A Voice For the Voiceless

MISSION

The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

Caitlin Williams and Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND)

Caitlin Williams is a graduate student at Georgetown
University, where she is studying for a joint degree under the auspices of the Arab Studies program and the Law School. She did her undergraduate degree at Brown University, and emerged with a joint degree in Religious Studies and International Relations. She worked as a research assistant at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC before returning to Georgetown.

Caitlin applied to intern with Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND), an NGO that is situated in the Palestinian Occupied Territories in the town of Beit Hanina. MEND was founded in 1998 by Lucy Nusseibeh to combat militarism in both Israeli and Palestinian societies. It has done much to help the two populations speak with each other and understand that there are people on the other side who are willing to listen. MEND believes that the current occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal and unjust, but it also recognizes the State of Israel’s rights to exist and to security.


Caitlin in Gaza City, where she helped to organize
training sessions on non violence.

Caitlin spent almost all of her summer working as assistant to Akram Baker, who directed an important MEND project to promote alternative resistance. When she started work, Caitlin described the project as follows: “(it) has the daunting task of trying to bring about a fundamental change in the Palestinian society’s approach to resisting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. MEND seeks to help organize a resistance that is completely nonviolent and that does not tolerate any explicit or implicit support of the suicide bombings or any kind of violence. This involves coordination with local communities and other NGOs who espouse the same philosophy. It also involves working with children to teach them creative ways of voicing their grievances nonviolently.”

“The only certainty I have at this point is that all of my study of the conflict and preconceived notions of the people will be shaken the moment I step off the plane.”

Caitlin worked in Beit Hanina, near Jersusalem.

Caitlin approached her internship without illusions: “All of this will take place is a very unstable atmosphere. I have no idea what these months will bring, but I sincerely hope that at the end I will leave MEND better able to accomplish their goals than when I came. The only certainty I have at this point is that all of my study of the conflict and preconceived notions of the people will be shaken the moment I step off the plane.”

In this respect at least Caitlin was correct, and her blogs showed her steadily gaining an appreciation of what it meant to live as a Palestinian. As she writes, occupation creates such stress that merely to live a normal life is, in itself, a form of resistance.

The view from Caitlin's hotel.

Like the other interns of 2003, Caitlin wrote a frank final assessment of her work: “I was able to accomplish approximately fifty percent of my work plan. This included editing and writing proposals and brochures, arranging meetings with possible funders and political supporters, and organizing a trip to Amman, Jordan for the World Economic Forum. I also helped to organize workshops in Gaza and Bethlehem,facilitating the travel of the two international trainers and finding supplies needed for the workshops.


“While I don’t think I did much in the way of real capacity-building at MEND, I do think I have provided much needed temporary help in the office and some real help for the Palestinians that participated in the workshops I helped to organize. The two workshops provided me with an immense amount of satisfaction and a new perspective on nonviolent resistance in Palestine.”

In terms of MEND’s own capacity, Caitlin concluded that the group is doing a lot of good work, but is stretched too thin. She also felt that MEND would benefit from a clearer statement of priorities. This would make it easier to focus on the things MEND does well, instead of generating projects at the whim of funders. MEND could also benefit from the sort of office equipment that many Northern NGOs take for granted – including four or five good computers and a telephone answering service.

• Read Caitlin's blog
• Email Caitlin Williams