Weaam Dawoud Ali Iriqat
Posted on | March 9, 2009 | No Comments
Director of Public Relations and Culture for Jericho Municipality
Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world. Most people read about it in the Bible. We showcase the way the people live, the natural beauty of Jericho, the charm of the city, the magnificent, hospitable people.
Who are the people who live in Jericho?
There are Muslims and Christians. We have many churches—Romanian, Russian, Greek, Coptic, others. We also have Bedouin, native citizens of the city, as well as people from Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. There are people from Jordan who came before the war of 1967. Because of the political situation, we don’t have Jewish people living with the citizens of Jericho.
We have had one million visitors to Jericho. Now, because of the great difficulties, the number of tourists is very limited. Sometimes we don’t have any. All the people feel the economic repercussions. How to bring tourism to an area full of conflicts and clashes?
Israelis have conflict but they mostly hear about it, they don’t live it. In Palestine, we live it in our lives, in all our movements. In Israel they live like Europeans. It’s a piece of Europe, Israel. But Palestine is a piece of hell. We don’t have an economy, we don’t have borders, we don’t have control of the land, we don’t have freedom to move.
If you could go anywhere, where would you go?
It may be a common dream—all the people here dream the same—to see the President of the U.S. because he controls everything. I’d like to tell him about the normal people and what we need.
Maybe he’ll listen to me but he’ll not give us more—politics are not like sympathy. Politics is a game of power and interest, and his interest is to support Israel. We think the U.S. wants to have a place here to move into and control, like it’s a game.
A miracle happened and walls came tumbling down. Can that miracle happen again?
The Wall can come down, the apartheid wall and the walls of prejudice. We can find a solution. In the past, we lived like that—Jericho was open for the Israelis. They could come, could buy fruits from the market. That can happen again.
People can forgive if they have a stable economic situation, freedom to move, their own ID—a Palestinian ID respected around the world.
How do the Wall and checkpoints affect your life?
They affect all the people’s lives. We don’t have the Wall here but we have trenches around the city and two checkpoints. When they’re closed, no one can move between cities. If they’re open, we thank God.
The citizens of Jericho come from different places, so people hold different IDs. In my family, when we want to go on a family trip, we have to choose different checkpoints. Sometimes my mother and I can go out and not in and it’ll be the opposite for my father and sister. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to manage.
What do you dream for the future?
I dream about living like other people. When you get used to living in Palestinian cities, you don’t feel think about your life. But when you travel and see how other people live, the contrast is so striking.
I wouldn’t change a thing about Jericho’s atmosphere and beauty, but I want to change the city’s economic situation and the lives of its people, so they have a chance to live a better life. I want tourism to increase. I want more people to visit Jericho and have a good time here.
I dream of my nieces and nephews growing up in a healthy and peaceful environment. I don’t want them to be afraid of checkpoints or talking about soldiers at the checkpoints and tanks entering the cities. I don’t want them to be worried about their fathers or mothers when they are traveling to or from Jericho. Instead, I want to start concentrating on our future and rebuild our city’s infrastructure.
Do you have hope for the future?
Yes, I have a strong belief in people’s power to make change. For myself, I feel I can change something. When I meet people and I introduce my life to them, I feel that something is changed. It’s not a huge change that’s going to get reported in newspapers around the world. But through such daily interactions, normal people are affected and the circle grows wider and wider.
Iriqat gained her degree in tourism in Syria and returned in 1995 to live with her family in Jericho, where she became Director of the Public Relations and Culture Department for the municipality. With the building of the Wall and encircling of checkpoints, Iriqat saw the economy decline and tourism dry up. The region is financially dependent upon tourists and outside markets for its agricultural products.
