Dubai: Organisers of a Dubai-based tour project aimed at immersing participants in the heart of the Middle East conflict say it is one of the most effective ways to change opinions and show the reality of life under occupation.
"It saves volumes on explanations, discussions and arguments, and skips the UN resolutions, long years of talks, disputes, conflict, right through to the human being and his or her ability to defy, live, dream, produce, learn and dance," says Sana Dabbagh, one of the founders of the Zyara group to Palestine.
Sana argues that a two-week trip to Palestine is all that one needs to understand the suffering of Palestinians. "It transforms people," she says.
The idea started small when Sana and her husband encouraged people they met to go to Palestine to see the situation for themselves. It was the change they observed among those who heeded the call that inspired them.
That was followed by more regular, private volunteer visits that Sana organised, until it was formalised as a group with the first Zyara (visit) to Palestine last year.
So far, Sana has taken up to 40 people on five trips to Palestine, but aims to recruit more participants to have two or more trips of 25 participants every year.
Dubai hub
While the organisation is global and accepts participants from everywhere, it views Dubai as a unique hub to operate out of because of the diversity of its population, which has in turn led to a more open-minded approach to the conflict among the UAE's residents, she says.
Despite that, she says, there are stereotypes that need to be dealt with, such as those about safety. Sana explains to participants that on a safety scale with Columbia one side and Dubai on the other, Palestine would be significantly closer to Dubai.
Participants often also assume that Palestine is "a hungry nation" and are surprised to see that life goes on despite the difficulties of the occupation.
The group has long-term objectives. It hopes that, at the least, participants will return and tell their stories to friends and colleagues and write about them in the media, and, at the most, hold their politicians accountable for their countries' support for the occupation's policies or their silence in the face of the violations of Palestinian rights.
"Meeting so many people in the UK who are so dedicated to the Palestinian cause has always baffled me. Nine out of ten of those who told me they have been to Palestine said it has transformed their lives," says Sana.
That is one of the reasons the group targets Westerners. While there is enthusiasm among Arabs in going on the visit, Sana says that Arabs have largely taken the occupation for granted.
"They grow up in a culture that does not encourage the individual to question, demand answers, or protest when not satisfied. In the West, those are basic rights… this leads to a strong belief in that ‘change can happen', a feeling so alien [to] Arabs," she says.
Citizens from most Arab countries are barred from entering Palestine either by Israel or by the laws in their own countries, making it difficult for the tour group to take Arabs.
That reality, coupled with the deep emotional attachment some Arabs have to Palestine, has led to a project called Letters to Palestine that is being led by an Emirati filmmaker.
In the film, Arabs who long for Palestine but cannot visit it send messages of support to the people. The messages will be taken and screened in Palestine by the Zyara tour group.
Zyara's next trip is in October, and it is now looking for backing, support and participation from regional philanthropists.
