Eyes Of A Child: West Bank

We got on the bus this morning to go to Jenin. We rode our bicycles through Jenin and there were so many children waving at me. I feel so happy being here. We walked through the camp and saw some of the damage the Israelis had done and it made me feel really upset because the people have to live in dangerous homes because if there was an earth quake the houses could break apart.

Then we went to The Freedom Theatre and we saw a little film about the Israelis coming in with big tanks but I didn't want to see some of the stuff they were showing so I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes I saw the damage that was done after the Israelis came and it really hurt my feelings because I wanted peace not violence.

After that we went to a place called The Guesthouse and we put our bikes in one of the rooms and then I met a girl named Qut who is 8 years old and her little brother Saif who is 5 years old. They are really funny, they are very friendly and I'm having so much fun with them and they are teaching me a bit of arabic. I wish everyone could come here and see how incredible my friends are here.

I went to a school and it was so big! The big difference was from my school in France was that it had so many children! There was a little sport room where there was ping pong and I got to talk to the students and sang them a song about Palestine. The children asked me questions about my life in France. They thought my life was so different that there's and i think that's because there is a half-war.

They also asked me if Jenin was as scary as people say it is and i told them that they must be talking about a different Jenin, this Jenin isn't scary at all, i love it here!! i saw all the bullet holes in the buildings where they live, i don't know how to explain it but it made me feel really wierd because i don't see that where i live.

I learned about the settlers and the checkpoints, i think it's really mad that the palestinians need to go through checkpoints to get to their own land!! it's really mad!! i cycled so much today almost 27 miles! we went from Al Farra to Nablus.

The surroundings were quite dry, there was a lot of sand, hills and trees. I cycled mostly uphill and i fell twice.

The others tried to make me go into the car but i refused because I needed to prove myself to go all the way because mum didn't sign me in to ride in the car, she signed me in to cycle. we were also cycling with the boys from Qalqiliya and i think they are very nice, they all took me in as their little sister. I had so much fun with them and when we weren't cycling, they carried me around on their shoulders.

When we got to Nablus we walked around the markets in the old city. Then I went alone to someone's house, their names were Rola, Noor & Rana. They were very very kind to me and we watched south park & laughed a lot. it was late and i was really really tired and then i went back to where we were staying and fell asleep.

First of all we went on a bike ride but before that Anne woke me up and it was hard for her to wake me up, she even tried to tickle me but i just didn't want to get up. then we did some writings and then left Nablus and met the boys from the cycling club again and we rode together to their hometown in qalqilia.

I couldn't ride at one point because there could have been settlers there that could be angry at us so i had to ride in the car. one of the boys had an accident on the road, i think he was trying to show off but he tumbled in the street. i stopped to see what happened and some of his skin on his arm and leg started bleeding but he was OK and that made me happy. Then we went into this house and had a meeting but i thought it was a bit boring so i watched some of the boys play ping pong.

Then we went back on our bikes around the village and saw the big wall the israelis had built and it surrounds their entire town. it's very very big and goes straight up and you can't climb it, it's so ugly and it made me feel so unhappy because i understood what the palestinians felt and i think they feel scared and unhappy, it looks like a prison. i think it's really unfair. i don't think anyone should deserve to live like this.

Then we went to have lunch and there was one side for non-smokers and one side for smokers. i was very tired so we went to someones house and we had a shower and right now i'm sitting here with Anne writing about today and that's as far as i can go for now.

I couldn't do any cycling today because the roads were hilly and too dangerous so instead i went into a taxi and watched Tom & Jerry, my mum and Anne went with me and at one moment some Israeli soldiers came in an army truck and asked what we were doing and where we came from. then the tank drove over to the cyclists and i don't know what they were doing but it looked like they were harassing them.

We drove through so many mountains and my legs hurt just thinking about how hard the cyclists must be doing and then we saw them and they had stopped on top of a hill and Martin was very tired and said that if i saw someone lying on the road that it would be him and to throw him in the boot of the car. Then they cycled again and Martin was last. luckily noone fell off.

When we finally got to Bil'in Al Jazeera filmed us and asked us questions and mum did a message for Tony Blair, my uncle to help the people of Palestine and see how they live. After that we sat and had some food. Sahar was so tired that she actually slept on the floor.

We took lots of pictures and I played with the boys from from Qaliqilia then we went to someones house and had chicken and tomato.

There's a boy who's a bit smaller than me and he's 11 years old and he's got 2 brothers and one little sister who likes getting into trouble and we had some fun on the roof. This place is very beautiful and the people here are very nice and they treat me like family.

First of all we only had 4 hours of sleep because anne, my mum and me slept on the roof but the mosquitos were so bad we had to go back inside but Anne stayed on the roof. the view from the roof was beautiful. when we woke up we had some nice breakfast, some poached eggs and it was very very nice.

After that we started cycling to Ramallah. The roads were a bit slippy and all uphill. when we reached to the top i had to stop because there was a very steep downhill and a very steep uphill and i wouldn't be able to do them.

Next we stopped on the top of the uphill and saw the boys from Qalqilia again and Press TV was there to interview us about Palestine and if we liked it and I replied to all the questions. They asked me if i had a message and my message to the children of palestine is that i hope the occupation ends and that they have happiness for the rest of their lives.

After that we cycled while being filmed by the media to a checkpoint. i think it's just mad that they have to go through checkpoints, it's like saying i have to go through a checkpoint in england to go to england, it's just mad what they have to go through over here.

People had drawn pictures on the big barrier wall and there were loads of TV channels there filming me and my mum and they kept asking me the same questions over and over. then the boys from the cycling club had to leave and it was very very sad, I didn't want them to leave, everyone was hugging eachother and saying goodbye.

Then we went to a hotel where I changed clothes and had a little shower. Then I went to eat and after that went to a circus school with Anne and they did a little show and showed us what they have done and it was like dance, theatre and circus all mixed up, they used only body language and no words and I loved the performance they did for us, they are doing great work for kids in palestine and soon i hope they will do it for the kids in france. Then we went back to the hotel and my mum's working on the computer while i'm sitting here working on the journal with Anne.

We cycled from bethlehem to hebron and it was a very long ride. it was our last long cycle. there were lots of children yelling hello hello hello to us and it was really nice. we had lunch in hebron and rafat said to my mom guess who's in hebron and she asked who and he said Tony Blair, when we finished lunch we heard he was just about to go around the corner so we all lined the streets and Janet started shouting tony blair shame on you tony blair shame on you and i thought it was really funny even if he is my uncle.

It made me think about the story of the emperor’s new clothes, Well the emperor is blinded by what they do, because for real there is nothing there. And I think that’s what they are doing, because when he went to visit the Old City, and well, the Israelis didn’t make him go through the metal bit to get into the mosque; he went through the wide bit. So he thinks, ‘Well, then it's right what they say, these people aren’t poor, these people aren’t under an occupation.’ That’s what they are trying to make him see, so he can make others see the same.

Then we went back on our bikes and went on another short cycle to the old city and when you came in there were israeli soldiers looking down at you from the top of the buildings with big guns.

It was very scary because you never really felt safe there because loads of people stare at you, next to the old city there was a jewish settlement so they decided to put a net so that when the settlers throw their garbage and stones out of their wondows the people who walk in the old city won't get hurt. i was a bit shocked at how they behave because i didn't think human beings could act so horribly to each other and it hurt my feelings.

We went to see the ibrahimi mosque and you need to go through a big ugly metal turn style and their were israeli soldiers on the other side and one soldier was pointing his gun down and to me it felt like he was pointing it at me and it was very very scary. i thought it was wierd that the palestinians could live there with people always staring down at you, the people there are so nice .

We cycled to a blind school and some of the children could see a little bit and could use a magnifying glass to see properly. i thought it was a bit sad that they couldn't see but my mum and anne told me not to feel sad because they are in the best care centre.

Today I'm in Jerusalem and I'm leaving to go back home
and my message to the world is Visit Palestine!!

Protest the settlers!

Long live Palestine!!!