Sunday - March 1 - 2009
Facilitators: Daniele, Jimmy, Lina, Karen, Riwa, Maian
Upon entering the Albert Nassar center in the Christian neighborhood of Bkennaya, we were greeted by a very large, sobering statue of the Virgin Mary. The Lebanese Girl Scouts we had helping us for the day were high school students from the Jesus and Mary school. Between the other adults and these Girl Scouts, this was the very first time all of our volunteers for an outing, were Christian.
It was only just a few days earlier, when I had viewed Ari Folman’s film, “Waltz with Bachir” – a very emotional, and for some, a re-traumatizing account of how the Palestinians were massacred in the Sabra & Shatila camp by Christian Phalangists – with the aid of Israeli troops - in Beirut, in 1982. The movie not only had reminded me of, but had further engrained in my head even more so, the uneasiness that exists between Lebanese Christians in particular, and Palestinians living here in Lebanon today.
I knew I wasn’t placing any Palestinian child “at-risk” by setting up such outing in Bkennaya, of course – but needless to say, I was still slightly anxious about any subtle tension or uncomfortable exchanges that might surmount. As it turned out, this would be the very first time these Christian Girl Scouts volunteered with Palestinians. As well, I’m not too sure whether the newly opened Albert Nassar center, in the heart of this Christian community, had ever hosted Palestinians before.
As I observed the Girl Scouts dancing with the kids, I began to wonder. I wondered what the girls thought. I wondered how privy these particular girls were to the history and strife between the two sides – most of which happened before they were even born. I wondered if the sincerity in their eyes and genuineness with the kids were really just a symptom of their own innocence and naivety to the history – or if they were fully aware, but still just truly loved dancing with these kids anyhow.
I wondered if at the dinner table that night, whether one of the Girl Scouts’ Fathers would slam his fork down upon hearing about the event, or wondered if he would smile, from across the table, commending her for her efforts. Would the girls go home and begin studying for their exams right after the outing, gossip while doing each others’ hair, forgetting to process their warm connection with these children this day - and transform back into being a “teenager” immediately? Or would they have the capacity to reflect about the day and realize what this tiny little event they were involved in, really had ultimately signified? Would they “get-it” that as they whirled and danced with these kids, what they were in fact doing was prancing and stomping all over a bitter history? Did they realize that this dance was helping to create a new one?
Driving home after the event, I couldn’t shake the image of these 3 Christian Girl Scouts swinging and swirling these Palestinian camp kids around, laughing, singing and connecting. As I drove a bit further into Ain Al Mreiseh, I noticed a large quote on the side of the Hard Rock Café, “The time will come when you see we are all one” – The Beatles.
