CPTnet
4 August 2018
CPT INTERNATIONAL: Participants needed for fall Iraqi Kurdistan and Palestine olive harvest delegations. APPLY NOW!
 |
Christian Peacemaker Teams urgently needs delegates to fill out its rosters for its fall Iraqi Kurdistan and Palestine delegations. Turkey is increasing its attacks on Kurdish villagers in the Qandil Mountains, where CPT- Iraqi Kurdistan has many partners and the Palestinian olive harvest is a time when CPT-Palestine’s partners who live near Israeli settlements are particularly vulnerable to attacks by settlers. Our partners need people who will listen to their stories and return to their home communities to counter the mainstream media narrative, or provide an important narrative that is lacking in the media.
IRAQI KURDISTAN
In addition to responding to the current crisis, delegates will learn about our partners’ struggle for freedom, for respect for their rights, and for peaceful co-existence between the diverse peoples and communities of Iraqi Kurdistan. Meet human rights defenders, activists for rights of women and minorities, farmers and shepherds who nonviolently resist cross-border bombardments, people displaced by war, and youth dedicated to building alternatives to violence and oppression. They will learn about the historic struggle of the resilient and diverse peoples of Kurdistan and their genocides under the Ba’athist regime, as well as the current economic and political crisis, post-ISIS situation, violations of rights and freedoms, and cross-border bombardments by Turkey and Iran.
More information available here
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: August 22
Palestinian Olive Harvest Delegation
Since 2005, the Israeli human rights group has documented 280 attacks on Palestinian olive trees in the West Bank. Every year, settlers attack Palestinians living near settlements who are trying to harvest their olives. CPT-Palestine along with other organizations provide accompaniment for families trying to bring in their crops, an important economic resource.
In addition to accompanying the harvest, delegates will learn how road closures, home invasions, checkpoints, and the presence of militant Israeli settlers near Palestinian villages continue to threaten Palestinian human rights, and Israel’s separation barrier (much of it built on confiscated Palestinian land) continues to separate Palestinian communities from each other and ordinary Israelis and Palestinians seeking to come together for peace. They will gain a perspective on how these issues affect daily life, and will experience the power of Palestinian and Israeli citizens overcoming what seem to many to be permanent obstacles.
More information available here
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION: September 15
