Carmen's entry...

At lunch we (Ali, Jared and I) left on the 38 on our way to 30 Van Ness. We were on our way to interview my Uncle, Tito. He is a health advocate for the City Of San Francisco and works with the Department of Public Health. However in his free time he has had the opportunity to travel to different countries and experience different perspectives.

In 2004, during Ramadan, he embarked on a trip to the Middle East to see first hand what was happening there. He chose to visit different Palestinian villages that were close to or were occupied by Israeli settlements. He stayed in Balata in Nabulus, Budros, and Jenin. He experienced the life of Olive farmers; he picked olives with them, and fled from Israeli soldiers along their side. He told us of how the construction of “The Settler’s Road” had affected the lives of farmers, because more often than not, the roads were built in a way so it was against the law for olive pickers to do what their ancestors had done for centuries: pick olives. In one picture he illustrated how difficult it would be for a Palestinian to travel anywhere, it was just easier for them to stay where they were, rather than leave and have to deal with that hassle. He also told us of how throwing rocks has just become a way of life, it no longer conscious act of resistance, rather it is engrained in the younger generations. They are constantly resisting. Instead of going to school, children wait along roads and wait until settlers or Israeli soldiers come so that they can throw rocks at them. It’s not just a civic duty that is forced upon them; they have taken it upon themselves to create it part of their day.

All in all we learned a lot and we are glad that we have a great source whose trip to Palestine was based and centralized around the olive trees like our project.