PYALARA - Palestinian Territory

PYALARA publishes a youth newspaper called the Youth Times, which has a circulation of 10,000 and is distributed throughout Gaza and the West Bank. This newspaper may be accessed on the PYALARA site. The stories feature young writers' reflections on the experience of living through the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For example, in a piece called "So Long Bethlehem ..." Elise Aghazarian of Jerusalem, a graduate of Bethlehem University, writes, "How afraid I feel as the military horror creeps closer. How sad I feel as I see how indifference is growing amongst the Palestinians whose hearts have been broken especially as I know that indifference is more painful and dangerous than anger and is so much harder to heal." And in a piece called "A Sleepless Night," a student at Bir Zeit university named Saleem Habash writes, "My mother and sister spent the whole night sitting with me in bed listening to the sound of tanks coming from the western side of Ramallah. The fear was so intense; we were almost afraid to breathe, and all I kept thinking was, 'When is this going to end?'"

PYALARA also initiated an English-language youth paper called Crossing Borders. Sponsored by the Danish government, the 16-page editions are produced and distributed in Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. PYALARA managed the production of the demo issue and the next three issues.

In addition, PYALARA members provide a peer counseling service. When a Palestinian terrorist in Jerusalem killed nine Israelis in 2002, prompting a massive military invasion of the West Bank by Israeli forces, the teenage members of PYALARA held an emergency meeting and decided the counseling was too sporadic to help children in the territories. A hotline was instituted. 23 university students majoring in social work and psychology were trained to provide psychsocial intervention to Palestinian children and adolescents, who may access the hotline 6 days a week between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Callers discuss a range of concerns, from anguish related to the military situation, to troubled relationships.

Members of PYALARA also take part in youth forums, workshops, training sessions, and conferences that are designed to help equip them with skills (like journalism and international humanitarian law) and to prepare them for leadership roles (by, for instance, teaching them how to promote youth rights). For example, Hand in Hand involved the recruitment and training of Birzeit, Bethlehem, and Al-Quds students who provided educational and psychological support to their peers.

In December, 2000 PYALARA's members prepared and broadcasted a TV show on Palestine TV on the occasion of the international Broadcasting Day for Children. A team of children interviewed officials and shared youth opinions about Palestine TV and its programmes and the influence of the present political crises on the lives of Palestinian children.

Many of these projects provide compensation for participating youth.

Children, Youth, Conflict, Rights, Economic Development.

This programme was organised in the context of Israeli military incursions, curfews, and economic closures following Palestinian suicide bombings. The U.N. estimates that about half the Palestinian population is now living below the $2-a-day poverty line. At least a third of all adults are jobless and those who have jobs are frequently unable to get to work. This situation has disproportionately impacted Palestinian young people, who make up half of the three million Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Of the 1,888 Palestinians who have been killed since the start of the Al-Aqsa intifada in 2000, 306 were under the age of 18.

Several young PYALARA members actually claim that the group has helped stop them from becoming suicide bombers. One member, a senior at Birzeit University near Ramallah, says he has found little besides PYALARA to be optimistic about. "We have no meaning to our lives," he says. "And before PYALARA I had trouble speaking about my feelings. Now I speak with thousands at (the university)."