When fighting for full international recognition and national liberation, a common front makes things easer. The representatives of the four organizations, who spoke with us on Monday, in Bethlehem and Ramallah, Alrowwad, Bethlehem Bible College, the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions, and the Palestinian Authority, certainly were unified in their Palestinian nationalism and desire for statehood. An independent Palestinian state, with Palestinian control over all aspects of government, border, water, and with dignity came up as the solution for the problems tackled by the various organizations, ranging from empowering women and children in UNRWA camps through performing arts to offering degrees in media studies to help people find employment in a hobbled economy. Three of these organizations, Alrowwad, Bethlehem Bible College, and the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions provide services or programs that not only help Palestinian society under occupation, but also Palestinian society in an independent state. They work with societal problems that might not go away with full statehood.
Take Alrowwad; founded in response to conditions in the ‘Aida refugee camp, its statement of vision, “ An empowered Palestinian Society on educational and artistic level, free of violence, respectful of human rights and values, (with special focus on children and women) based on the spirit of social entrepreneurship and innovation in self-expression and respect of human values . If the refugee camps go away, is there still a place for the values and performing arts skills that the organization teaches? Another organization that plays what should be an important role in the Palestine-that-is and the Palestine-to-come is the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU). According to the members of the committee who spoke with us, there isn’t much labor law in the Palestinian Authority and violations of Palestinian worker’s rights occur on both sides of the security fence. While the representatives (whose names I don’t have-if you have their names, let me know so I can properly identify them) pointed to the restrictions on workers rights caused by the occupation, such as Israeli control of natural resources over the Green Line, mandatory importing and exporting via Israel, humiliating checkpoints for those with Israeli work permits, and bad conditions for those without, PGFTU is currently also working on workers rights abuses and problems that are not directly caused by occupation and are pressing social issues. There is no minimum wage within the Palestinian Authority; in the absence of legislation requiring a minimum wage, employers get away with wages as low as 400 shekels a month, notably in time-heavy service industries like teaching. Part of the PGFTU’s work is proposing a minimum wage of 1500 shekels a month. Having a strong union presence is something that ultimately benefits a state, A Palestine that can hit the ground running with workers unions that are already active is a good thing.
The two organizations mentioned, not state run, stand to contribute to current Palestinian society and the society of a future state. If my interest in this seems banal or naive, it’s because of a lack of knowledge of Palestinian organizations or NGOs with a focus that extends beyond the current situation and because of my interest in the kind of institutions and organizations that benefit a state. The presence or absence of such organizations may not be directly involved in the struggle for statehood, but once the Palestine-to-come comes, they fill a needed role.
-Kayla Blum