Election Day
I've wanted for the most part to stay away from politics on this webpage (except as it directly relates to God's heart for people here), but today are the elections for a new President of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza, so I thought I would just remark on a few things I've observed that you might find interesting.
One, the elections here are nothing like elections in the United States, where TV and newspaper coverage continues for months and various issues are hashed out over and over again before the election finally occurs. I have seen very little public debate going on over these elections, though certainly some has occurred. The extent of the campaigning, other than a few speeches here and there, has been limited mainly to campaign posters of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) standing proudly next to Arafat, or with the Dome of the Rock in the background; Mustafa Barghouthi getting shoved by an Israeli soldier with a gun pointed at his chest; and pictures and slogans of other candidates. (There are some pictures of posters and other things I put up on my picture web site; write me if you don't have the info for that and I'll give it to you.) There is not a lot of local media infrastructure here; most Palestinians get a lot of their news by watching Arab news channels like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.
One other difference is the length of the campaign season. Campaigning started the day after Christmas, so the total campaign has been only a couple weeks. And since everyone expects Abu Mazen to win, there hasn't been a whole lot of activity to try to change people's opinions or inform voters of other possibilities.
The campaign posters also seem to have been subject to frequent vandalism. Most of the campaign posters in Bethlehem, especially those of opposition candidate Mustafa Barghouthi, had the face or eyes ripped off, with some completely torn down. Some group seems to have systematically destroyed the posters--whether people sent by Fatah (Abu Mazen's party) or simply partisan kids acting on their own, who knows.
Another difficulty of the whole election, of course, is that restrictions on movement in place by Israel have the effect of fragmenting Palestinian society and keeping communication and commerce between areas to a minimum. Candidates for the most part, according to the news, have been able to travel through the West Bank, though a few candidates from Gaza weren't able to campaign in the West Bank at all. East Jerusalem with its large Palestinian population presents a problem of its own, as it is on the Palestinian side of the Green Line (ie, it is an occupied area according to international law), but it has been annexed by the Israelis as Israeli territory. The picture of the Israeli soldier with a gun to Barghouthi's chest I believe come from his arrest while trying to campaign there. I've heard there have been problems at the polling places there; I'm going there in the next couple hours on my way to class to see, and to ask people what kinds of problems there have been.
All in all, I am glad the elections are taking place, and I think they have the potential to really change the situation here, but I am cautious about claiming some kind of revolutionary effect. Simply having a day where people vote for different candidates does not mean a functioning democracy exists. The civil society upon which democracy thrives doesn't exist in the Palestinian territories, partly because of Israeli restrictions on movement and partly because of the history of corruption and centralization of power by Arafat and the PLO. This election helps, but it's only the beginning of a long process.
May God have mercy and allow Palestinians to live freely and in peace, and may all the people here know the peace and freedom that Jesus brings.
One, the elections here are nothing like elections in the United States, where TV and newspaper coverage continues for months and various issues are hashed out over and over again before the election finally occurs. I have seen very little public debate going on over these elections, though certainly some has occurred. The extent of the campaigning, other than a few speeches here and there, has been limited mainly to campaign posters of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) standing proudly next to Arafat, or with the Dome of the Rock in the background; Mustafa Barghouthi getting shoved by an Israeli soldier with a gun pointed at his chest; and pictures and slogans of other candidates. (There are some pictures of posters and other things I put up on my picture web site; write me if you don't have the info for that and I'll give it to you.) There is not a lot of local media infrastructure here; most Palestinians get a lot of their news by watching Arab news channels like Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.
One other difference is the length of the campaign season. Campaigning started the day after Christmas, so the total campaign has been only a couple weeks. And since everyone expects Abu Mazen to win, there hasn't been a whole lot of activity to try to change people's opinions or inform voters of other possibilities.
The campaign posters also seem to have been subject to frequent vandalism. Most of the campaign posters in Bethlehem, especially those of opposition candidate Mustafa Barghouthi, had the face or eyes ripped off, with some completely torn down. Some group seems to have systematically destroyed the posters--whether people sent by Fatah (Abu Mazen's party) or simply partisan kids acting on their own, who knows.
Another difficulty of the whole election, of course, is that restrictions on movement in place by Israel have the effect of fragmenting Palestinian society and keeping communication and commerce between areas to a minimum. Candidates for the most part, according to the news, have been able to travel through the West Bank, though a few candidates from Gaza weren't able to campaign in the West Bank at all. East Jerusalem with its large Palestinian population presents a problem of its own, as it is on the Palestinian side of the Green Line (ie, it is an occupied area according to international law), but it has been annexed by the Israelis as Israeli territory. The picture of the Israeli soldier with a gun to Barghouthi's chest I believe come from his arrest while trying to campaign there. I've heard there have been problems at the polling places there; I'm going there in the next couple hours on my way to class to see, and to ask people what kinds of problems there have been.
All in all, I am glad the elections are taking place, and I think they have the potential to really change the situation here, but I am cautious about claiming some kind of revolutionary effect. Simply having a day where people vote for different candidates does not mean a functioning democracy exists. The civil society upon which democracy thrives doesn't exist in the Palestinian territories, partly because of Israeli restrictions on movement and partly because of the history of corruption and centralization of power by Arafat and the PLO. This election helps, but it's only the beginning of a long process.
May God have mercy and allow Palestinians to live freely and in peace, and may all the people here know the peace and freedom that Jesus brings.
posted by Seth | 5:47 AM
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