Three Palestinian sisters in their home just before it was demolished, al-Aqaba, the Jordan Valley, 2011. (Photo: flickr/frecklebaum)
Over the last 30 years, many Palestinian residents of al-Aqaba in the West Bank were kicked out of their homes when Israeli authorities turned their village lands in the Jordan Valley into a live-fire training zone. Only 300 Palestinians are left in their original houses, but 95% have demolition orders against them. Still, villagers who lost their homes decades ago are determined to re-build and return.
Defying the Israeli occupying authorities, the village has issued permits to build three new homes for three families on the original plots near the town’s multi-use three-story school, library and women’s sewing collective. The Rebuilding Alliance, a California based non-profit, is fundraising for the project spearheaded by a team of local engineers and the Palestinian architect Hani Hassan. Beginning last night at 11 o’clock EST, the Rebuilding Alliance pledged to match half the value of all donations made within a 24-hour period.
Executive director Donna Baranski-Walker’s pitch to help the Palestinians of al-Aqaba achieve their right of return:
In just a few hours time, Rebuilding to Remain in Palestine, goes into the Global Giving Match Day competition. The contest starts at 7:01 Jerusalem time (10:01 PM Chicago time). Help these first three courageous Palestinian families move into their new homes before Ramadan. Why courageous? 97% of the West Bank Jordan Valley Village of Al Aqaba is under demolition order.
To give, please click Rebuilding to Remain or just go to www.RebuildingAlliance.org and click GiveNow. Global Giving will match each donation by 50% (so high because “Rebuilding to Remain” now has “SuperStar” status) for amounts up to $1000. Please give early as GG’s $75,000 in matching funds will likely run out in the first few hours.
These Palestinian families are putting their life-savings into their new affordable, expandable homes but they cannot do this alone. They ask the world’s help to share the financial risk and join in pressing elected officials everywhere to recognize their building permits, issued by the Al Aqaba Village Council. Rebuilding Alliance, the sponsoring NGO, is advised to fly the flags of each donor’s country on the home and place a plaque too, as two weeks ago Israeli Army demolition bulldozers received new orders to avoid projects funded by foreign countries, with plaques on site.
Fly your country’s flag on a home in Al Aqaba Village! Please go to Rebuilding to Remain and make your donation.
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Perhaps you may wonder if or how this matters. This just in from Amos Gvirtz. Bardalah is very near Al Aqaba.
RE: “Help 3 families from al-Aqaba return to their village”
MY COMMENT: I made a modest contribution via PayPal. – link to globalgiving.org
“Rebuilding to Remain” has just made it to the top 10 in the GlobalGiving.org competition with $9928 in donations. If 70 more people give in the next 2 hours, we could reach FIRST in the “Most Unique Donors” category… we’re 5th right now. Your support, large or small, is a tangible endorsement that will open doors =)
How can I show you the amazing energy of Mayor Haj Sami’s village? Let me try …
Imagine you are staying in the “Al Aqaba Guest House for English Teachers and Visitors.” Welcome! Will you recognize the Mayor’s voice in the pre-dawn call to prayer? You may drift back to sleep only to be awakened by the sounds of birds and a tinkling, clanking sound like wind chimes, only moving from here to somewhere … the bells on the goats herded out to the hills.
The sun rising over the hillside is my favorite time to walk, explore, say hello. Walk down the ramp of the guesthouse, and up, up the stairs to the third floor of the Kindergarten building to visit the early-rising Al Aqaba Sewing Company. Then out the door, past the new sports pavilion (!), up the street along the new mural outside the mosque with the double minaret (like a peace sign, or a victory sign … or a sign of victory through peace!).
Keep going past the new building for the Rural Women’s Association. Two professional designers from Australia were just here, Hana Hakim and Kathrin Wheib, to help the Rural Women design their Cheese Factory, professional kitchen (to feed the international delegations now visiting every other day), and future roof-top cafe with ice cream machine!
If we head right, the Jordan Valley beckons to the east, with the twinkling lights of Jordan in the distance. Quickly you’ll reach the trenches scarring Peace Street, making this road to the kindergarten impassable once again. Thankfully the road funded by the Norwegians is still open, a splendid hike or jog up and down the hills.
Turn left instead. A new shelter is up for a villager’s black and white cows. And just down the street is the brick-making factory with new machines churning out the very first cement blocks that will build this town. Turn left by the big pine tree and you’ll see a “Rebuilding to Remain” home. What a light-filled and welcoming design Architect Hani Hassan created! (When he gave his speech at the Global Donors Forum in Malaysia, he said he was surprised how assertive the women of Al Aqaba were in the design process!)
Now look around. Three “Rebuilding to Remain” homes are in construction and some six other families are also building too! An unexpected vote of confidence.
Neighbors beckon and invite us to join them for sweet tea with Nana (mint). This is where school bus driver, Othman, waves to join him, driving over to do chores at his future home. He hooks up the hose from the cistern pump (each lot in Al Aqaba already has a cistern installed for their future homes), and heads up to the roof. The cement, still drying on his Rebuilding to Remain home, must be watered each day to prevent cracking.
Othman’s English is now better than my Arabic. He smiled as he told us that daughter Shahad and her brother Shadi insist upon playing at their new house every day, without fail.
Dreams made real.
Thank you so very much,
Donna Baranski=Walker
Founder & Executive Director of Rebuilding Alliance
P.S. To learn more and give, just click link to globalgiving.org
If you would like to see Rebuilding to Remain’s standing on the GlobalGIving Leader Board, click here