The Work of EAPPI in Palestine
Pax Palestine Podcast, podcast audio, March 30, 2021.
https://paxpalestinepodcast.buzzsprout.com/1727861/8109296-1-the-work-of-the-eappi-in-palestine
The podcast episode comes from PAX, a Dutch peacemaking organisation, that, among other things, sends volunteers as Ecumenical Accompaniers to Palestine and Israel, as part of the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). It briefly explores the history of the conflict, before interviewing Jack Munayer a Palestinian Christian EAPPI volunteer about the programme. EAPPI volunteers are human rights observers, primarily at border crossings and settlements. The podcast explores the non-religious nature of the programme and its advocacy work, before continuing to interview Annalise, a Dutch volunteer. They talk about reporting on settler attacks and harassment and their specific impact on school children. Annalise describes the frustration of not being able to intervene (for example, when children are being arrested) and how it can feel like EAPPI is doing nothing in that moment; however, she references agitating for political change by relaying their experiences as imperative. Even with their occasional impotence, EAPPI still operates hot lines for Palestinians to help facilitate humanitarian deliveries, navigating blacklisting and opening closed checkpoints.