Official Delegation Report 1

October 1st, 2002
Beirut, Lebanon

Seven of us gathered on Friday September 29th at the national Fellowship of Reconciliation headquarters in Nyack, NY, north of NYC. Joe Groves and Gretchen Merryman, Director of and staff intern for the Inter-Faith Peace Builders Programs, and others on the FOR staff provided a warm welcome as we converged on the FOR over several hours from various airports. I’m disappointed not to have a larger delegation, but quality compensates for quantity. We have an excellent group with three people from Minneapolis, MN, two from Santa Cruz, CA, and one each from Berkeley, CA, Dickinson, ND, and Olympia, WA.

The orientation was compacted to one day due to additional travel time necessary to include Jordan and Lebanon in our itinerary. We covered the practicalities of the delegation, issues related to traveling together and functioning well as a group, background to the region’s issues, etc. Hassle line exercises gave insights into how we can assure that our interactions with people we meet are most productive. More importantly, a sense of common purpose and camaraderie grows through group discussions, informal conversations and over meals.

On Saturday afternoon we piled into a borrowed van and were on our way to JFK airport. We were pleased to discover that the plane had extra seats, enabling us to stretch out if we wanted.

No matter how excited we may be about traveling to the Middle East, the 10 hour flight to Amman is grueling.

Amman, Jordan:
We arrived safely and on time on Sunday afternoon at Queen Alia Airport a half-hour’s drive from Amman. We had survived the flight despite babies crying in stereo non-stop and some of what must be the worst movies the USA has ever produced. Most of us got some, if fitful, sleep nonetheless. And we all were excited about our arrival in Jordan. We were greeted by 97 degree weather and by Iyad Sweileh, representing our tour agency Guiding Star. Iyad escorted us quickly through passport control and we soon were aboard our bus for the a half-hour bus ride to Amman. Our guide Mohammad Nablusi gave a brief overview of Jordan, including current pressing problems such as water and the threatened war with Iraq. Jordan is still suffering the effects of the Gulf War and views renewed war with Iraq with profound anxiety. Mohammed said the tourism is now Jordan’s leading industry, and talked about the excitement in Jordan at discovery of the place of Jesus’ baptism. He explained his disappointment that the number of tourists had fallen off dramatically with onset of the Second Palestinian Intifada or “uprising” precisely two years ago in September 2000.

We checked into the Ammon Hotel, 10 Tunis Street in Jebel Amman, between the fourth and fifth circles. We learned that Fr. Nabil Haddad was on his way over to meet us. Fr. Haddad, a Melkite Catholic Priest, had sent several enthusiastic Emails in advance of our arrival. We enjoyed chatting with him and learning a bit about the relationship of various faiths in Amman. Fr. Haddad represented that Jordan is a model for religious tolerance and that he enjoys great latitude in conducting his priestly functions. He is pastor to the second largest church in Jordan. We hope to visit there tomorrow.

After brief naps and showers, we returned to the ground floor for supper. Vicky Khano, President of Guiding Star, was in the lobby to greet us. She warmly welcomed us to Jordan and encouraged us to bring ten times as many people next trip. She joined the chorus of complaints about the drastic drop-off of tourists visiting Jordan.

We were joined for dinner by Lilian Peters, Quaker Middle East Representative, and David Jackman, Associate Middle East Representative of the American Friends Service Committee.

Over dinner, Lilian gave a good update on the situation in light of her time in Jordan and recent visits to Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza Strip. She observed that, in her contacts on the West Bank, she encountered more interest than ever before in nonviolence; recent violence had proven so disastrous for the Palestinians that people are actively exploring alternatives. Lilian also talked abut the region-wide fear about what would follow US attack on Iraq -- including possible attacks on Syria, Hizbollah in Lebanon, and refugees flowing into Jordan.

David Jackman talked about his work on small arms and the disastrous affect that a relatively small number of people with "light weapons" can have on an entire society and the damaging results of having no control on weapons streams.

Lilian and David agreed that it is very helpful to visit other countries in the region to try to understand the underlying relationships impacting and impacted by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

After dinner, we met downstairs for a more formal orientation to Jordan by Mohammed Nablusi. Mohammed presented a historical survey of Jordan, back to prehistoric times. He spoke of Jordan as a 'trans-country' or crossroads between three continents. After reviewing the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict, he stated several times that the Arabs are prepared to live with Israel, if the Palestinians only were given their own state. He expressed concern that the US intends not just to attack Iraq but to actually colonize the country. "This time Bush is Saddam Hussein."

The next morning we traveled by Bus to Al Wehdat Refugee Camp. (We are accompanied by a tourist policeman whenever we travel by bus in Jordan.) The camp is in the city of Amman, and to us virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding areas of the city. We visited several UNRWA institutions in the camp, including a health clinic and vocational training center. We visited two homes in the camp. The first was Saadeya Sialliadawi, a Palestinian woman from Gaza who described her difficulty not being able to return home to Gaza or to get assistance in Jordan. We were served tea and coffee in a second home, where several generations of one family talked about loss of their home near Jaffa and their desire to return to Palestine. We then walked through the main market area of Wehdat Camp and stopped at the Wehdat Sports Club, famous for many championship teams.

We were accompanied during our visit to Wehdat by several people, including Kamal Nassar, a former UNRWA official who retired in 1992, and Samir _____, an Evangelical Christian (Episcopalian) and Economic Editor, Jordan Times.

From Wehdat we boarded the bus about 10:30 and traveled across Amman to the US Embassy. The embassy is a beautiful and huge building complex -- fortress like. In better times it would be an attractive campus for a college or university. It is built to withstand attack -- a fact that its striking architecture does not accentuate, neither can it hide it.

We spent nearly two hours with Doug Silliman, political consular section. He said he would both express official positions and his own views. After 19 years in the region, he can a measured and articulate exposition of US policies and what he perceives to be Middle East realities. He said far too many -- almost all -- groups from the US with which he meets are interested in just marshalling arguments for one side or the other. Few take the time or make the effort to try to comprehend the nuances and complexities of the situation. He observed that US policy regarding Israel is not determined by foreign policy considerations --but is driven by domestic political considerations. He expressed some exasperation at trying to get his views heard back in Washington, DC, when all positions are shaped by Congress' sensitivity to pro-Israeli sentiment. He said that he thought US policy was influenced by conservative, mostly Christian, political opinion, rather than American Jewish opinion. Silliman spoke of his ambivalence about an attack by the US on Iraq. He said he thought "regime change" was a great necessity for the sake of the Iraqi people, but expressed moral and political reservations about the US initiating a war for that purpose. He said there was no doubt that Saddam Hussein was involved in producing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons of mass destruction.

Before we left, Doug encouraged to have other visitors call on him. He likes to talk with groups from the US. When asked if he might help us if we get some resistance to crossing into Israel, he strongly encouraged us to be in no way "confrontational" (the delegation with Congressional staff in June "had an attitude" that hurt their chances). He also gave us his cell phone # and told us to be sure to call if we encountered problems. He said helping in advance would probably be counterproductive, but that the Embassy specializes in responding to crises!

We left the embassy and arrived more than an hour late for our appointment with As’ad Abdul Rahman, a PLO Executive Committee member who recently resigned as Director for Refugee Affairs of the Palestine National Council. Abdul Rahman said he had been active attempts at reform within the Palestine Authority, protesting corruption and advocating for greater democracy. He said there is a tension between the two paths of national liberation and nation-building. The pursuit of national liberation has sometimes been at the cost of building a democratic Palestinian society, and more often is used as an excuse for anti-democratic actions within the PA. He referred to the Palestinian Declaration of Independence as the basis for any Palestinian nation-building, and observed that the current practices of Arafat and the PNA violated every basic tenant of the Declaration. Abdul Rahman pointed out that 69 Palestinians, including 11 children, had been killed during what the Western media and US government called a "period of quiet" before two suicide bombings triggered Sharon's order to surround Arafat's compound in Ramallah again. He said that replacing Arafat would make no difference in the Palestinian commitment to a peaceful settlement, but that attacks on Arafat had completely derailed the internal Palestinian reform movement that had been gaining momentum.

We returned to the Ammon Hotel for brief rest and to gather our bags. We stopped at the Black Iris Gift Shop en route to the Reem Albawadi Restaurant for a "Bedouin-style" dinner. Fr. Nabil Haddad joined us there and spoke enthusiastically of his efforts to build an interfaith peace movement. He wants to work actively with the FOR to that end.

Iyad from Guiding Star accompanied to the airport and through the airport procedures. We soon boarded the Royal Jordanian Airlines plane for the 48 minute flight to Beirut. The plane had very few passengers and the flight was uneventful.

We passed through customs and passport procedures (our passports were closely checked for Israeli visa stamps, but our bags were not opened or delegation members questioned about our itinerary or plans at any point).

Beirut:
Elias Abu Saba, our host and delegation organizer, met us at airport arrivals. He had rented a mini-van to carry us to Beirut, about 40 minutes' drive from the airport.

Elias lives in a 14 story building with furnished apartments -- the Daouk Apartments," that are run as a hotel with six days a week room service. We were relieved to check into our rented apartments after a full day of programming and the flight from Beirut.

Tuesday October 1:
We gathered for breakfast as Elias’ apartment on the 11th floor. He served us a special Lebanese food, "like pizza," consisting of mixed spices -- "za'atar" -- baked on flat bread, grapes, melon and herb tea.

George read passage from Thich Nhat Hahn on Walking meditation. At 8:45 a.m. we met in the lobby ready to begin our first full day in Lebanon. We walked about 15 minutes to the seaside campus of the American University of Beirut, stopping to buy newspapers and enjoying the smell of fresh cut flowers in the many shops along the way. We walked through AUB, which was founded by Presbyterians from the USA (and is still chartered in New York), including a brief stop at the Visitors' Bureau and at the memorial for AUB President Malcom Kerr who was killed during the Lebanese Civil War.

We waited along Rue Bliss for our minivan and driver -- people bought coffee or sodas from the various stores across the street from the main entrance to AUB. Armed military guards are deployed in front of the McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts.

Rev. Dr. Nuhad Tomeh, responsible for "international linkage" for the Near East Council of Churches, greeted us at the minivan and introduced us to Sylvia Haddad, who would spend the morning with us. Sylvia directs the Joint Christian Committee for Social Service in Lebanon and runs an interfaith school that we hope to visit.

We drove to the headquarters of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, that has 2,600 employees and a $50 million a year budget (plus an additional $20 million for special projects) in Lebanon. We had a stilted conversation with Alfredo Miccio, the Italian born director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon. He refused to "talk politics" but succeeded in making a series of passing observations to which the delegation took exception -- such as that the Palestinians were "Bedouin and peasants" and not as developed as the Lebanese when they arrived in 1948 as refugees. He described the free health care provided the 378,000 "registered" refugees in Lebanon, and UNRWA's success in extending free education through secondary school in Lebanon. He also described the inadequacy of funding to meet the health needs of the refugee population and the many restrictions that Palestinian refugees face in Lebanon.

We found the following conversation with Zein Seikaly, Chief of Field Relief and Social Services Program for UNRWA, far more insightful and helpful. Zein is a vivacious, committed person who truly understands what is going on in the refugee camps. She gave a more detailed but equally sobering description of the Lebanese laws that, for example, prohibit Palestinians from buying land in Lebanon.

Sylvia joined us for the ride back to Rue Bliss and lunch at the Socrate Catering Restaurant near AUB. We sat at two tables -- some talking with Sylvia and others with Elias.

We are taking a few hours off during the heat of the day. We'll renew our visit to Beirut with a walking tour at 4:00 p.m. In the meantime, a stop at the internet cafe has afforded the opportunity to submit this first report on our Interfaith Peace Builders delegation. Thus far the group has expressed gratitude for being able to visit Jordan and Lebanon, to provide background and depth to our understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We've been warmly welcomed at each stop. People are eager to make themselves understood to visitors from the USA. It is difficult to comprehend something like the 15 year long civil war in Lebanon (1975-1992) or the prospects of war with Iraq. But delegation members are eager to learn and making the most of our unique opportunity to be here.

We'll send more news later.

Scott Kennedy
Delegation Leader