I’ve spent the past few mornings in Chatila, observing one of the classes that I am going to take over, and tagging along on tours of the camp. Yesterday, I went with an Italian journalist and a Najdeh staff member to interview women who were there during the massacre in 1982. The stories were sad and sometimes gruesome, but the women seemed to want to talk about it. They invited us into their homes, which had all been made as cozy as possible. One woman proudly showed us her map of Palestine hanging on the wall, depicting all of the old villages. I also took many pictures, which I will post soon.
A quick bit of history- Chatila together with the nearby neighborhood of Sabra was the site of a massacre conducted by Lebanese Forces (Christian Phalangists) who were at the time controlled by the Israeli forces in Lebanon, of which Ariel Sharon was the commander. In September of 1982, the PLO and other militant groups had all left Chatila- the only people who remained were civilians, and mostly women, children, and elderly. The Phalangists entered and went on a killing spree for 3 days, murdering about 2000 people. They were buried in mass graves or left where they fell and some simply disappeared.
Today I met a delegation of Canadians who will be teaching in different refugee camps in Lebanon. They are all really nice. It was interesting to talk to some jet-lagged folks who had just arrived- some of them seemed thrilled to be here, others were having a hard time dealing with stomach issues, not being able to sleep, etc.
The other day I said to Ethan,”I wonder if anyone has ever moved from the States to Beirut, then to Austin, TX. We could be the first ones.” It turns out that one of these Canadian women moved here from Chicago (for the summer only) and will then be moving to Austin. I asked her “why Austin?” and she said that her husband teaches at St. Edwards University. My father is also a professor there. It’s a small world indeed.