in the open space of the checkpoint, before being ushered quickly by a French international and bus driver onto another bus which takes us away from any danger. We cannot attend the demo and return to Jerusalem safe but frazzled .

Salfit – "In my house it is normal"

Salfit is a fairly large town in the mid western West Bank, they follow a prodomently rural way of life, farming the land and growing olives, the scenery is stunning the hills are high and everyone terraced for olives, we start to climb up to Salfit after Rhamallah on the way we pass by several small ideological settlements which at this stage are a heavily fortified collection of trailers, known as an outpost. These outposts contain the most zealous settlers whom are aggressive towards the Palestinians and poison their water supplies, uproot their olives and essentially take their land, Palestinians are basically powerless to prevent this. Eventually these outposts will gain support from Israel (Israel denies that they are illegal or of their existence until the outpost requires water, schools and other public amenities). So Salfit is at the end of the Arial finger a large block of settlements jutting into the West Bank, it reaches from Jerusalem to the Jordan valley dividing the West Bank in two.
you can clearly see settlements and checkpoints surrounding Salfit.
So after this enforced day off! we are raring to go and are heading to Salfit it looks like all our shows will go ahead now. we plan to spend two days in Salfit, when we arrive we are met by Abed, an intense and friendly character he coined the phrase this year of "in my house it is normal" (in the best possible way)
Ruth and I met him last year when Boomchucka visited. It is good to see him again and we are happy to meet his 8 month old baby girl, we have coffee and all the family comes to meet us...
we then headed to the Hanan Center (funded by a Swedish NGO) this is going to be our home for two days, it was great to be back here and see some old friends.
We then had a meeting with the volunteers of the Hanan centre, boys and girls separately... the cultural differences became apparent here, the girls were very polite and basically said 'you are welcome' the boys on the other hand; after a short period of shyness; wanted to engage in debate and grilling us on why exactly we had come to see them in their village. After an hour of good discussion the ice broken we went on to form bonds and understanding of each other.
We had a busy schedule in Salfit visiting the White House in Salfit, the only government run residential home for children with learning disabilities in the West Bank, this was a great show and the children loved the games and interaction after the show as much as us falling around on stage. We then visited Kafradeek a village close to Salfit here we had a show which also went well by this time the show had really come together and was getting better and better.
We returned back to the centre for workshops with the boys and girls separately, this made for a very long day but a good one. The girls first, I taught diablo and poi to some keen girls, Ruth taught poi , Jen taught staff and contact whilst Jo and Laura ran a theatre workshop, the girls made the most of their time and where keen to learn. The boys where also keen to learn but being teenagers got a bit carried away with showing off at times.. they obviously found it a bit difficult at first that we were all female, but their desire to learn circus overrode that in the end. We did three shows the next day .. blimey! by far the best was Farkha it was a good mixture of old and young girls and boys.. we have visited 3 times before in previous years so they knew what to expect and the show went well we clowns got heckled in English which was great, real crowd participation!!!
So we ended the shows on a high.. and proceeded to do workshops again that evening the clown workshop with the girls went really well, me and Jo had them falling on their bums and using their imagination to change one of our slapstick sketches, they were so enthusiastic and quick to learn, we just about managed to teach them some basic clowning skills which was great. All the were clowns pretty knackered by then, me and Ruth remenised on our exhaustion last year in Salfit .. but really I am happy they want to learn and know how to make the most of us.
We ended our time in Salfit with a different Abed, who invited us to drink coffee and eat copious amounts of homemade cake at about 10 at night! we are all well adjusted coffee addicts by now, we spend time savouring our coffee on his roof top looking over Salfit and talking of and his wife's efforts to start the volunteer program in Salfit and Abed's struggle to continue it. They are a fantastic family and I feel humbled to have met them. Once again I realise that Palestine is not just the Occupation or the Intafadas; it is real people trying to live their lives to implement positive change within their community; whist living under Israeli occupation...without this I ask myself where would the Palestinians be? life must go on even under the Occupation and Apartied Wall.

General note from Miss Me/Strong Man Annie

As this is my second trip with the circus to the West Bank I have begun to see things differently, I did not notice until the other clowns who have not visited Palestine before began to talk of what we see, hear and experience; trying to make sense of what essentially seems to make no sense at all... particullarily on a level of unnecessary human suffering. It makes perfect sense in terms of water recourses and the fact that solving this conflict may well be the key to many Middle East issues. Exactly how does Israel get away with breaking international law every day???
Shockingly, to myself I seemed to have adapted to some of the horrors here, I am familiar to the accounts of people being torn from their land, their families, brutality at the hands of the IDF or the Zionist settlers. It breaks my heart still, but something feels hardened within me... I find myself asking how can I make a bigger difference...??? the occupation has to end sometime... it can't go on forever..???
So I find myself asking less questions of why? the question why? I think is related to an intense need to understand and get your head round the situation; here because it really is overwhelming. How? seems to be about change.. I think maybe how? is the proactive result of why? (I'm not sure how? yet though!) As I am coming to terms with my change in perception we visit the Bedouins in the Jordan Valley (this is another story ) we meet an inspirational person like Martin from www.brighton/tubas.org and he reminds me what it is all about ...
"But the Circus, actually manages to bring a tangible commodity they also need – they really do need to laugh and smile. What they do is amazing."
This helps reaffirm the importance of the circus, that it makes a difference, all be it a relatively small difference, the shock waves of laughter reverberate out in unifying positivity,there is a place for Clowns in Palestine!]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=90&uvol=1 2008-03-12T22:23:00+00:00

week 2 report from Jen...

Feb 21st – In Bethany -Behind the Wall in .Jerusalem

Hello! Salam Alaykum! thats about as much Arabic as I've picked up so
far... and it's MENTAL with the kids here, who may have never seen a
white face before let alone crazy colourful clowns and a pointy eared
green pixie with a flaming stick! We were woken up at 8.45am to be
told our first show... ]]>

Feb 21st – In Bethany -Behind the Wall in .Jerusalem

Hello! Salam Alaykum! thats about as much Arabic as I've picked up so
far... and it's MENTAL with the kids here, who may have never seen a
white face before let alone crazy colourful clowns and a pointy eared
green pixie with a flaming stick! We were woken up at 8.45am to be
told our first show here in the West Bank was at 10am! so no rehersing
as planned and out to the primary school for our second show so far.
this time with singing from Laura – last time the Iraqi clowns had
'Barbie Girl' sound track on their soundsystem – so Laura's Arabian
angelic chanting was a blissful contrast! These beautiful Palestinian
3-6yr olds were captivated and giggling their socks off within
minutes of the girl's first act – I guess I haven't introduced you to
the gang yet: There's Ruth, who has been to the middle east with the
circus twice already and does clowning, stilts, poi and firefingers;
Annie who also came last year (our 'strong man' in the newly
chaotically developing acro -balance section) a comic clown and
part-poier; Jo, a crazy dreaded clown and budding juggler; and Laura
from the US who does a seperate sketch at the mo involving an inflatable
world ball (with stuck on continents of the world) she carries on her
back and then invites kids from audience to help her save it. The lady we
are staying with, Suzanna, seems super active and connected in
empowering local community groups behind the wall (in additiion to
bringing up 4 amazing kids ranging from 18yrs to 7yrs) – and has been
helping international networks contact and works with Palestinians -
especially women and children. We have been made to feel sooooo
welcome here, everyone is immensely generous, friendly and open. There
is absolutely no danger to foreigners here. People are more than aware
that it is the governments that are responsible for the dirty
situation and oppression going on in middle east and a genuine
curiousity and human solidarity is all I have felt from anyone here.
For those who don't know, the British mandate of Palestine became the
state of Israel in 1948 and the West Bank and Gaza regions of Israel
were given to the Palestinians, forcibly removing all Palestinians
from other areas and making them refugees in these zones. However even
within these zones the Israeli army have occupied the territories and
regularly demolish Palestinian homes and colonise the lands! The Wall
that has been built to separate Jerusalem from the West Bank divides
families and communities, and makes travel and access to trade and
medical facilities within the region incredibly difficult for
Palestinians, with 15 births in the last 2 months at checkpoints and
several deaths during births!!!! In the first democratic elections
held Palestinians elected Hammas, but the US and UK didn't want to
accept Hammas as sole leaders and forced a dual alliance with Fatah
and Hammas in the West Bank, and in Gaza refused to cooperate at all
with the newly elected Palestinian leadership of Hammas when they
refused to step down. The Palestinians in the West Bank seem to have
allowed the outside world to impose a non-democratically elected
government. So the politicians intent on dividing the land and people
with walls and oppression, corruption and force, crushing the spirit
of these wonderfully friendly people may as well be the clowns – the
world of politics seems a circus to these people who have been
systematically dispossessed of their lands and Bush dances with Arabs
on TV as part of a 10 day tour of the Middle East. But at least a
little 'food for the soul' is spread with the humble light hearted
spirit of this little circus for kids, and we can bring back the
message from the real people the ludacrous obscuring 'news' on TV
tells to the world of this troubled land.

love, hope and falafels
J xxxxx

p.s. We saw snow in Jerusalem! a full on storm and 7inches of
white fluff everywhere! beautiful is freezing! and today baking
sunshine and blue skies although cold in shade

p.p.s.
sub-plot ...a refugee lady from South Africa spoke out to us in the hostel in
Jerusalem where we were staying about her practically slave conditions
of unpaid work and abuse from the bosses – Laura's friend is on the
case from NGO Slavery international.

p.p.p.s. we also have 2 blokes on
the team – a Chilean guy, Mauro, from London Uni studying documentary,
making a film about us and another guy, Dennis who teaches music,
taking photos for circus publicity/record diary online.


Friday Feb 22nd – Circus 2 Zone C- Bedouins – North Jordan Valley, West Bank
Early minibus to Jericho through both Israeli and Palestinian
checkpoints. Ironically it is the Paletinian Authority (PA) controlled
checkpoint which hassled us the most, armed and funded by the Israeli
state and US they are now hassling their own people. Jericho is the
holy land through which it is said that Moses passed from Egypt to
Jerusalem, and also the most fertile, thanks to ancient underground
irrigation system.
Martin from the Brighton Palestine Tubas friendship and solidarity
group helped organise and fund our trip out to these remote parts of
the Palestinian territories, which are the most under threat from
ongoing house demolitions. The few families we met were living in very
basic ramshackle contructions ('metal benders') on exposed stony
desert hills, with not even a toilet for the women. They had been
given eviction notice by the Israeli state despite having the
paperwork proving ownership of the land, which the Bedouin Sheik showed
us in a moving speech.
We were truly humbled and tearful on hearing their situation. The few
children appeared quite amaused yet bemused by our little show ...and
ran away with the (blow-up balloon) world!!
Believing we had other fmailies to meet in the area, we hastily
packed up and shortened our workshop. It seems 60 years and previous
decades of Israeli and then British occupation has fermented
frustration and division between families so that they do not speak to
each other. This makes the area even easier to colonise and steal for
Israeli agricultural export production. However, instead we were taken
to the place of a family member of the driver, and after a while
juggling in the baking sunshine of the desert we were sat round a huge
plate with a mountain of beautifully cooked spiced rice, chicken ,
peas, and caulifower – mostly homegrown- with bread (cooked in
sheeppoo oven) and freshly fermenting goat's yoghurt. Twas truly a
feast fit for regal clowns and a possible contender of the sunday
roast – all 10 of us eating from one plate, sitting on cushions on the
floor in the middle of the desert was quite an experience.
Another photogenic and equally absurd and spirit raising experience we
were blessed with that afternoon at a farm with a few more children to
entertain and cows and cabbages, histerical ladies wrapped in
traditional bedion cloths and men with cameraphones. Martin proved to
be inspirational and a mine of information on the situation (a Schnews
dude to boot) – and told us of the ethnic cleansing tactics of the
Israeli government, including policies of home demolitions and forcible
removal of Palestinians from their lands, and the tapping of water
supplies.
To finish off an exhausting and heartwrenching day we watched a
documentary 'Return to Palestine' which is worth watching, and does
not shy away from the brutual facts of this occupied and oppressed
territory and its peoples.
tomorrow off to a conference to facilitate networking between students
in Europe and Palestine . and then to see the Wall.
Peaceout. J xx

p.p.p.p.s.s.s.... ;o)

CARMEL is the name of the company that is growing fruit on stolen
palestinian land in the jordan valley. It will say Israel on it in the
supermarket – it ISN"T from Israel. do not buy this fruit!!]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=89&uvol=1 2008-03-12T22:19:00+00:00

Report from missme a.k.a strong man annie... ]]>

Cairo, Saffa and 'Happy Famalies'
This year the Boomchucka Circus met up in the mental city that is Cairo, I mean really quite a crazy place! it' s highlights for me involved a vast and amazing selection of handbags and sparkly ties, figuring out how to cross the road which is basically chicken with six lanes of traffic, (we all survived unscathed) the strange mix of old and decrepit modern like the fly over that stretches over the city but threatens to collapse immanently all this to the constant chorus of ' English? welcome to Egypt'.
We had a good reason for starting in Egypt, and that was to catch up with the Theater group "Happy Families"
Happy Families are a group that operated in Iraq before the invasion of Iraq, Circus 2 Iraq and Happy Families worked together on the first and unfortunately only tour of Iraq two of their members were assassinated (please see our website for further info). The group has since fled Iraq to become refugees in Egypt.

After a hard weeks practising the show on a hostel roof top in Cairo we made arrangements to meet up with Happy Families to do an afternoon of games, circus and then a joint show. We arrived in the suburb of Cairo to be met by Safaa, we then travelled to a games arcade which had to be hired from the Egyptian owner for the afternoon. The arcade was filled with families both Iraqi and Egyptian, we then ensued the chaos that is parachute games and " circus workshop" I say in inverted commas because there were so many excited kids that there really just wasn't enough of us.. an exacted and happy chaos ensued for the next hour and half. we then retired to drink strong coffee and regain our composure before the show.
We were all pretty nervous because it was our first show .. I was particular nervous because I wanted it to be as perfect as possible for the kids and the whole group because this is the first Circus they have received from us since they were in their homeland, I desperately wanted to forefill thier expectations.. I soon realised that in fact just to have visited was special.. we had a fantastic afternoon and our first show went down really well despite some technical hitches. (chilliboo chillibahh) the show culminated in a pretty special rendition and dance of Barbie Girl and a very long conga line headed by the Happy Family clowns and joined by Boomchucka clowns.

After the show we heard first hand the situation for Safaa and the community of refugees he lives with in Egypt, Safaa talked of being unable to earn money, and the obvious fact that the Egyptian government can't provide monetary support as they are a poor country themselves. I got the feeling that they were working their way through their savings in order to survive and a big question mark over what to do once that had been spent.
Saffa also talked of cultural divides between Iraqi's and Egyptians, inequality between the two communities the difficulty's this caused. also of the psychological damage done to children taken from their cultural roots in violence. Saffa talked of wanting to use theater in order to help children come to terms with their sudden new reality's.

I was frustrated to feel that perhaps we were losing vital information in translation.
However we all felt Safaa's pain as he talked of Iraq and the Iraqi peoples situation now
We left Saffa with tears in our eyes and humbled hearts and an overwhelming desire to visit again soon.
We plan to return to Egypt to work with Saffa and his group for a longer period of time.

missme, 25th Feb 08]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=88&uvol=1 2007-03-09T21:22:00+00:00

So there only 3 of us left and a young girl in the hostel asks if we can teach her some clown. Ok why not hey!

Two days later she has found a space and about 20 people turn up, good work!! They are young Jewish people from all over the world who are against the occupation.

This is good stuff, they want to learn to clown for... ]]>

Two days later she has found a space and about 20 people turn up, good work!! They are young Jewish people from all over the world who are against the occupation.

This is good stuff, they want to learn to clown for demonstrations to baffle the powers that be, to mock and question who holds power, to make onlookers thinks about the Circus of Life.

Its a full on couple of hours and they throw themselves in to being silly wholeheartedly ...nice ending to our work, I reckon they are the future... now they just need a million more clowns!!!

Being a clown allows you to step outside of normal life and behave badly, to get away with picking your nose and making fart jokes. If only the clowns in charge of the world could stop behaving so badly, hey!

Boomchucka... More Balls Less Walls... as our best friend here stated and then laughed so hard she went a funny shade of pink .]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=87&uvol=1 2007-03-09T21:18:00+00:00

Back to where we started for this one... it seems a lifetime ago that we waited here on the roundabout in the cold before our first show! It’s got warmer at last, and we do an outdoor show to around 400 children, they are stacked up in every vantage point on the higher balconies and walls.

It’s a good one, the show is pumping now we know... ]]>

It’s a good one, the show is pumping now we know the routines and have much more fun interacting, there are lots of opportunities for the kids to shout at us, to get us to do things and they seem to love it, hollering at a bunch of badly dressed strangers makes their day.

Plenty of ‘thank-yous’, later we move on. Not far away, but very cut off is Al Alziem, it’s cut off by an Israeli road and so is even more isolated than most of the west bank, the inhabitants can see across to the west bank but can’t reach it and the same applies for most of them going into Jerusalem so about 200 houses are stranded in no-mans land.

The teachers get hassled a lot coming here to work and the people are stuck, god only knows what will happen when the wall cuts them off completely...and what did walls ever solve!

So our last show, I think we are all a bit sad, although its really hard work and being with the same people 24/7 for 6 wks is tough, I doubt if for most of us we will ever do anything else quite like this. The circus gets you to places you’d never get on your own, and the feedback is so positive I know Ill miss it badly, and the kids...when w go what do they have, happy memories of one day and maybe some equipment, thanks to donations from our supporters.

But basically really shit lives...and less and less opportunities, the occupation has been here since 1948, but the apartheid wall is recent, only in the last 3 years has the divide been so cruel, kids on one side with schools and chances and kids on the other with burning rubbish dumps and poor health and it can only get worse whilst the wall is here.

Shufat camp is very close to the wall and so you see the rich half of Jerusalem easily from here and yet to travel there for most people is very hard, and to commute to colleges out of the question. So the kids are hard and drugs are easy to find...its shit that’s all, shit.. I can’t think of polite words to describe it because its stinks, and its politics not famine that is starving these people.

The next day when its all over bar the clown tears, I’m up early and trying to get into the Al Asqa Mopaque compound in the Old City. Every time I’ve tried I get told by the soldiers that it’s shut or comeback whenever, but today there is a gaggle of cameras around the entrance and David Cameron, Tory Leader is waiting to get in... so I hang around and try to blend into the MPs group. It works and I’m let through with them!!!

No press get in so its just David, his followers, some tourist groups and me inside the compound...its very beautiful, olive trees and paved walkways and peace. Really lovely, I ask one of his followers what he is doing and they answer that he is visiting the region for the first time and is seeing what everyday life is like!!! I answer that he should spend a week with a family in the West Bank, real life indeed, a whistle stop tour of the tourist spots, and he got to get in!!!!

Only afterwards I think of what I really should have asked and that’s why do we the UK and the USA keep supplying weapons to this region...that would make a difference to everyday life, a big difference, then maybe everyday would be happy and free like the few Circus Days we have brought with us.

We joked with the headmaster in Al Alziem that we would be back to help him pull down the wall and sell it on ebay soon, I only hope its soon, real soon!!!

So that’s all folks...6 and a half weeks 40 shows, 20 workshops 8000 children met and only about 5 cried!!! Thanks to Ruth, Annie, Matt, Graham and Nash. And all the local contacts without whom none of this would be possible, they are the real heroes here because they work everyday tirelessly to improve things against massive odds, they do small things that help.

Thanks to Anne Harris for the Parachutes, Oddballs and Beard and Firetoys for free kit, to Plucker and Scott for the website, and big shout to Jo Wilding, if she hadn’t started the big Circus Ball rolling we wouldn’t have this chance!!! Boomchuckas, Chilly boo, chilly bye bye...Aiwa]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=86&uvol=1 2007-03-07T22:31:00+00:00

So our week begins in West Jerusalem in a mixed school, it’s very rare, only a handful round Israel exist.

So the kids are better off, but like most enjoy the show, as our contact points out, you can't tell by looking who is Jewish and who is Arabic... just children enjoying the sunshine and clowns. They have lessons in whichever language the teacher speaks and grow... ]]>

So the kids are better off, but like most enjoy the show, as our contact points out, you can't tell by looking who is Jewish and who is Arabic... just children enjoying the sunshine and clowns. They have lessons in whichever language the teacher speaks and grow up speaking both and English, its good here!!!

There are lots of problems arranging holidays to suit all needs and some are culturally difficult too, but it seems to run very positively... I hope it continues and grows. Our second show that day is in Artas, near Bethlehem, so back over the border, it’s a pain with all our equipment, going through turnstiles and airport checks every time you want to go down the road... its gets really tiring now the novelty has worn off, there’s a big sign wishing peace to all on the Israeli side, courtesy of the ministry of tourism.

Oh, the irony!!! The show is epic we have an audience of over 400 on all sides which makes the infamous table trick with disappearing people tricky to pull off, but I reckon when things go a bit wrong it can be funnier, running around all the audience is hard work as the playground it pretty big but its really funny and I reckon most of the village are out to see it.

Afterwards we are privileged enough to get to look round the huge monastery at Solomon’s pools, there are seven springs here in a tranquil valley, growing lettuces that reach 4 foot long in the summer and have their own festival!!

We are presented with two freshly rinsed ones! Funny old world!! The only blot is the usual one of settlements looming up from the top of the hills and the new scars where the wall will go. At the moment it looks like a new road but its got an electric fence so its a bit more hazardous than a normal road!!!

W also venture far south this week to small rural towns Yatta and As Suma, they are very close to the southern apartheid wall, and so have similar problems to most west bank towns. One group of girls we perform to are very reserved, way too quiet for my liking! The more isolated places become, the less chance girls have to express themselves, its quite disturbing.

Demonstrations

And so to Blin, there has been a demonstration there every Friday for the last 2 years against the wall, the land is cut off from the village by a large new scar road and 63 percent of the land is inaccessible to the villages to farm. There are also two massive settlements being built on the land.

This is one of the few places where people protest, its a icon of what is happening elsewhere. We do a show the day before and you can feel the tension, lots of people come and I reckon they need some light relief here, its one of our maddest shows, really quite wild and the extra strong coffee we get beforehand probably has the right effect.

On the demo day we do some straight circus for the crowds as they arrive, we keep the kids attention with magic and poi and stilts...help some feel less nervous anyway, although the demonstration is billed as non-violent it has a history of aggression, stone throwing, tear gas, sound bombs and rubber bullets. Rubber bullets are normal bullets with a rubber coating, by the way seem pretty likely to appear.

And they do within five minutes of the march down to the barrier, we are running away, eyes streaming from the tear gas, nasty stuff and there are several injuries to demonstrators, I reckon it was one of the most uncomfortable times I’ve had, waiting to get shot at by one of the most notorious armies on the planet...so me and miss me run back to the top of the hill and play with kids again, with a backdrop of smoke and sound bombs, very weird...but at least the kids have something to do this Friday, instead of watching the violence again.

I can see why this demo happens but it attracts such a huge media circus it just makes me sad at the end of it, these images get shown around the world and it’s not what life is really like here...also the violence from both sides only happens because of the occupation, stop that illegal presence and who knows! back to rural farmland and normal life, a dream most Palestinians I’ve met still hold in their hearts and minds.]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=85&uvol=1 2007-02-23T18:54:00+00:00

So you know you’re entering the west bank when the roads get bad and the smell of burning rubbish clouds your head...

It’s amazing from west Jerusalem into the east side *confusing hey! It’s only meters apart but where the border crosses is so evident from a modern well-equipped city bursting with shops and people doing their thing to a third world country with rubbish everywhere.

The... ]]>

It’s amazing from west Jerusalem into the east side *confusing hey! It’s only meters apart but where the border crosses is so evident from a modern well-equipped city bursting with shops and people doing their thing to a third world country with rubbish everywhere.

The areas just behind the wall seem most cut off. Ghettos is the only word to describe them, dead ends where people cling to existence...only 10 or 20 percent of men have jobs!!! The roads are terrible but the most disturbing sight is the piles of rubbish left out because there are no services here, so burning is the only way to remove it...even if that’s next door to a kindergarten.

Our show there goes down well as ever the little kids are like kids everywhere. They are innocent, playful and have fun with us for the hour we do the show and play parachute games. But I hate to think what their lungs are like, I can feel the pollution in mine, and its gives me a headache... but I can leave!

The wall is so high here, 8 meters and snaking its way through towns cutting off families and trade, but it’s like it’s so tall that the world cant see over it any more and its easier for us to think that all the people in Palestine are terrorists and therefore not worth caring about?

But these are children like in any other part of the world and they have the same rights under UN law to health and welfare, so how come the mainstream media paints such a dark picture...is it because the minute you start believing in these kids you stop believing in consumerism and shopping to live!

It all flies out of the window when you see this mess that can only be about controlling resources and ownership of land because nothing else seems to make sense in this crazy situation. So onto our next show that day, it was going to be in a schoolyard that has been cut in two by the concrete monster wall but its been moved to over the street because a 10 year old girl was shot dead there about 3 weeks ago, so the headmaster reckons its too dangerous to perform there, I reckon he’s right!

From this schoolyard you can see the wall. The children here are wild, really full on, it’s these communities that are being really badly hit and the tension in the air is palpable, as is the smell of burning rubbish! People here are constantly harassed and live in fear of IDF intrusions and beatings...see the state report from Abu Dis and write to the Israeli council about it!! Inaction is a weapon of mass Destruction * Massive attack 2005.

Our third show that day is in east Jerusalem but not behind the wall, so the kids are healthy and wealthy looking! No bad air and access to amenities is no a problem, as ever they love the show and the parachute gets a tough work out...just such a difference in their environment and opportunities, only 100s of meters away behind the wall kids have so little and these ones have so much...apartheid, ghetto, brutal discrimination I’d call it...what would you call it?]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=84&uvol=1 2007-02-22T09:02:00+00:00

Salfit is in the north of the west bank and pretty rural, it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve visited in the world. The mountains are high, their slopes terraced and covered in olive trees...the sheep and goats wander freely, there are tiny villages dotted about. People here have a very low-key way of existing, they live from the ground we are told, olives,... ]]>

A show we do in a tiny (and I mean tiny!!!) village hall is packed, and the girls have come out, which doesn’t always happen.. Luckily the roof is high and Ruth can do stilts. We are told that the kids were scared to come because we are strangers and most strangers spell trouble round here, so the fact that so many have come is a honour...and they will tell their friends that didn’t come that the circus people are OK and play mad games and make you laugh, it’s important that kids learn that the rest of the world isn’t against them and doesn’t want to collectively punish them, isn’t it?

The parachute games here are the most full on to date, some places the kids are hesitant to go under the chute when we lift it up but here they rush under and go completely loopy, its like they are releasing a lot of pent up frustration, it’s like they are free to go mad for a few minutes... it's great to see and afterwards they are buzzing and happy like kids should be.

Our last date this week is in a tiny village that nearly didn’t make it. Settlers appeared in the valley and threatened the residents with violence if they didn’t leave; this was about 2 years ago. They all left overnight from their homes that they had lived in for 100’s of years, they were scared for their lives. Internationals found out and promised that if the villagers went back to their houses that they would stay with then and monitor the occupation of the hill tops around them. This happened and so half of the people returned and still live there.

We do our show with an epic backdrop of hills and clean air, the kids are more nervous but get into the swing of things, the internationals thank us a lot for coming, breaking the routine and making the kids laugh. There’s some pictures on flickr.com (badgerlady7 www.flickr.com/photos/63405057@N00/ ) of this place, the hidden side of Palestine, the simple way of life that is being eroded daily by the occupation. It’s really sad to say goodbye to this place. It looks like we’ll be back, we have no choice, everywhere we go people say “See you next year!”. Now I’ve met these children I think it would be impossible for me not to return. Palestine steals your heart and also keeps it warm for you, the dark pools of brown eyes staring at you and asking for your name everywhere you go, I couldn’t turn my back on this place, so how can the western world do it?

I know that doing something, even if it is only a tiny circus on a short tour, feels better than doing nothing, I feel useful and wanted here, not like I do at home where I feel like a lost consumer being sold crap that I don’t want in exchange for a promise of a better life if I own ALL THE RIGHT THINGS... that’s no life!!! Here people are still happy with the small things, like friends and family and air and trees and mountains. Its simple and sweet!]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=83&uvol=1 2007-02-14T15:55:00+00:00

What can I say but Jenin rips out your heart and breaks it...this place is full of contrasts and amazing people but is so hard to deal with emotionally.

Jenin is up North in the West Bank and very cut off from the rest of it, access is via several IDF checkpoints and it feels tense.

We are welcomed into a family house initially, we are eating and... ]]>

Jenin is up North in the West Bank and very cut off from the rest of it, access is via several IDF checkpoints and it feels tense.

We are welcomed into a family house initially, we are eating and making jokes about our Matt as he is so slim and we joke to the man of the house (he is young and slim) about how slim he is; he explains its because he was shot...shit clown humour slightly off he mark again.

The family are lovely and feed us well, we are all in the same room together and during the second night are woken by the sound of gunshots and grenades nearby. Not a good nights sleep, but for the family woken at 3 in the morning and turfed out of their house it must have been horrific. The next day Matt scanned the internet for news of the raid and only found two lines of text on an obscure website.

That’s one of the major problems here – the media! All we tend to see on major news reports is the bad stuff, normal lives just aren’t glamorous enough??? And Palestinians being shot and wounded on a regular basis just don’t make it to our eyes and ears.

Although the Middle East is always portrayed as a hot bed of unrest and fanatics most of the people we encounter are just trying to live their lives peacefully and send their kids to school and then work like any other people throughout most of the world.

The idea that people here are so used to war and death than when its happens is doesn’t matter is extreme misinformation, that’s just sick, families here love each other infinitely, and dead children hurt beyond belief...on either side of the conflict.

What does your head in most here is working with such lively, talented positive kids and then realising that so many may end up as future martyrs, whose posters adorn most of the walls and shop front shutters in this town.

If you want to find out more about this place, the best way is to watch the film Arna's Children available from thefreedomtheatre.org It graphically portrays how ordinary people become "terrorists" and how in conditions like these its so normal for that to happen.

Our shows work well and the kids from the Street Circus here enjoy 3 days of workshops and contact with clowns from the outside world. Circus lifts spirits and gives people a positive activity to fill their time with...it really does work. Since last year more groups have sprung to life and on both sides of the wall – it’s becoming a really alternative activity... I just hope it spreads quickly and that the sides unite in their youthful vocation enough o make a real difference in the future.

All the young Israelis that we have met do not want the wall and many are very active in their opposition to it...Vive Le Future!!!!]]> Circus2iraq http://www.circus2iraq.org/updates.asp?page=82&uvol=1 2007-02-12T09:09:00+00:00

Report from Jenin – Feb 11th, 2007

Jenin is situated in northern Palestine, the city is divided into Jenin city and Jenin camp and the refugee camp has been there since 1953. Jenin has seen some really hard times; the battle of Jenin in 2002 has left more than tank tracks in the streets and piles of rubble. The streets of Jenin are covered in imagery... ]]>

Jenin is situated in northern Palestine, the city is divided into Jenin city and Jenin camp and the refugee camp has been there since 1953. Jenin has seen some really hard times; the battle of Jenin in 2002 has left more than tank tracks in the streets and piles of rubble. The streets of Jenin are covered in imagery of Martyrs, be it a photograph or painting of a young man with a gun, this is pretty much the only imagery there is on the streets. It is difficult to understand how this can be, how this is so normal.

However, we are here for the kids, taking them off the streets and away to clown land albeit for half an hour. There is a theatre in Jenin camp called the Freedom Theatre; it has been re-established for a year after it was destroyed in the second intifada. This place (thefreedomtheatre.org) is inspirational and they have great plans. It creates a space for kids to be kids, free from the violence around them and harsh realities of their lives; it is also about empowering the kids through theatre and role-play, there are plans for a Freedom Theatre Circus too!

Whilst in Jenin we did three shows at the Freedom Theater on a proper stage and everything, we didn’t know ourselves! One show was for around 200 boys; it was absolute mayhem and brilliant fun! Ruth did a fire show and they were so excited they started to clamber over each other. When Ruth ate the fire their mouths just dropped in astonishment. After the show they rushed the stage with such enthusiasm and curiosity that we needed help!

We did some parachute games with the kids that regularly hang around the theatre. They loved it; running under the parachute seems to be a firm favorite wherever we go. We also did workshops for the theatre group of young men and women. Separately, the boys were a little shy and uncomfortable at first but soon loosened up when it came to “sad, happy, angry and crazy corner”, a game where as you move round the room you become sad, happy, etc.

The time with the girls was also good; they were willing and able. We also worked with the street theatre based outside the camp; they had immense energy and enthusiasm to learn. They wanted to know all our tricks and learn more clowning. We had a really positive exchange. Everyone we met here was ready to soak up all we can offer and it made me want to put in all I had and more.

Leaving Jenin was hard. We were there for 4 days and had begun to establish relationships with the kids and adults alike and make friends. But it’s more than that; it’s something I cant express yet it’s feelings, not quite words. Looking at children who have these open hearts and shining eyes, all strong and individual in their personalities and you look at the posters that surround them and wonder what will happen to them in the future. The choices are limited here. Freedom is elusive in an occupied country.

I hope Jenin has brought home to me what a tiny drop in the ocean we are, doing something feels better than doing nothing, trying to be part of the solution.

Missme the Clown, aka Annie]]> Circus2iraq