Nelson to Luton to Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

As per everything else in my life; everything was done in time although not on time – lastminute.com. One thing that I have learnt preparing for this trip is how many people out there actually care. The number of phone calls, texts, facebook messages, emails and visits overwhelmed me and has made the journey, and the indeed the next three months, easier. Thank you – You know who you are.

After a couple of hours sleep, Hussain along with Ali Chaudhary and Qasim Rauf picked me up at 4:30am -  Hussains ‘intresting’ music choice made the journey easier!. Having known about the Trip and the work that I would be involved with in the West bank for a couple of months, this was the first time I actually felt nervous; a combination of the project, the country, the length of time I will be away from home and the pressure to make sure I make the most of the journey both socially, spiritually and practically.

I met the group at the airport and made it through check-in with no issues (even though I was 3kg over!). One thing that has stuck in my mind from Luton Airport is the conversation i had with the till girl at boots. She asked me where I was going; my response was “Palestine” to which she replied “where is that”; I told her “some people call it Israel” she smiled and said – “oh yes – Have a nice Time”. The phrase ‘’nice time’’ – stuck in my head for the rest of the journey; my worries were how ‘nice’ a time would I have learning and witnessing the things that I will. What also was apparent from this conversation, although perhaps a generalisation is how ignorant the world is to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The flight was delayed and cramped but I had a heavy knock out for most of the flight, I arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and got to immigration where, as expected, I was held for an hour and a half and questioned along with another member of the group; we were both Muslim, the rest went straight through – I guess a name like Muhammed Arif Khan didn’t help.. After being questioned twice and asked – who is your father? Who is your grandfather? When was the last time you went to Pakistan? Why has it been so long since you have been Pakistan? What is your occupation? And taking a mobile phone number, home telephone number and email address they let me go; I informed them before leaving that Israel cannot play football (i had watched an hour of it whilst waiting) and left them with an invite to Nelson that i assured them if they took they would not regret.

Arriving in Jerusalem there is no doubting the spirituality of this place, you could feel it in the air, you could feel it in the people.

"Sometimes you have to lose yourself in order to find yourself" - Matt Sullivan, Head of New Business @ CMS