Dear Boomchucka supporters, sorry for the delay with this report, technical problems! Clowns and computers a heady mix!!! if anyone would like to volunteer to help us with the mailing list we would be very very happy....just get in touch...

Reports from Miss Me 2008

Air strikes in Gaza

1 Israeli civilan killed by Hamas rocket fired from Gaza
120 Palestinians killed, many more injured, the majority civilians- women and children.
In the wake of this there have been many demos in citys across the West Bank.
The circus quickly realised that our up and coming shows would be cancelled as it suddenly felt inappropiate and intrusive to clown around. We had shows booked in Hebron and Twani, both places suffering badly at the hands of settlers in the West Bank, due to our schedule being so tight we could not manage the time to reschedule shows that suited everybody, so with understanding but regret we have had to miss theses places this time... hopefully next year.
> Due to lack of shows and a desire to do something we attempt to attend a demo in Rhamallah, however as we are on the bus heading for Calandyia check point (a large check point in the wall anexing East Jerusalem and the West Bank) a Red Cresent ambulance goes by at top speed.. I realise that there might be something happening at Calandiya, when we arrive it becomes clear in slow motion that the Shebab (Palestinian youths) are throwing stones at the IDF, they are returning with grenades and live ammunition, we flail in the open space of the checkpiont, before being ushered quickly by a French international and bus driver onto anouther bus which takes us away from any danger. We cannot attend the demo and return to Jerusalem safe but frazzled .


Salfit - "In my house it is normal"

Salfit is a fairly large town in the mid western West Bank, they follow a prodomently rural way of life, farming the land and growing olives, the scenery is stunning the hills are high and everyone terraced for olives, we start to climb up to Salfit after Rhamallah on the way we pass by several small ideological settlements which at this stage are a heavily fortified collection of trailers, known as an outpost. These outposts contain the most zellous settlers whom are aggressive towards the Palestinians and poison their water supplies, uproot their olives and essentially take their land, Palestinians are basically powerless to prevent this. Eventually these outposts will gain support from Israel (Israel denies that they are illegal or of their existance until the outpost requires water, schools and other public amenities). So Salfit is at the end of the Arial finger a large block of settlements jutting into the West Bank, it reaches from Jerusalem to the Jordan valley dividing the West Bank in two.
you can clearly see settlements and checkpoints surrounding Salfit.
So after this enforced day off! we are raring to go and are heading to Salfit it looks like all our shows will go ahead now. we plan to spend two days in Salfit, when we arrive we are met by Abed, an intense and friendly character he coined the phrase this year of "in my house it is normal" (in the best possible way)
Ruth and I met him last year when Boomchucka visited. It is good to see him again and we are happy to meet his 8 month old baby girl, we have coffee and all the famaly comes to meet us...
we then headed to the Hanan Center (funded by a swedish NGO) this is going to be our home for two days, it was great to be back here and see some old friends.
We then had a meeting with the volunteers of the Hanan centre, boys and girls separately... the cultural differences became apparent here, the girls were very polite and basically said 'you are welcome' the boys on the otherhand; after a short period of shyness; wanted to engage in debate and grilling us on why exactly we had come to see them in their village. Ater an hour of good discussion the ice broken we went on to form bonds and understanding of each other.
We had a busy schedule in Salfit visiting the White House in Salfit, the only government run residential home for children with learning disabilities in the West Bank, this was a great show and the children loved the games and interaction after the show as much as us falling around on stage. We then visited Kafradeek a village close to Salfit here we had a show which also went well by this time the show had really come together and was getting better and better.
We retuned back to the centre for workshops with the boys and girls separately, this made for a very long day but a good one. The girls first, I taught diablo and poi to some keen girls, Ruth taught poi , Jen taught staff and contact whilst Jo and Laura ran a theatre workshop, the girls made the most of their time and where keen to learn. The boys where also keen to learn but being teenagers got a bit carried away with showing off at times.. they obviously found it a bit differcult at first that we were all female, but their disire to learn circus overode that in the end. We did three shows the next day .. blimey! by far the best was Farkha it was a good mixture of old and young girls and boys.. we have visited 3 times before in previous years so they knew what to expect and the show went well we clowns got heckled in English which was great, real crowd participation!!!
So we ended the shows on a high.. and proceeded to do workshops again that evening the clown workshop with the girls went really well, me and Jo had them falling on their bums and using their imagination to change one of our slapstick sketches, they were so enthusiastic and quick to learn, we just about managed to teach them some basic clowning skills which was great. All the were clowns pretty knackered by then, me and Ruth remenised on our exhaustion last year in Salfit .. but really I am happy they want to learn and know how to make the most of us.
We ended our time in Salfit with a different Abed, who invited us to drink coffee and eat copious amounts of homemade cake at about 10 at night! we are all well adjusted coffee addicts by now, we spend time savouring our coffee on his roof top looking over Salfit and talking of and his wife's efforts to start the volunteer program in Salfit and Abed's struggle to continue it. They are a fantastic family and I feel humbled to have met them. Once again I realise that Palestine is not just the Occupation or the Intafadas; it is real people trying to live their lives to impliment positive change within their community; whist living under Israeli occupation...without this I ask myself where would the Palestinians be? life must go on even under the Occupation and Appartied Wall.
General note from Miss Me/Strong Man Annie
As this is my second trip with the circus to the West Bank I have begun to see things differently, I did not notice until the other clowns who have not visited Palestine before began to talk of what we see, hear and experience; trying to make sense of what essentially seems to make no sense at all... particullarily on a level of unessacary human suffering. It makes perfect sense in terms of water resourses and the fact that solving this conflict may well be the key to many Middle East issues. Exactly how does Israel get away with breaking international law every day???
Shockingly, to myself I seemed to have adapted to some of the horrors here, I am familiar to the accounts of people being torn from their land, their families, brutality at the hands of the IDF or the Zionist settlers. It breaks my heart still, but something feels hardened within me... I find myself asking how can I make a bigger difference...??? the occupation has to end sometime... it can't go on forever..???
So I find myself asking less questions of why? the question why? I think is related to an intense need to understand and get your head round the situation; here because it really is overwhelming. How? seems to be about change.. I think maybe how? is the proactive result of why? (I'm not sure how? yet though!) As I am coming to terms with my change in perception we visit the Bedouins in the Jordan Valley (this is another story ) we meet an inspirational person like Martin from www.brighton/tubas.org and he reminds me what it is all about ... "But the Circus, actually manages to bring a tangible commodity they also need - they really do need to laugh and smile. What they do is amazing."
This helps reafirm the importance of the circus, that it makes a difference, all be it a relatively small difference, the shock waves of laughter reverberate out in unifying positivity,there is a place for Clowns in Palestine!