Letter to the San Francisco Chronicle

in response to article of May 16, 2002

(original article below)

By Stefan Sharkansky

I was intrigued to read the quote from Martin Luther King III in today's Chronicle story about the Palestinian teenagers who are visiting the U.S. (May 16).

Mr. King compared the Palestinian struggle for freedom to the U.S. civil rights movement. The struggles are similar in that they both involve people yearning for freedom. The tragic difference is that the civil rights movement, embodied by Mr. King's father, chose the path of non-violence, while the Palestinian movement chooses to murder innocent civilians. It is no accident that African-Americans in this country achieved so many of their goals, while the Palestinians have managed only to increase the body count on both sides.

What many people have failed to realize is that a majority of Israelis are already sympathetic to ending the occupation and supporting a Palestinian state. What Israel will not accept, however, is a state based on the current Palestinian strategy of violence and hatred. If Mr. King and others in the civil rights movement could teach the Palestinians to restructure their liberation movement based on the late Dr. King's non-violent principles, the situation in the Middle East would change dramatically. The Palestinians would win not only their statehood, but also peaceful coexistence with Israel, and the chance for a civil society based on human rights and justice.

Anastasia Hendrix, the Chronicle staff reporter who wrote the article in question, sent me this gracious response:

dear stefan, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about the article in today's paper about the palestinian teenagers. i think your points are all exceptional, and i appreciate your forwarding them to the letters section so that all our readers may benefit from your insight.

The Chronicle did not publish my letter.

Original Article

Palestinian girls to head home
Girls from refugee camp head back with high hopes

by Anastasia Hendrix, Chronicle Staff Writer

The two teenage girls who came to San Francisco almost eight weeks ago as anonymous residents of a Palestinian refugee camp will head home Sunday as high-profile, passionate ambassadors for peace in their homeland.

During their stay, 15-year-old Sanabel Al-Fararja and 16-year-old Kayan Al- Saify crossed the United States to talk about the conflict in the Middle East, achieving near-celebrity status through the media attention they attracted.

The girls, friends since they began folk dancing at a cultural center seven years ago, said they were recognized by everyone from flight attendants to ticket takers at theme parks who had seen them on television or in the papers.

Best of all, Kayan said, people's reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.

The girls went to Los Angeles first to attend the March 24 Academy Awards with a filmmaker whose documentary about youths in the Mideast was nominated for an Oscar.

Sanabel, featured in the film, decided to sneak out of the refugee camp with Kayan to be at the Oscars, hoping she might get a chance to appeal for peace from the podium if the film won.

But the film lost, and the conflict back home continued to worsen. Israeli military forces sealed off the Dheisheh refugee camp outside Bethlehem, and their parents begged them not to return there until the situation stabilized.

Jumana Muwafi, a 33-year-old computer engineer who met the girls two years ago, invited them to stay in her Pacific Heights apartment.

Rather than riding cable cars or taking photographs at Fisherman's Wharf, the girls traversed the city and country -- visiting high schools and giving talks at churches, synagogues and social halls.

The girls had to decline many invitations, Muwafi said, for lack of time. They spoke at several San Francisco schools and at a conference in Santa Clara before going to Seattle, Atlanta and Orlando -- trips financed by the organizations that requested them to appear.

Kayan said they were envious to see schools with rooms dedicated to photography, music and classes -- with only a fraction of the students back home.

They said it will be hard to leave behind the luxuries of life in America, the huge portions of restaurant food, the convenience and selection in the stores, but they are eager to embrace their parents, siblings and friends once more. In their final days in the Bay Area, they are stuffing their suitcases with clothes from Target and trinkets to give as souvenirs of their trip.

At every stop along the way, the girls were interviewed by local and national television, newspaper and radio reporters. Even the teen magazine Twist ran a feature article about the girls, who have an affinity for blue jeans, lip gloss and platform shoes.

The most memorable moment was meeting Martin Luther King III, who compared the Palestinian struggle for freedom to the civil rights movement in the United States during a talk at an Atlanta high school, Sanabel said

"I just said, 'I have studied about your father and you are in front of me. I can't believe it,' " said Sanabel.

Both agreed it was a more dramatic encounter than meeting actresses like Jennifer Lopez and Kate Winslet or spending the afternoon at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

Of the Oscar spectacle and the excess at the theme park, Kayan shrugged and mused: "It's America. Everything's strange."

(copyright 2002 San Francisco Chronicle)