Day 1 - contrasts

Day 1

“The people here move differently than in London,” was Anas’ first thought as we walked around Aubervilliers on our first morning in Paris. It’s Anas’ first time in France and for three of our other Palestinian participants, their first time in Europe or leaving Palestine. Our first stop on our tour (guided by the incredibly lovely and welcoming Fordeoux), was the science museum. Although we could no venture around inside due to the school trips that were taking place, we explored the beautiful green grounds and took hundreds of photos next to the river. As we sipped our coffee and walked over the bridge you couldn’t help but notice the masses of school children who were eating their lunches and playing amongst the big art pieces in the park. I spoke to Mounia who said that as a mother, she couldn’t help but see the children running so freely, exploring the museum, without being reminded of her own children and their limited freedom in Palestine.

The schools in Palestine do not have these kind of opportunites. They have only one outing every year, where they travel to Ramallah for a picnic. But because of the checkpoints the travel is an hour and a half and they are only allowed once a year. Seeing the children with so much around them to stimulate their brains made Mounia simultaneously touched and yet so sad for Palestinian children who aren’t offered the same environment to grow and learn. The discrimination that Palestinian children face with regard to education is heartbreaking. ‘Mesh hayah’, she finished. This is not life.

After lunch we met with ‘De l'Autre Cote’, our French partners, to hear more about their work as an organisation. The Palestinians then rallied together to make Makluba for dinner. As Ali prepared the salad, Mounia seasoned the chicken and Aseel peeled potatoes, I sat down with Issa to reflect on the discrimination we had witnessed so far. 

‘I don’t understand’, Issa began. ‘When you are in the center of Paris it’s like walking through a movie; the streets are clean, the buildings well kept. Here in the outskirts, in the Arab and African communities, it is very run down. There is rubbish everywhere and the roads aren’t built properly. Why do the French authorities care so much more about the wealthy, white areas, than they do about the Arab and African communities? This is discrimination in front of our eyes!’

Whilst we spent time in the organisation's space, we saw many people pass through and it became clear how hard ‘De L’autre Cote’ work to strengthen the community here in  Aubervilliers. As we ate our Makluba together we laughed, we reflected on the day and we continued to build bridges across the globe.