In the desert..
At one of the world’s most beautiful places is a town. Less than a town it is a village. Ugly apartments and a gas station are in strong contrast with the biggest Maktesh crater in the world. In the middle of the Negev is where you find Mitzpe Ramon. 4000 people from all over the world live together in this forgotten place.
I am here for a project. And as the days pass by I discover the treasures. In big hangars, in small side streets, behind the second hill is where there is a chocolate bar, and a dance school, huts for retreat, an alpaca farm, a soap factory and more. Strong and visionary people that were attracted to the emptiness, the silence and the challenge of the area. Every morning again they wake up, clean their place to wait for customers.
Others came here involuntary. When they arrived to Israel they were put on a bus and dropped in Mitzpe Ramon in the middle of the night. They came from Russia and Chicago and didn’t find anything to appreciate in the desert. No culture, no jobs, nothing for the future of their children. They would leave yesterday if they had the money for it.
Around the village are other houses, sheds sometimes. Bedouins live there in between their traditional nomad way of living and the modern life with TV’s, houses and jobs. In search for their new identity they have been in a struggle with the government for the past 60 years. They hold the secrets of nature and survival but are a threat to the system.
My job is to go round and interview all these different people about their visions. How can eco tourism and social tourism contribute to a better life for all? How can a sleepy desert town realize its potential and become attractive for tourists again?
very few facilities. The Israeli occupation has a big impact on their daily lives. It is impossible to travel outside the Westbank without a special permit. The men who used to work in Israel until few years ago are now sitting at home idly. There is an unemployment rate of 58% in the area. The women keep their heads up and work hard to keep their big families fed and educated.
“Have you ever been in a country more miserable then this?” the women try to figure out what is worse: the situation in poor Africa as they see it on television or their lack of freedom. I tell them about having to fetch water from a well, not having access to electricity or education, lack of rain and other challenges in Africa. In return we listen to their stories about Israeli soldiers that destroy their crops with jeeps just before harvest time. Olive trees take 20 years before the investment pays off but are cut by soldiers after 10. Israel compensates its lack of water by forbidding Palestinians to pump up water from their wells. Husbands and sons are in jail suspected of affiliation with the Hamas. A brother misses his leg because he was stopped at a checkpoint on his way to the hospital and sent back home. It’s a discussion without conclusion.
I join Robin and Joris to Ala’s house. We have a question for him and I’m curious to see how he lives. Ala is our translator and one of our bridges to the community. He studies at the Arab American University. He is one of those people whose bright eyes betray a busy inner life. It’s after sunset and as we walk the streetlights switch off. Power cut.
aying the beads. Ala gives him the beads, from Mecca! When the father leaves Ala lifts up the artificial flowers and gets a pack of cigarettes from the vase. All men sit contently smoking, laughing, discussing how to pick up a girl. I keep myself busy reading the books, smile about the jokes and attempt to make myself invisible.
The KaosPilots' Journey in Israel & Palestine 