EAPPI volunteers safely home
‘The whole EAPPI family share concern for their seven staff still on the ground in Israel and Palestine, as well as desperate sadness for those caught up in the conflict’, said Britain Yearly Meeting.
Two Irish nationals who monitor the human rights situation in Palestine, in a programme managed by Quakers in Britain, have been evacuated.
The pair, volunteers for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Israel and Palestine (EAPPI), were driven from Jerusalem across the border to Amman where they caught a flight home, arriving on Saturday.
They hope to return to their work soon. However, ‘the whole EAPPI family share concern for their seven staff still on the ground in Israel and Palestine, as well as desperate sadness for those caught up in the conflict’, said Britain Yearly Meeting. One of the ecumenical accompaniers (EAs), based in Bethlehem for the past six weeks, said that it was heartbreaking to no longer be able to walk alongside people who had asked for a protective presence. ‘All of these people have asked for an international presence that provides a level of protection in the face of persistent harassment and violence,’ she said, adding that it was ‘an extremely challenging time for all the people I have met… I think of people for whom we can no longer provide protective presence… These are all communities that we have been supporting closely over the past six weeks whether by gathering and packing almonds, by helping make it safe for children to cross a very dangerous road or accompanying shepherds as they graze their flocks of sheep and goats on land that has been confiscated.’
EAPPI has been running since 2002 and has seen 1,500 volunteers act as human rights monitors, engaging with Palestinians and Israelis pursuing a just peace.
The only other time volunteers, who serve for three months, have been repatriated is during the coronavirus pandemic.
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