Following the women...

And onto the next ride ---- Follow the Women! (see other blog site)

Back in Australia and returning to reality

I am back home now. After taking time to get over jet lag (I watched all three series of Black Books - very good!) and getting myself together, I am slowly entering the world again. I've even got a job interview tomorrow at the Australian Geographic! :)

Everything seems the same, but something has changed. It will take time before I can recognise exactly what it is in me that is reacting differently to the world, but it will come.

Mohammad is well in Palestine. He had his meeting with the Israeli security forces and it seems for now that they were only using a scare campaign against him. He is still very nervous, but otherwise safe - or at least as safe as you can be in an occupied country.

All the cyclists have returned home and each was put through rigorous security checks at the airport. The security knew exactly who they all were (despite the fact that they all traveled separately at different times and from different places) and repeatedly questioned them all. But in the end, they all made it.

The cycle is over now, but that's not all. On the ride I came across a divide greater than the Grand Canyon. 'Muslim' is a swear word to Israelis, and even saying 'Shalom' ('Peace') in Hebrew would offend and anger Palestinians. Even Mohammad, who believes that Israelis and Palestinians just need to trust each other expressed his dislike of one of our protest songs which used 'Shalom'. Hate runs so deep.

How can you bring these people together?

The latest

Good news! On their third day at trying, the Peace Cycle has finally been let into the West Bank! And! They've been brought back together with Mohammad! Until his meeting with the Israeli military forces in a few days time it is unknown what the repercussions for his taking part will be. The hope is that the Israeli guards who told him he would be 'black listed' and restricted to his village were only trying to frighten him, but it is hard to predict what the Israelis will or will not do.


This whole incident has really put the conflict into perspective. That I know the people who are being treated so disgracefully makes the situation very personal. These are my friends they are harrassing, and it could have very nearly been me, had I not decided against continuing to the Middle East.

The supreme arrogance of the Israeli government astounds me! Liane, a British Peace Cyclist of combined English and Indian descent, wrote of the sort of questions she was asked at the border:
"Unlike most border controls the nature of the questions was not about who packed our bags or what might be contained in our luggage, but about race and heritage. They kept asking me if I had a second passport, they weren't convinced that I had a single nationality..."

I will concede that this kind of racist questioning is not restricted to the Israelis. When I first came to London at the beginning of August I remember walking through the 'Nothing to Declare' part of customs and being shocked by the sight of five to ten dark-skinned people's luggage being searched in a 'random' selection. There was one lighter-skinned person being searched but they had a rather dark tan and were wearing hippi-style clothing! And so yes, I understand that Israel is no lone wolf.

Israel is not doing anyhing new by holding another country under occupation, but that is a weak supporting argument. To say 'someone else did it, so stop picking on us', is to say that it is ok to commit genocide and other crimes against humanity. Almost everything has been done before, and so what we need to be concerned about is making sure it doesn't happen again. The United Nations is constantly making resolutions demanding Israel to end the post-1967 occupation and end many of its practices, such as collective punishment, but thanks to the undying support from the United States, nothing has been done to enforce the resolutions and they fall to the wayside.

And then the United States complains that the United Nations is ineffective.

I wish that I could contact Mohammad now and tell him not to worry, that it will all be over soon and that he and his family will get their humanity back, but that seems unlikely. It is up to the Israelis and those who have influence in Israel to examine their consciousness. Yes, a withdrawal from the West Bank does come with risk. Yes, some anti-Israeli extremists may take advantage of it, but maybe they won't. Israel withdrew from Gaza and yet Eqypt didn't suddenly deploy their army and attack from the south. Perhaps all this fear of destruction if Israel releases hold of its western 'buffer zone' has no foundation.

However, regardless of this, there is no moral justification for making one group suffer to prevent the suffering of another, especially when it is not even clear that this policy is even working! Do Israelis sleep better at night knowing that the Palestinian people are being kept nice and miserable? Are the Israelis any safer from attack from their 'enemies'?

Press Release: Israeli's treatment of International Peace Activists "appalling"

Below is a press release I have just received about the Peace Cycle's current situation.




PRESS RELEASE - please circulate
8th September, 2006, Israel

Israeli's treatment of International Peace Activists "appalling"

Twenty three men and women from the UK and Austria are getting a small but bitter taste of life under Israel's occupation of the Palestinian West Bank.

The peace activists, who have cycled to the Middle East as part of the "Peace Cycle" ride from London to Jerusalem, have had their passage through the West Bank hindered at every turn by the Israeli authorities. After an eight hour wait at the Allenby Bridge border crossing from Jordan on Wednesday, the cyclists were apparently allowed through only because the Israelis, "despite trying their hardest, could not come up with a legal reason to deport them", according to sources. Mohammed, a Palestinian man, who had cycled with the group all the way from London to Jordan, was taken away for interrogation. He was then driven to Jericho, without the other cyclists being informed of his whereabouts.

Since entering the West Bank, the rest of the group has experienced delay after delay at the numerous Israeli checkpoints dotted around the Palestinian territories. At each one, they have been told they cannot enter, although no valid or legal reasons have been given.

Yesterday the group of cyclists, which includes a British man in his 70's, were held for seven hours at a checkpoint close to Jenin, in the north of the West Bank. One of the cyclists was close to tears as she said; "we were treated so well in every country we passed through in Europe and the Middle East, but now we are being treated like animals - the Israeli soldiers won't even let us use the toilet or give us water".

The cyclists were expected at The Freedom Theatre in Jenin where they were due to perform a musical piece to the children of the refugee camp, using their bicycles as instruments. The Peace Cycle has raised funds for The Freedom Theatre but are now being prevented from delivering them. Later in their schedule they have planned to meet with the Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, Bishop Riah, and Israeli peace activist Jeff Halper. However, despite being armed with nothing but bicycles, and calling for nothing but peace, their mission appears to be being thwarted by Israel and their plans are in disarray.

While the Peace Cyclists waited on one side of the Al Jalamal crossing, unable to enter the West Bank, Mohammed waited on the other side, unable to enter Israel. He shouted to the Peace Cyclists through a mesh fence 30m away, he told us that his ID card had been black marked and that once he returned to his town he may never be able to leave again. He now waits for the cyclists so that he can cycle with them back to his town. He wants to once again cycle alongside the Peace Cyclists in the way he was able to throughout Europe and the Middle East, but is being prevented from doing in his own country.

The Peace Cycle's mission is to call for the implementation of UN Resolutions and to work for peace for every person in Israel and Palestine, whether they are Jewish, Christian or Muslim, and to ask for all people in the region to be treated justly and fairly.

For more information, contact Laura Abraham, founder of the Peace Cycle,on +44-(0)-794-1056616.
www.thepeacecycle.org

The Palestinian Peace Cyclist: Mohammad

On this Peace Cycle we were lucky enough to have Mohammad, a Palestinian living in the West Bank. He met the 2004 Peace Cyclists when they rode through his university in Palestine and when he learned that there would be a second Peace Cycle in 2006 he was very very keen to join!
It took a huge amount of work and effort to get Mohammad to London to take part, but the Peace Cycle organisors managed it through hefty diplomatic manouvering!

Mohammad is an incredible person, I often wished that all those Israeli occupation supporters could meet him. He's so sunny on the outside, the first to laugh at even the silliest joke, but you can see that he carries the weight that living under occupation brings.

On the course of the ride I became good friends with him. Ironically, I largely owe this friendship to 'Heartbreak High'! It is an Australian high school series which was played on ABC and was very popular when I was at school! I was walking back to our youth hostel in Milano with Mohammad, who until this moment I had rarely spoken to, when he turned to me and asked: 'Do you know the TV show 'High Heart Break'?' I had no idea what he was talking about! He sighed and said: 'it is a very good show. My family and I love it. I think it from Australia. I love the character Drazic-' at this point I exclaimed: 'Drazic?!' and grabbed my eyebrow with my fingers, indicating the eyebrow ring Drazic wears. Mohammad's face lit up and grabbed his eyebrow as well: 'yes, Drazic! He have girlfriend called Anita!' We both laughed and laughed, each exclaiming about Drazic and holding our eyebrows!

And so this is how I first got to know Mohammad.


The Peace Cycle is now in Palestine, but for Mohammad it has not been a very welcome home coming. To enter the country from Jordan he was questioned in a private room with the Israeli security forces for two hours, the group altogether had to wait eight hours to get in. And then, as they tried to enter Jenin, where the Freedom Theatre (the Peace Cycle's chosen charity) is, Mohammad was again separated from the group. After seven hours of waiting the Peace Cyclists were turned away and went to Nazareth instead. Mohammad is still with the Israeli security forces in Jenin.
Here is the latest update: (Friday 8th September)

"Mohammad is with Nimer, our guide in Palestine, who is taking good care of him. They are still in Jenin. No confirmation about Mohammad's restrictions - but he has an appointment with the Israeli authorities in a few days so more will become clear then. The group haven't actually got to meet Nimer properly yet, but he managed to pass some food through the barriers to them yesterday, and it was a very emotional moment.

The cyclists will spend tonight in Nazareth, and early tomorrow morning they will try to enter the West Bank and make their way to Qalqilya, which is the scheduled stop for tomorrow. They will then follow the original itinerary to Jerusalem. Of course this means they have not been able to visit the people of El Fa'raa, Assira, Jenin and Tulkarm. This will be terribly disappointing for all the people in those places who were so looking forward to meeting the Peace Cycle and had spent a lot of time preparing for their visit. We will try our hardest to go back up to Jenin at some point at the end of the ride, as it is very important to us that we visit the Freedom Theatre."

One of the Peace Cyclists also added: (Friday 8th Sept)

"We saw Mohammad yesterday [Thursday] as we were about to leave the checkpoint where we had sat for seven hours. We were not allowed to meet but could talk through grill separated by about 50 yards. It seems there will be some 'punishment' but not totally clear yet what this entails. This has been wholly depressing and more depressing then our problems with checkpoints. He is waiting for us on 'the other side' and we hope to meet very soon. As always, he was smiling. That guy is worth his weight in gold."

There is a rumour that as 'punishment' for taking part in the Peace Cycle, Mohammad will lose his right to leave his village. This has not been confirmed, but it is clear that some sort of 'punishment' will be given to him.

He sent me a text message this morning, though at that time I was unaware at just how precarious his situation was: '... u know what happen with us in palestine from israel so we now in cheak point again to entear palestine. For me am scare because maybe put me on black list this mean cant go out, suffer with israeli cheak point more and more i will send more information...'

I want to share this with you and would like you to share it with others. Mohammad's only sin is being born a Palestinian. The Peace Cycle was the first time he has ever left his country and the first time he has ever experienced freedom from an occupying army. For this experience, it may be that he can never leave again, never even leave the confines of his village.

I feel so sad for my friend.

He is being punished for getting on a bike and riding through Europe singing, calling greetings and dancing.

He is being punished for trying to make his life, and the lives of his family and friends brighter.

He is being punished for taking a stand.

From Florence to Rome!

Our rest day in Florence was magnificent. I managed to see the Statue of David! Though I was suprised by the number of people who had never heard of it! Everyone knew The Thinker (which I believe is in Paris?), but as far as David was concerned, I was alone in my enthusiasm to pay him a visit! Maybe it's an Australian thing.. :)

We also had a tour of the Florentine Palace with its amazing array of frescos! One thing that strikes you when viewing all these wonderful paintings (and this struck me again when viewing the Vatican Museum in Rome) is the way Christianity, violence and suffering are always portrayed together. There are several frescos of Holy men killing the 'barbarian', the 'Other'. I thought it quite relevent when you look at Israel and Palestine. The extremists on both sides both use religion as a weapon. Humanity made a grave mistake when they gave religions of peace the sword.


We only had three more days of riding after Florence, but unfortunately the van had not quite had enough of me! After about 24km of riding toward Sienna, I got a punture - my fourth in five days! I needed to replace my outer tyre, not just the inner tube, but no one had a spare tyre that matched my dimensions. And as there was no suitable spare bike for me to ride, I was a van girl again!But this time, I was in the back van! Hussein, who's Yemeni(by birth)/Britishby accent), was driving as he was struggling with a bad knee injury. It had to have been my funnest van experience! Without the responsibility of navigation that the front van has, the people in the back van can largely just enjoy the ride! Though, that's not entirely true, it's what we did anyway! The ride was moving through Tuscany, and so there were several times when Hussein and I would just stop at a particularly good viewpoint for a while and catch up to the ride later. Those speedy catch-ups were amazing after spending so long only going at bike-riding pace!

One beautiful experience that day was at our morning break. We stopped in a square where (I'm not sure why) people were very supportive! Even more supportive than Italians normally were! Most Italians cheered us on, not necessarily because they knew who we were, but because they seem to just like cheering people on! But in this square, people actually knew about Palestine and Israel and felt deeply about it. I'm not sure why this was. The memorable moment occured when I was eating a snack and talking with other cyclists, when an Italian woman took hold of my shoulder. I turned to face her and she began by asking me questions in Italian. I only had a very small idea of what she was saying (as I have learned Spanish for a few years), and so I just told her what I told basically every Italian I met: Fecamo Londra Gerusaleme con le biciclete per pace. She nodded and said something like 'I know that, I know' and then went on further in Italian. I looked at her apoligetically and said 'no comprendo, no hablo italiano, solo ingles'. It was Spanish, but since the languages are so similer I figured she'd understand, and she did. She said to me in hesitant words: 'My english is not good, but what you are doing is so good. It is so good. It makes me so happy..' At this point she began to cry. I was at a loss, so I just reached out and held her shoulder. She took my arm with her hand and embraced me, telling me softly: 'thank you, thank you, thank you.' With that, she left.

Due to the language barrier, I do not know what her story was, I do not know why she felt so strongly about what we were doing. But I do know that this was one of my most beautiful moments on the Peace Cycle.


That evening, I got a hold of a new back tyre, making my bike ready for the next day. This meant that I was fianlly finished with the van! For the last two days, I only cycled. But it was tough. Our last day, my last day as a Peace Cyclist, was especially tough: 148.7km with hill after hill after hill. I was tail rider, which meant I had to stay at the back and try and make sure the ride stayed together. This was very hard as the hills got bigger and the riders got more and more tired. For most of the day I was so far away from the front of the ride that we no longer had radio contact with each other (we are meant to keep in contact via walkie talkie). Due to the length of the day and the number of stops (we met the Mayor of a small town and visited a bike shop), it meant we had another late entry into a busy city. But this was even later than the Florence entry, and there was no beautiful sunset descent. By the time we got on the main road into Rome, it was dark and the rode was highway style: busy and dangerous. The fact that we all made it to the hostel that day was akin to a miracle. Everyone was so weary, and the passing cars and trucks so fast. At the back I had a frightening view of the dangers the cyclists were under. When I saw a cyclist pull off the road I thought they had been hit by a car!! But it was only a gear chain issue which was quickly fixed, though it meant that for a few minutes we were seperated from the main group.

When we pulled off the road and into the parking lot of the youth hostel, I almost ainted in relief. I became aware of just how wired up and tense my whole body was. But we had done it! Cyclists hugged each other in joy of making it! Hallelujah!

And so, our initiation into Rome was a dark highway of roaring trafic and several dangerous pot holes! But we were there - the final European city of the Peace Cycle.

To Italy: van riding, songs and views!

I was in the van for two days and so it happened that I drove through the last of Switzerland and into Italy - my final country with the Peace Cycle. I acted as navigator in the front van for most of the time, which is no easy task in a country (Italy) that seems to have a particular dislike of street signs!! Much of the time I was relying on the feel of the roads to decide which direction we should go! There were a few disdainful comments about Australian navigation, but on the whole it all went smoothly!

Being in the van gives you an entirely different perspective of the ride. For one thing, you can see just how close some cyclists are to being hit by passing vehicles! But mostly, it gives you the opportunity to really observe the reaction of people on the street. My second full day in the van (from Milano to Parma) was particularly good, since for the first half of the day I didn't have any navigation to do! I could just sit in the back with my head sticking out the window singing along with the cyclists and speaking to pedestrians at stop lights!

Maria, our Italian-speaking organiser, taught me a short phrase of Italian: 'Fecamo Londra Gerusaleme con le bicicleta per pace!' (please excuse my spelling!) This means: We are going from London to Jerusalem on bicycles for peace! And what a response I got! Cheers, yells of 'Bravo!' and even once an Italian kiss from an old woman at stop lights! She took my hand and kissed one cheek and then the other, saying softly 'bravo, bravo'.

I have mentioned that as we ride through towns we all sing, but I don't think I've said any more than that. At the beginning of the Peace Cycle we used to just chant, but as the days went by we decided this was too aggressive sounding for the 'Peace' Cycle - especially since we chanted in English and after the first two days we were no longer in England! And so some people started writing up little jingles to well known tunes. One that was used most was based on an American military tune where one person sings out the line first and then the group repeats:

The Peace Cycle is on its way! (repeat)
Riding through (insert name of town/city) today! (repeat)
A justice call for Palestine! (repeat)
So join your voice along with mine! (repeat)

We don't want the occupation! (repeat)
All we want is lieration! (repeat)
The apartheid wall has to fall! (repeat)
Peace and justice for us all! (repeat)

Freedom! --- Justice!
Freedom! --- Justice!
Freedom!, Justice!, Freedom!, Justice!!!

Lots of exclamation marks! That's because it was a very boistrous song! Very fun to sing, but after a while the same criticism came back: too aggressive. It had a lot of English words which couldn't be understood by most people and since it was based on an American military tune, passers-by may think we're some sort of pro-military group (that is, if they missed the vans, our vests and the peace flags etc..) And so, we had another re-think!

On our journey from Parma to Bologna (Friday Aug. 25th), we stopped in a park for lunch. Here we met an Israeli Peace Activist! She just happened to see our vests and so approached us! She taught us a Peace song that they sing at their rallies in Israel:

Peace, Shalom, Salamalaikum
Peace, Shalom, Salamalaikum
Peace, Shalom, Salaamalaikum
Pray for peace in the Middle East
Lets have peace in the Middle East
We all want peace in the Middle East

(apologise for spelling! - I'm just writing words the way they sound to my ear!)

It's a beautiful graceful tune - very different from our other song! This song suited the environment of Italy's old cities perfectly!


I got back on my bike the same day we met that Israeli Peace activist! It was great after two and a half days in the van! The road was very flat, but also very busy! Huge trucks roaring past you is quite off-putting! If you don't concentrate you can find yourself being pushed and pulled in the wind currents that they create! On this first day of cycling again, there were beautiful pale purple flowered fields circling large Italian villas. But the landscape was also dry and desolate when compared to the north of Europe. Italy is much closer to Australia in its rustic beauty. It was a whole new European experience!

My favourite Italian cycling moment was definetly our discent onto Florence, or Firenze as the Italians call it. It was late, as we were running far behind schedule. It had been a hard day, as the day before our rest day's always are! The sun was beginning to fall as we reached the top of our final hill. We knew that we had to make the long discent into the city fast, as light was running out fast! All cyclists tried to gather whatever they could to make themselves more visible, but bike lights were few and far between. MAny cyclists were invisible in the dusk light. I knew that I myself was not very visible as I only had a weak back light (my proper lights were deep in my bag and I didn't have time to furrow them out). So, I removed my Peace Cycle bib revealing my fluoro yellow cycling shirt - I always did know it would come in handy! When I bought it, I had been tossing up between it (for safety reasons) or a darker blue one (for fashion reasons), I ended up leaning on the side of safety, but this descent into Florence was the first time I had called upon it! But boy was I glad I had it! From invisible cyclist I turned into a neon sign of ***I AM HERE!!!!!***

And down we went! Again, I want to do a little Ode to my Breaks! I love them so!! Some of that descent was steep with sharp corners and near-blind drivers (due to the bad light)! But then we saw the city. I can't quite put it into words, but picture your most romantic Italian architecture, sprinkle it over rolling golden hills with classicly Italian vegetation and olive trees, all focusing into the centre of a magnificent city. The old architecture, with its array of yellows, sandy oranges and creams was lit up by the fast-disappearing sun. I forgot about the dangers surrounding me as I just drunk in the view. In the words of Liane, one of my friends on the Cycle: 'it was lush!' Many cyclists stopped to take photos, but I didn't have enough trust in my ability to stop safely on a steep descent to do so myself. But I think I will always remember the beauty of that sunset!

By the time we entered the actual city in the valley, it was dark. Even my fluoro yellow shirt is not 100% successful at making me visible in absolute darkness! So all the cyclists got into pairs and stuck as close to each other as we could between the two vans, who kept their hazard lights on. Don't worry, we all survived the journey!

Catch-up time!!!!! THE ALPS

I am very behind in writing, I know! So, instead of writing about what is happening right now, I'm going to take the time to do a catch up, starting from where I left off in Zurich, Switzerland!


Our exit from Zurich was very eventful!! At breakfast an Israeli Jewish woman sat with us. The discussion between her and the group was amicable enough at first, but a few careless comments from both sides led to a fiery finish. The exchange highlighted again what a sensitive issue Palestine and Israel is! For my part, I felt that some members of our group could have been more accomodating, though it was difficult because many of the woman's claims were in complete contrast to all our information. She seemed to live in some other Israel, where there are no checkpoints or even any occupation!

This was not to be all that Zurich threw at us! On our ride out of the city a large four-wheel-drive passed us with much agressive beeping from its horn! This would not have been especially worrying except that after passing us once it turned around and came at us a second and third time. The man in the front seat first made rude gestures with his hand, then began shouting 'terrorists! terrorists!', and then ended by swerving at us! On his third time past I was scared that he was actually going to hit us! I visualised the headline in Australia: 'Young Aussie Killed by Angry Fanatic while on Cycle for Peace in Switzerland'!!

It is true that I can't know what was going on in his head, perhaps a family member had been killed in a suicide bombing, or maybe he was just an extremist who has little care for the Other. Either way, we were all quite shaken up. In the next town we passed through two of the cyclists reported the incident to the police, but because we did not have the entire licence plate nothing can be done.

Fortunately, things did get better! The closer we got to the Alps the more beautiful the ride became!! The mountains and the clouds and the lakes were just magnificent! This part of the ride was by far the most beautiful! However, those beautiful mountains also meant steep climbs!! The actual Alp ascent was broken over two days. The first day we had a steady climb of 35km, the second day we only had to ride a further 9km before reaching St Gotthard's Pass. It was this last part of the climb which was the most challenging - due to the steepness of the rise. The group separated itself into two: a steady group and a faster group. The steady group (which I went in) left 30mins before the faster group. This really helped because it meant that we in the first group didn't have any pressure put on us to speed up. Reaching the top was the highlight of my journey! 2108m above sea level we struggled up that ever-higher mountain range! We could never quite see where the climb would end due to cloud. We could see each other's breaths: from behind it looked like we were all taking regular puffs from a cigarette! Reaching the top we all cheered and did our victory dances!

It was during the wait for the second group that we realised just how cold it was!!! Jackets were quickly found and put on but my fingers were so so cold!!! They were red and aching, as my cycling gloves do not cover the whole hand. After the whole group reached the pass, we handed around small munchies, had a toilet break and then off we went - zooming down the mountain towards the warmth at the bottom!

I was definetly the slowest rider going down the mountain! I was terrified!!!! The wind was strong, and my bike and I are very light! I felt as if with every gust I was about to be thrown over the pitifully small barrier between me and the open air! Frozen fingers didn't help, as it made breaking difficult! The thing about the Alps is that the roads are jutting out the side of the mountains! This means that by looking down, directly below you is the road that you will presently be winding down to! The hairpin bends were very tight and frightening! Many many times I wished that we were still climbing rather than doing this harrowing descent!!

We took the smaller roads so at some points the road turned into cobblestones! I can now say from experience that riding down steep descents with sharp hairpin bends on a ROAD BIKE on COBBLESTONES is not a cup of tea!!!

After the descent softened, I was able to relax more and enjoy the down-hill. But that would not last for long, because my knee began to ache again - in earnest! I think that all the pressure I had put on it to get over the Alps and then those bloomin' cobblestones had really levelled a hefty fee on my poor knee! So into the van I went once more!

I think I'm going to have to stop this catch-up session here for the moment, as my internet time has come to an end!

I will write again soon!

Ciao ciao eveyone! And thank you again for all of your comments! They're brilliant!