Planting Peacer Profile: Usama Rock

My Name is Usama Rock. I’m 25 years old, I live in Palestine in Bethlehem City. Bethlehem is the City of Jesus. It is the City where he was born. It is the City of Peace. However, this city as all the Palestinian Cities, is not peaceful at all. We as Palestinians are living under the Israeli occupation since 1948, the year of Al Nakba (catastrophe).
I’d like to talk about the Palestinians who live in Palestine (West Bank) not about the Palestinian in the diaspora.
We as Palestinian who live in Palestine are suffering from:
• Restrictions on movement
Israel has imposed itself on the Palestinian population in the occupied territories. Israel uses a number if means to restrict Palestinian movement in the West Bank, which they adjust to their needs, such as;
1. Permanent and temporary checkpoints. Over 600 in the West Bank.
2. Physical obstructions.
3. Forbidden roads or/and roads with restrictions on the Palestinian use.
4. Separation wall.
By implementing these means Israel has split the area into Six Geographical areas: North, Center, South, the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea.
The movement between the six Geographical areas and within each area has become hard, slow and complicated. may I say and not to forget that Israel completely forbids the movement of Palestinians between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

• Settlements
From 1967 to the end of 2007 Israel established 121 settlements in the West Bank, and more than 100 outposts, which are “unrecognized settlements”.
These settlements are built on thousands of dunams (measure of land) stolen from the Palestinians, and the Palestinians are no longer able to use their lands.

• Closure of Jerusalem to the Palestinians who live in the West Bank
The Palestinians who live in West bank with a Palestinian ID are no longer able to enter Jerusalem, which leads the Palestinian to face a high rate of unemployment, poverty, hunger, and a lot of people lost their connection with their families.

I can say that hope for me is the kind of work I do under all the facts above:

I work in an organization called "Wi`am" , the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center. Wi`am has been a place for conflict transformation, restorative justice and mediation. We have Different Departments and Programs:
• Sulha-Mediation and Conflict Resolution, Sulha is the traditional Arabic form of mediation.
• Chlidren’s Department, We provide children recreational and educational activities.
• Women’s Department, where women receive civil and vocational training.
• Citizen Diplomaacy and advocacy, this department encourages people not just to visit the Holy Land but to hear and witness the stories of the people living in it.


But for me I work with the Youth, where young people from all over the West Bank have access to a safe place where they can share there thoughts, ideas, and talk about their daily life and we on the other hand, try to inject them with hope.
They are able to attend many workshops done by Wi`am on Different topics such as; Gender, Human Rights, International Law, Peace and Peace Building, Nonviolence, and alot of other topics wich they really like to know about.