جامعة النجاح الوطنية
An-Najah National University

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Big thanks to all the An-Najah University coordinators and students, we had a ‎wonderful workshops at the University. The enthusiasm of all of you is highly ‎appreciated. Your smile, greetings and fast responses to all questions gave us the ‎feeling of being at home‏.‏


By: Mark Ko

In this training workshops, I have learnt a lot about the past, present and future ‎of Palestine. The Coordinators of Zajel Program gave us a brief introduction of ‎Palestinian history. Three professors from different departments told us the ‎politics, energy uses and women rights in the country. They also shared many ‎stories with us. Some stories are very sad but they reflected the difficulties faced ‎by Palestinians and more importantly, the strong characteristics of Palestinians‏.‏

When we go outside and talk to people, I feel like I am a Palestinian. People ‎welcomed me with tea, juice, candies and chocolate. They told us their stories ‎and sometime showed us their wounds which were made during the fight for ‎freedom. Sometimes I was emotional and wanted to do something for the peace ‎in Palestine‏.‏

When we went to Hebron city, I was shocked by what I saw. The Israeli settlers ‎and soldiers there destroyed the peaceful lives of local people. Although local ‎people face lots of difficulties, they fight for justice. They formed the group ‎‎"Youth Against Settlements" which showed us their power of resisting the ‎injustice‏.‏

We lived in the city and experienced what locals experienced. Since the Israeli ‎government tries to make the lives of Palestinians difficult, the Palestinian ‎telecommunication and agricultural companies entered unfair competitions with ‎Israelis'. The Israeli government also controlled all water and electricity supply ‎in Palestine. People suffered from shortage of water. Yet the Palestinians are ‎strong enough to face the difficulties‏.‏

I felt sorry that we did not offer much to the people in Palestine. The ‎Palestinians teach us many things. What I can do is to let people know more ‎about Palestine and encourage people to come and see‏.‏

Let me end with the quotation from Holocaust Museum: "A country is not only ‎what it does, it is also what it tolerates." I hope all people can live in peace‏.‏


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