Development in Palestine: Destined to fail before it has even started?

Just outside of Hebron there are two places that share the same name, but life for the communities within them could not be more different.

It was a hot summer day in 2012 when I headed to the Palestinian village of Susiya for the first time. ActionAid had already been working there a year and my assignment was to set up a women’s group. But I was already plagued with doubts.

I had never been to Susiya, but I had learned from colleagues and friends that it was not a nice place to be in – not because of the people but because of all the troubles surrounding it. I knew it was a small village with a population of just over 300 people. I knew that it was under continuous demolition threat and that its neighbour was an illegal Israeli settlement.

When I eventually got there it was not what I had pictured. No one can picture such misery in one place. It was nothing but a number of tents and sheds. It was not a place where people could easily live and thrive, not a place where parents would choose to raise children and build a life.

It also offered a stark contrast to the nearby Israeli settlement, which carries the same name but not the same status. Its residents have brick houses, electricity supply and an abundance of clean and flowing water. There are telecommunication networks, paved roads, health clinics and more.

Back in the village I was about to start my work in, my doubts continued to grow. The people welcomed us in with smiles but were cynical about whether we could achieve any real change. One woman summed up the general feeling of hopelessness when I asked her what she knew about her rights. “You mean inheritance? Forget about it.”

Looking around me, I could see her point. How do you get a project off the ground in a community where people fear that the bulldozers might come at any moment. They had been evicted from areas nearby not once but twice, first in 1948 and the second time a couple of decades ago, when the Israelis said they had discovered an old synagogue in their area. The more I talked to people there, the more I grew uncertain of my purpose in the village, a mission that seemed destined to fail before it had even started.

Despite the difficult circumstances, over the next few years we renovated some of the existing water cisterns to increase the supply of clean water, set up a kindergarten and opened a clinic in cooperation with Palestine Medical Relief Society.

At first the villagers were cynical about what we could do to improve their lives. I asked one woman what she knew about her rights and the reply was, “You mean inheritance? Forget about it.” I began to ask myself questions. What am I doing in this place? What are the people doing here? And will there be any Susiya next week or am I going to come to find nothing but rubble? I grew uncertain of my purpose in the village, a mission that seemed destined to fail before it had even started.