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SHARING STORIES
The following is a manual about writing a value-based story on social violence in Palestine, with a foreign audience in mind.
The manual shows the steps one may take in writing a story and illustrates those steps by the example of a story from a refugee who originally comes from Ein Karem near Jerusalem.
Introduction
Storytelling differs from describing a situation from the outside. A storyteller is a participant. He or she does not take the role of a historian describing and interpreting a situation more or less objectively. A storyteller communicates the feelings and values that came up during the events and experiences. Involvement is the core of storytelling. Storytelling differs also from argumentation. The main question in storytelling and story listening is not whether the events are described in the most logical way. The real question is whether the storyteller’s involvement with the events can be understood, whether feelings can be recognized and values shared. And since you and your communication partner are both storytellers and listeners, at issue is also whether you can tell a story in such a way that your listeners understand your involvement, feelings and values.
Narrating stories: Tools and techniques of creating a narrative atmosphere and constructing a story
Sometimes stories about social violence come naturally. But at other times it may not be easy to create a story based on your own experiences. A story is a way of expressing your personal involvement. Most of the time storytelling leads you back to past experiences. In a very special sense, storytelling is a way of remembering. Narrating makes memories very vivid. Below we offer you some guidelines to help you bringing your past experiences alive again. It is only intended to give you the opportunity to respect your memories, put them into words and revive them in al their colors. By doing so you communicate your memories to your friends. The words and perspectives through which you convey your experiences enrich and deepen a first attempt to memorize, which is often superficial.
In consultation with your teacher you can choose between two ways of developing your story.
The first way
The first way is telling the story as it comes to you, allowing the events and words to flow spontaneously. Afterwards you may refine the story by reflecting through a "looking glass," and by paying close attention to different aspects. The aspects the looking glass reveals are provided by the following guidelines. Check them first and then write the story.
The second way
The second way is evoking the story from your own memory by following a number of steps. During this "walk" various aspects of your memories come to the surface, more or less systematically. This procedure is not a test or a way of trapping your memories and putting them into a cage. In fact it is the opposite: it is a way of evoking your story, bringing it alive and communicating it.
Developing a story
In addition to guidelines, we offer you a practical example of how a story may be developed by applying the guidelines.
Guidelines for developing a story
1. Remember a situation which you consider a form of social violence
2. Remember the details and specific events that occurred in this situation
3. Describe the feelings that come up in you when you evoke the events
4. Express the values behind these feelings
5. Relate these values to religious and cultural traditions
6. Describe the moral problem
7. Describe the contrasts through which you organize the details and events
8. Construct the plot
9. Relate the characters’ actions to the values and moral problem
10. Decide about the stylistic presentation of the story
11. Write the story
12. Give the story a title
Palestinian example
Step 1.
JUST SIT DOWN AND REMEMBER A SITUATION OF SOCIAL VIOLENCE
In Palestine, we experience a lot of violence. Rubber bullets, live ammunition, helicopter gunboats, tanks… Many young people suffered injuries and were killed while facing the Israeli army. Is there any need for us to write about violent oppression here, when everybody all over the world watches it on the news?
This project is about social violence. What does that mean? It is about violence which is not only at the surface of events but which is about unjust relationships, about a lack of rights. It is about preventing that people are able to participate fully in the world.
Of course, Palestinians experience a lot of social violence. For instance, at the checkpoints our freedom of movement is halted. We cannot go where we want. Also, we don’t have granted our right to independence, we don’t have our own state. We cannot live, we cannot breathe easily, even when we don’t see guns.
So, what we need to do now is searching for a story which expresses this social violence. Maybe this story will contain some real violence, but I prefer that it is not too much. When we tell our gruesome stories of today’s violence, what would that mean for the Dutch who are going to read our stories? Maybe they watch already so much violence on the TV news, that it just frightens them or that they loose their interest. We have to think about how to show the social violence in such a way that the Dutch can identify with us. What we need to do is showing our story as people. Showing the humanity of our cause. Stories are about humanity, they show human beings who love, cry, have longings, want to have a good job, friends, and so on.
So, let’s see, what kind of stories can we tell?
Where does the story of our suffering begin? One of the root causes of the Palestine question is the fact that we are a people of mostly refugees. Many of our parents originally came from Palestine within the boundaries of what now is called Israel. Before 1948 there were hundreds of Palestinian villages there. During the Nakhba or Disaster (1948) Palestinians were forced to flee, and later on they were never allowed to return despite all UN resolutions. Many of the old villages were destroyed, but not all of them.
Like the majority of the people of Bethlehem, my father, too, is a refugee. He came originally from the village Ein Karem. That means: ‘generous spring.’ It is a very fertile village, beautifully located at the edge of Jerusalem, to the south-west. It used to be a mixed Christian-Moslem village. It is the birthplace of John the Baptist. There are a few churches which commemorate John the Baptist, and the meeting between Elisabeth (the mother of John), and Mary (the mother of Jesus). The meeting is, incidentally, described in both the Bible and the Koran.
When I was young, my grandfather and grandmother told me stories in which they used to draw a beautiful picture of the village. I could really imagine it, with all its lands, terraces and fruit trees. They felt terrible when they had to leave it. For Palestinian peasants, their house and land and trees are everything. When you take these away, you rob them from their life. I was barely able to keep my tears inside when my grandparents talked about their flight. I could vividly picture that moment in 1948, on April 21, that the people of Ein Karem heard that a massacre had been committed by Zionist forces in the neighboring village of Deir Yasin. After that, they were so scared that they decided to leave. They quickly put mattrasses, blankets and valuable things on a cart. Then they took the road where now the modern hospital of Hadassah is located, and many fled in the direction of Bethlehem. Still there are many people in Bethlehem and Beit Jala who originally come from Ein Karem.
At present, the village is an Israeli one. There are the churches, but otherwise the population is Jewish. There are tourists coming, from many countries, also Holland. Some of the inhabitants are artists, and, in fact, the village is presently known as an artist’s village. In a way, it reminds me of a painting of the Garden of Eden, of Paradise, a lovely place if not for the bitter memories the Palestinians have.
I think that my story should be about this village. Even though I never lived in it, I know it very well from my grandfather’s and grandmother’s stories, and I am attached to it. The fact that I am not able to live in the village feels like real structural violence. Israel excludes me from this village, although it is mine. I am only able to visit it with a special permit allowing me to enter Jerusalem. In the past I visited the village a lot of times, for picnics. Many times I went close to the house where my grandparents lived, and looked at it. Yet I never dared to knock at the door, and to ask the present owners – Jewish artists originally from Eastern Europe, I once heard – to allow me to have a look inside.
I want to write about Ein Karem because it is about my roots. I don’t think that I will ever live in it in the future. The political situation is not so good for the Palestinians that I think I will ever have the possibility of returning to this village. And anyway, if there ever comes a political solution in this land it is more likely to be a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Still I want to tell the story of this village and of my family. Telling this story to other people makes me feel somehow relieved. It is as if I get a voice, as if I and other Palestinians are granted the right to tell our story and that the truth is heard.
Step 2.
MEMORIZE THE DETAILS AND SPECIFIC EVENTS THAT OCCURRED IN THIS SITUATION
What are the events which really evoke the harmony of village life before 1948? Let me think… Yes, the harvest time. My grandparents had a little “qasr” (“castle” – a small house with a tower in the countryside) where they stayed during the summer harvests. After a day hard working, they there came together to talk with the family and the helpers, to sing, to tell stories, to enjoy the nature and the beautiful views. (By the way, it is said that Elisabeth met Mary in just such a little country house – I can easily imagine how Mary sang the Magnificat there, the song to praise the Lord. The peasants, too, Moslem and Christian, used to thank God for receiving a good harvest). When I will interview my grandparents, it will not be difficult for them to tell the details of such happy evenings. When they tell, it is as if I can smell, touch, feel the beauty and harmony of Ein Karem.
Another very important event in my story is the moment of loss, when my family decided to leave. The moment they left the house was like a terrible blow. In the beginning they thought that they could return, but within months they realized that that would not be possible. If I understand our project well, it is necessary to give details what happened at such very important moments; how my family felt, how they looked, what were their last words in the villages, whether there were any people who stayed. Only with such little details, it becomes possible that my Dutch teammates can really imagine what happened. I hope that when I interview my grandparents, they will not cry. It is difficult for them to talk about all this. But maybe… it is good for them, too, to talk about what happened. It may release them a bit from their pain.
There is also another moment…. which has not yet happened. If I can travel to Jerusalem and Ein Karem in the coming weeks, I think about going to the house where my grandparents lived and asking the present inhabitants permission to visit the house and the garden. Maybe I can even talk with them. It is not that I like the idea. I don’t look at them very sympathetically. They are living in my family’s house. But it is not them who drove my family away. My problem is with the Israeli state who took over the Palestinian possessions. Because the new inhabitants come from Poland, they may be Jews who were saved from the Nazi camps. Maybe they have a terrible history, too, although that does not justify that they took my family’s home. I may write about the meeting I have with them.
Step 3
DESCRIBE THE FEELINGS THAT COME UP IN YOU WHEN YOU EVOKE THE EVENTS
The feelings are both positive and negative. Positive feelings are the happiness and joy my family felt when living in Ein Karem. I feel also pride that I come from a village with such an important religious history. Negative feelings are the feelings of loss, anger and bitterness, even hate, as a result of the Disaster in 1948 and the fact that my family and me were unable to return to the village. The feeling I feel most is powerlessness. Neither my family, nor me, nor my representatives have been able to change the situation.
Are there any other feelings? Yes, there may be complex feelings. Some of the artists living in Ein Karem perhaps have a terrible history behind them. I don’t like these people but I must admit that I also have different, positive and negative, feelings about them. I do not have anything against the Jewish people in Ein Karem as persons. They, too, have to make a living. But will they ever be my friends? No, I don’t think so. Still, many Jews and Palestinians have both a tragic history. After all, we are both human beings with our own stories. So yes, I do have negative and positive feelings towards them at the same time. Not all Israelis are like Sharon.
Step 4
EXPRESS THE VALUES BEHIND THESE FEELINGS
This is a difficult question, I never thought about that. My main feelings are powerlessness, anger and sadness. What are the values behind those feelings? I think it is a combination of two values. On the one hand, the value of a real community which I know from my grandparents’ stories, a community which was brutally uprooted from its lands and heritage. This community expressed an idea of beauty and hamony, of real living together. On the other hand, my anger and powerlessness comes from a feeling of injustice. I never understood why Israelis have the right to bring people from all over the world to live on our land, while we are not allowed to live there. We are denied rights which other refugees have, like in Kosovo. There the world community intervened and they were allowed to return. But we are treated in an unequal way. The injustice comes from the fact that I do not receive the rights others receive.
Are there other values? Yes, we all long for peace, as long as it is based upon justice. I wish to live in peace with everybody as long as my rights are assured. I believe in the value of humanity, that all people are human beings who should enjoy their civil and religious rights. It doesn’t matter whether they are Palestinians or Jews, or whatever.
Step 5
RELATE THESE VALUES TO RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS
This too, is a difficult question. Let’s look at the value of community. My religious teacher and social studies teacher helped me into this matter. My religious teacher said that both Islam and Christianity put a lot of emphasis on the idea of community. In fact, jami’a (mosque) means community, ‘umma means Islamic community. In Islam and Christianity, the first Moslems and Christians formed communities in which the believers really lived together and even shared their possessions. The first Christians and Moslems did not want to be rich but to be close to the poor.
Christians and Moslems still speak about ‘community of believers.’ When believers come together in a mosque or church, they form a community.
Now, if we know that Islam and Christianity stress community, what does the word exactly mean? I think it means equality, paying respect towards each other, listening towards each other, also learning from those who know more. When some members of the community have problems, there rests a duty on the other members to help them. In other words, being a member of a community also imples solidarity. Especially solidarity with the poor and oppressed.
I know this also from my father’s stories. In Ein Karem before the war, it was very common that the peasants helped each other, during the harvest or when someone was stricken by an accident, or when an army occupied the community. Also Christians and Moslems helped each other. They were part of a joint community.
What about the value of justice? Both Islam and Christianity put much value upon justice. There can be no peace without justice. Both the Islamic and Christian authorities say this. But what exactly does justice mean? Maybe it means that we should be able to live as a community, that we should be treated as equal members who can fully participate in a community. For in a religious community there should not be double standards, everybody is equal before God.
Justice is also rooted in the laws of a country and in international law. Peoples and individuals have rights, and these rights are embodied in international legal agreements. International law emerged after states discovered it was impossible to live together like in a jungle. There had to be international rules and norms. Palestinians have very clear rights according to international law. One of these rights is their right of return to their former homes and/or compensation with regard to the losses they suffered.
Step 6
DESCRIBE THE MORAL PROBLEM
The basic problem is very clear. My family comes from a community in Israel and is now excluded from it. Moreover, we do not get enough support to be able to change the situation. We are powerless. The only thing I can do is to raise my voice.
Maybe that is exactly the moral problem…. You become angry and hateful because you feel so powerless. There is no way to improve your situation, to gain your rights.
But in our religions, it is said that we need to lift the spirit. There is no life without hope. The meaning of Jesus born in Bethlehem is the coming of new life, of hope. And in Ein Karem, it was Elisabeth who told Mary about the coming of Jesus the prophet. So our religions tell about the coming of new life…. But how can we think about this in such a difficult, desparate situation? From where do we get hope and inner strength?
Step 7
DESCRIBE THE CONTRASTS THROUGH WHICH YOU ORGANIZE THE DETAILS AND EVENTS
We have the following contrasts:
- Between the harmonious village life and the uprooting in 1948
- Between me and the Israeli state who does not allow Palestinians the right of return
- Between Palestinians like me who are not able to go to Jerusalem without a special permission, and the Israeli soldiers who halt me at the checkpoints
- Between me and the present-day inhabitant of the house where my family lived
- Between my present feeling of powerlessness and the hope I need to have according to my religion
Step 8
CONSTRUCT THE PLOT
Now my plan is clear. I am going to write a story about myself discovering my roots in the community of Ein Karem. A am going to see if this journey offers a glimpse of hope. Once I saw a film of a Dutch filmer (Rudolf van den Berg) who accompanied the well-known Palestinian painter Kamal Boullata on his journey back home to Jerusalem. Other Palestinian authors and filmers showed their journey to a lost home, too.
If I think it over, it is like a double journey. A journey in present-day time, with its own difficulties, like traveling through or around the checkpoint. But it is also a journey which rediscovers the past whereby I make use of the memories of my grandparents about the community in which they lived.
My story will take place at two different moments in time. The first story is about my grandparents’ life, how happy they were, and how they lost their home. I describe how my grandparents collected the harvest, and how they came together during the summer evenings.
The second story is about myself right now returning to the village, and meeting the new inhabitants of the house. On my journey I describe the meaning of some of the things I see… the checkpoint, the trees of Ein Karem, the churches, the abandoned mosque which is still there and which commemorates the well of Mary… I make a story which consists of some of the stories and memories connected to these various places, the feelings and values they evoke. The powerlessness I feel. Finally I reach the family house… I may see some things which also return in my grandfather’s stories, like the garden and the tree in front of the house. Then I write about how I knock on the door of the house and meet the present-day inhabitants. (I don’t think my grandfather can join, it’s too much for him). I’ll ask the residents whether I can go around in the house and the garden. In that conversation, I will show my sense of justice. Not by giving a speech, but by showing how much I know about the place from my grandfather’s stories. And I listen to their story, but as an equal.
If they shut the door, if they don’t let me in, I will write that down, too. If they still continue excluding me, it is an appropriate ending of the story to show Israel’s social violence in that one little act. The blow of the door then becomes a symbol of all the social violence I face.
Step 9
RELATE THE CHARACTERS’ ACTIONS TO THE VALUES AND MORAL PROBLEM
This is now clear. Through my and my grandfather’s discovery journey into the past we show the harmonious community of Ein Karem, the injustice my family faced, which is the source of our anger. I cannot do much about my anger. I do my discovery journey alone, with my grandparent, armed not with weapons or an army, but just with my notebook and memory. My journey shows that I am powerless in the sense of not having real force. However, I do have some power by telling my and my family’s story.
In the interview with the present inhabitant, I wish to show my affection to this place. But I also want to express the hope that, once in the future, and based upon principles of justice, Jews and Palestinians can dialogue and live together in this land.
Step 10
DECIDE ABOUT THE PRESENTATION OF THE STORY
• I will write sometimes in the “I” form and sometimes in the “we” form. My journey is not the journey of just myself, or of my family, but also of all other Palestinians.
• Part of my story will be in the past, part in the present.
• During the journey, I will show myself having hesitations and doubts whether I really want to go to the house or not. Am I (and my grandfather) able to confront the family’s roots, and to confront the present situation at the same time?
• During the journey in the village, my grandfather points things out to me, telling his memories.
• When he tells about this, I will write about my own feelings and values, my powerlessness and the little hope I have.
• I’ll keep the ending open, so as to preserve some hope for the future.
Step 12
GIVE THE STORY A TITLE
“A knock on the door.”
Source: Teacher manual Sharing Stories prepared by a team of educators from Palestine and the Netherlands in 2000.
Organization: IKV (Interchurch Peace Council, The Hague) and AEI-Open Windows.
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