Aaron filming the planting of olive trees. Photo by Vivien Sansor

The third day of the Run Across Palestine started in Jerusalem and ended over twenty five  miles away in Arura. It was another incredibly exciting, gruelling and inspiring day.  Like most of the days of the run, the work was far from over at the destination. We were welcomed in Arura by a large crowd of cheering people including the female governor a wide region. We were fed a tasty meal, welcomed in speeches and greeted by local dignitaries.  By the end of most of these days, our team (6 runners, 3 media people and Joshua Davis the musical ambassador) were exhausted and ready to rest.  At Arura, the runners did their best to be sociable, but after their second straight day of marathoning (plus a truncated marathon the day before that), beds and (most likely unobtainable showers) beckoned.

Once the festivities ended we needed to find places to sleep and many members of the community volunteered to share their homes.  The media team (myself, journalist Jacob Wheeler and photojournalist Aubrey Parker) and our invaluable coordinator Vivien Sansour, ended up being hosted by Abu Ali and his family in a cozy home close to the town center.   We arrived after dark, and sat in the living room with Abu’s family eating snacks and  communicating about our lives through translation from Vivien.  There was a great deal of laughter.

Aaron Dennis and Jacob Wheeler. Photo by Aubrey Ann Parker. aubreyannparker.com

I was tired, and glad to see the arrival of Turkish coffee.  For me I knew this would be the fifth straight very late night. Since two days before the run, Jacob and I had been producing a daily web series called “The People and the Olive”  about the Run Across Palestine and the Palestinian olive farmers that were being supported by this project.   We knew producing a video each day about that day’s event would be a challenge.  But we were inspired by the goal of the project and by the endurance of the runners.  I figured if they could run a marathon each day, we could easily complete a video each day.  Jacob and I worked really well as a team (it’s the first of many collaborations, I hope), with great support and input from Vivien, and two of the  running leaders, Timothy Young and Chris Treter.   I filmed and edited and brainstormed with Jacob each day’s storyline, while Jacob found the meat of each story, interviewed our subjects and gave (quite literal) running commentary to many of the events.   In the evenings I would work to get some semblance of a rough cut together, share it with those around (or awake), and based on feedback, work into the wee hours to finish each video.

As I drank the silty coffee and laughed with the family, I knew I had to start work on Part 5 soon.   Five straight nights of little sleep were taking their toll, and starting from scratch at 9 or 10pm was going to be a challenge.   I asked Vivien is she could explain to the family why I was going to be up late (or maybe all night).  She told them about the videos we’d been making and they asked to see them.   I gladly set up my laptop and played for them Part 3, showing the drama of Day 1 of the Run where the runners were stopped by the Israeli military and  Part 4, the emotional journey into Jerusalem when the runners had to leave their Palestinian friends behind.   The family sat around the coffee table and watched.  They seemed intrigued and became especially animated in the second half of Part 4, when the runners entered Jerusalem.   Like most Palestinians they had been unable to visit Jerusalem for years and were fascinated and saddened to see the city.   But after watching the videos and seeing what we were doing, they thanked us and said they would do whatever they could to support us.   Abu told me that this was now my home and to do as I pleased.  I told them I needed to start working, and for the next few hours a steady stream of tea, coffee, fruit juice, cookies and candy bars were delivered to me, Jacob and Aubrey as we worked.   They also brought out a pile of delicious fresh baked bread with spinach in it they hoped would hold us through the night.  The family went to sleep around midnight, and my companions stayed awake until 1 or 2am.   I continued to work at the video until 4am when I was exhausted and I crashed on the bed they had prepare.  The video wasn’t finished, and somehow my internal alarm clock woke me at 6am to finish it.   I jumped up and went back to editing.   As the family started to wake up I was brought more fresh coffee and tea and cookies.  My companions awoke and I gave them a preview of the video before they went to join the rest of the runners for breakfast.

I finished the video around 7:30am and quickly exported it.  The next challenge was trying to upload it to YouTube.  We knew in some regions of the trip Internet connections would be tricky to find, so we had invested in a few USB cell phone Internet “sticks”.  These allowed for a relatively stable (but painfully slow) connection that worked anywhere that had cell phone reception.   Because of the poor connection I had to export a very small file (which reduced the visual quality), in order to upload it as fast as possible.   As it was uploading, Abu Ali’s wife served me an amazing breakfast – eggs, fried potatoes, fresh pita bread, olive oil, tomatoes, cucumbers, salty goat cheese, and other treats.  It was enough food for 5 people, and I ate as much as I could to fortify myself for another day of filming.   Finally the upload finished.  I grabbed my bags, profusely thanked the family and ran to the town center just in time to film the departure of the runners.

That was just one day but it illustrated the joys, and challenges of each day of the project. It wasn’t easy, but being a part of the Run Across Palestine and making these videos was one of the great experiences of my life.  I was inspired by the warm and welcoming hospitality and friendship of the Palestinians.  Everywhere we went we were greeted with open arms  – “You are most welcome” “Our home is yours”, “Come back anytime” we heard constantly.   I was mto tell the story that was slowly unfolding. To show the beautiful faces of the Palestinians and their daily struggles and to show how hard the runners were working.  I was so excited to share these experiences with the world.  One of our main goals was to show the human side of the the Palestinians – who to me, are often dehumanized by our media.  My own poorly formed misconceptions evaporated early in the trip and I wanted that to happen to others.

I knew there were be value in the immediacy of the videos – people following the run could keep track of events almost as they were happening and we could produce these while the experience and the emotions were fresh.  And after our run-in with the Israeli military, I knew there was always a chance that my camera and computer would be confiscated and that getting these videos online quickly might be the only chance to preserve our stories.

After five straight days of late night video production, I took that night off and crashed early.  The next night, after the finish line of the Run, I worked to produce Part 6.  That took another late light as I edited and celebrated with the team near Jenin.  Somehow the runners reminisced and danced until 3am (after running over 100 miles in 5 days). The next morning I finished editing on a bus to the Dead Sea, fighting motion sickness.  We stopped at a road-side shawarma stand near Jericho (the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world) where I was able to power-up enough to export the video, and I then upload it. I was drained, the runners were drained, and a few hours later with a lot sadness, most of the team departed.

One of my fondest memories of the trip was forging a deep bond with the Run Across Palestine team and our amazing Palestinian friends.  I’ll always have a special place in my heart for them all. I loved the culture exchange of this project.  It emphasized to me, that worldwide we are all the same.  This project wasn’t “anti” anything – it was pro-people. It was all about a shared love for humanity.  There was a wonderful loving feeling between everyone involved and everyone we met.

In the end, we completed our goal, producing 7 episodes for the web-series.  All 7 of those can be seen here in their original form: http://onthegroundglobal.org/the-people-and-the-olive-video-series/

Since returning home, I’ve uploaded full quality versions (with some very subtle tweaks) to The People and the Olive Vimeo channel here: https://vimeo.com/channels/292633

I’m really excited to publicly announce that Jacob and I are going to expand what we’ve created into a larger documentary.  We want this story to reach a wider audience, and for it to continue to work to support the Palestinian olive farmers.   We’re going to try to do this as quickly as we can, to continue the momentum.   We’ll have more to announce about that soon.

And for those of you in the Traverse City region, join us on Wednesday, February 29th at 5pm at Higher Grounds, for the “Welcome Back” party for the Run Across Palestine.  Most of the participants will be there to share stories, enjoy Palestinian music and listen to Joshua Davis play a tune or too.  I’m really excited to reunite with the team!

-Aaron

Aaron Dennis, founder of Stone Hut Studios, creates Internet videos for good-for-the-world causes, companies and campaigns. He has worked across the globe to tell the stories of non-profits and humanitarian organizations. A graduate of the University of Michigan’s Film program, Dennis has been a part of several national PBS documentaries and specializes in filming, editing and motion graphics. www.stonehutstudios.com.  He can be reached at aaron.dennis@gmail.com

It has been one week. One week since we took our final steps on the road out of Jenin, finishing into the welcoming arms of the Canaan Fair Trade Association’s members. Complete with a booming drum core and marching uniformed youth giving us salutes. Hugs and grins all around. For me tears accompanying an intense wave of emotions. Some of which I could not even pinpoint or describe and their only manifestations were tight embraces and more warm tears.

We had come across the West Bank of Palestine. On the first day, group consensus was that we might have to adjust the name of ‘Run Across Palestine’ to ‘Get Across Palestine’ as it became evident that the obstacles ahead were much more than our tired feet and muscles. If only it were that simple. There would be military, checkpoints, settlements, arrests, police, soldiers and opposition. But there would also be wonderful welcomes in every Palestinian village where we ended our days. There would be thoughtfully prepared meals to refuel our tired bodies, host families to take us in and make us comfortable, dancing and singing to lift our spirits, tea and coffee over which to share conversation. And in the end we did…get across Palestine and on that sunny afternoon in the joyous chaos of our reception party it was time to celebrate.

I thought I might have reined in my emotions and tears until Nasser Arbufara announced the dedication of an olive tree to each RAP member. At first I misunderstood and thought we were going to plant a tree for each of us. I was already thrilled at that, but when we walked around back into a walled grove of olive trees it dawned on me I was wrong. A group of trees each wore a large sash hugging loosely around the branches. Each sash was a different color and each tree wore a sign on a branch. One said ‘Aaron Dennis’ another, ‘Randi Lyn’, another ‘Chris Treter’ and so on. Each one of us had a designated tree with our name on it. Mine wore a purple sash. The base of the tree bowled out in a way that looked like the tree was seeping into the earth at the slowest largo although it had of course been growing from the soil for around the last 200 years. The knots and dimples in the wood portrayed the expression of age on the tree–much like on a human face–even though by olive tree standards, ‘my’ tree is juvenile. The trunk diverged near the base into two main leaders like the oldest of partners aging side by side through the years.

I kept myself in check long enough to walk around with the group as we all hammered signs into the ground in front of our respective trees with plaques stating they were in our honor for the Run Across Palestine. When the crowd moved away, I stayed behind in the grove. I sat with my back against my tree and I wept. I just needed to sit for a minute and let go. Feel the energy of this living thing that has stood for 200 years and enshallah, will stand for another 2000. I thought about what this stationary being had witnessed in the past centuries and what it might witness moving forward and I wished for it to stand and grow on in a peaceful land void of violence, pain and strife.

I felt like I couldn’t leave. Like I really hadn’t done anything. I felt like I needed to stay. And do what? I don’t know, but help if I could. I realized the real journey was now beginning.

Along the way, the long way from Atuwani to Jenin I had been collecting. I was collecting sights and sounds, thoughts and emotions, light and love, pain and frustration, hope, fury, stories, laughter, anger, faces and smiles and embraces. I was collecting the Palestinian people, their story, and my reaction to it. Right at that moment with my back against the tree, it was the heaviest thing I had ever carried.

And now we are back…to ‘reality’. I’ve thought to myself so many times over the past week, ‘this can’t be reality. This is too trivial. I just left reality behind.’ So, we are adjusting back. ‘I miss you all’ has been exchanged between the team more times in the last week via Facebook and email than I can count. Needless to say, I feel changed. Once our eyes have been opened we cannot shut them. I will get back to normal, but I hope never completely, or that means I have set down my collection. I want to carry it always. I feel our responsibility is to share our experience with as many people as we can. It is a story that is seldom told. While we were there, we were asked more than once to tell the story of the Palestinian people to the world. And so I will. I feel like we had the opportunity to see life, although very briefly, through the eyes of a Palestinian. They welcomed us with open arms and warm hearts. They are amazing communities. I was struck by their kindness and graciousness, their overwhelming desire for peace and their deep connection to the land and all this in the face of an oppressing occupation where their mere existence is seen as resistance.

It has been wonderful to come home to my community and supporters, friends and family. To know that so many people were along for the journey from afar was a source of inspiration. When people have asked, ‘How was it?!’ I stumble over clichés like, ‘amazing, incredible, wonderful and life changing.’ What I should say it how much time do you have and where do I begin?

__________________

Meryl Marsh is a resident of Traverse City, Michigan where she has worked for the Michigan based non-profit Archangel Ancient Tree Archive as the Global Operations Coordinator since 2009. Before moving to Traverse City in February 2011 she lived in Europe for 2 years and worked on international projects for her current employer, sharing her time between Michigan and Belgium. Born in Oakland, California and raised in Hartland, Michigan, Marsh attended Western Michigan University earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 2004 with majors in Music and English, focusing on classical piano performance and professional writing.

IDEA TO HELP SPREAD THE WORD!
- Host a Palestinian “dinner and a movie” party with your friends/family of pita, olive oil, hummus, cucumber, falafel, olives.
- But a case of the olive oil ahead of time from Canaan or Higher Grounds, and sell it at your party to help support the farmers livelihood.
- And of course- show the videos too!!

We have created a permanent page with all videos in order here.