Every day, persecution and human rights abuses destroy people’s lives and fuel conflict in the Holy Land. The Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) helps confront these injustices to pursue a just peace. Nina*, an Ecumenical Accompanier, shares her experience as a human rights defender.
“As a fellow human being, my empathy and compassion for the oppressed and advocacy for a just society is what inspired me,” says Nina*, a former Ecumenical Accompanier.
“I am beyond heartbroken to see and read about the situation of many children in Palestine, the painful reality for women, elderly and civilians, in general.
“The ongoing war has only made the situation worse and calls for more support and solidarity. And to be able to make a difference – that’s what EAPPI is for.”
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“We had our daily schedule planned ahead. We would always leave the placement house at least in pairs for our daily activities.
“I would join my team mate and we would accompany children on their way to school in East Jerusalem or in a Bedouin community in the West Bank.”
“We would then go for a ‘protective presence’ walk in the Old City Jerusalem followed by monitoring at Al Aqsa Mosque at its different entrances.”
“If we received any news on demolitions/evictions, we’d prioritise that and re-schedule accordingly.
“We had meetings with community leaders scheduled on specific days of the week and a team would attend those.”
(Protective presence is an EAPPI term used to describe being a visible presence in the area to improve protection of citizens).
“During the olive harvest season, we did volunteer picking olives with Palestinian farmers. After coming back to the placement house, we’d have snacks/meal and sit for report writing.”
“I was picking olives at Tent of Nations in Bethlehem. I heard the bombings at six different times that day, those bombings from Gaza.
It is devastating, I can only imagine how life must be for people living in Gaza under constant bombings with thousands of children, women, and civilians killed, the food and medical supply shortages, the blockade of aid supplies, and facilities destroyed.”
“It definitely motivated me even more to advocate for a just society and peace. No one is benefiting from these wars and it is always the innocent who pay the price.”
~ Nina*, Ecumenical Accompanier (EA)
*name changed for privacy reasons
Recently, seven dedicated Australians spent five days learning what it takes to be an Ecumenical Accompanier (EA). The participants were trained in preparation for the possibility of deployment through EAPPI, where they could spend three months living alongside communities under military occupation to support local civil society organisations including Palestinian and Israeli human rights defenders.
The training involves sessions on the principles of nonviolence, principled impartiality and the practice of protective accompaniment, international humanitarian law, communication skills and dealing with team dynamics and the fundamentals of fundraising, awareness raising and advocacy.
“I think it is. Every three months, there are people like me from different countries in the world deployed by this program, and they raise awareness and create momentum in their immediate circle of influence.
“There are times when community people express their frustrations towards the international community that the world is silent while they are dying every day, however, they do appreciate the EAPPI program and welcome the EAs to visit them and listen to their stories and spread the word to the world.”
“We need peacemakers, more than ever… as many as possible. The world needs more peace-loving people. I cannot help but try my best as a peacemaker, however big or small the impact I can make.”
~ Nina* Ecumenical Accompanier (EA), 2024