An island of sanity for Silwan's kids

Creative Information Center offers children alternative to violent neighborhood streets, says founder

Yair Altman|Published: 11.04.10 , 11:11

The east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan has been trapped in a cycle of violence for some time. Clashes between Jews and Palestinians, stone-throwing, and razing of homes are just some of the frequent occurrences.

But one institution is making a valiant attempt at rescuing Silwan's children from this violent reality – the Creative Information Center, something of a YMCA established by Jawad Siyam, a social worker and resident of the neighborhood.

Some 500 children and teens aged 6-16 come regularly to the center, open from 10 am to 6 pm. They attend art and writing workshops, theater and dance classes, journalism courses, and a variety of other activities offered by the center, which operates entirely on donations from humanitarian organizations.

'Expanding and enriching horizons' (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

The center is also home to Silwan's only library, with shelves stacked with more than 2,500 books in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.

"All books can be borrowed, and we have everything," explains Mona Hassan, who heads communications at the center. "We want to expand and enrich the children's horizons. I have no intention of barring them from getting any kind of information, and we even have Torah books – translated to Arabic."

Siyam, the center's founder, explained that when he was a child there were no activities for children available in Silwan. "That is why we tried to occupy ourselves on the street," he said.

"But the street is no place for children. It is even a source of conflict, whether due to fights or clashes with the police or settlers. Since then not much has changed, and Silwan still suffers from criminal abandonment by the municipality and Israeli authorities. Aside from the streets and infrastructure nothing is maintained here, and schoolchildren have no structured activities."

'No playgrounds, no gymnasiums'

Parents pay a meager NIS 100 ($25) annually for their child's membership, and large families even get a discount.

"Our major activity is in the summer. We call it a 'summer camp', but our budget is far from allowing us to hold activities like you Jews know," Siyam said.

"All it is, is a number of social activities that take place for five days throughout the neighborhood. This year, for example, we rented a Gymboree, held a puppet theater, and British volunteers formed a circus. These are things that many of Silwan's children have never seen before, so there was a lot of excitement."

Silwan's only library: Torahs in Arabic (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

The center also boasts a large number of volunteers from around the world – including Americans, Canadians, and Germans. But there is also a Jewish Jerusalemite who drops by every day to teach the kids to play guitar.

Is this a sign of coexistence? Siyam is none too sure. "I don't think this is an accurate term for a place in which no coexistence exists. The children in Silwan are no different from other children, but the problem here is that there is nowhere to play – no playgrounds, fields, or gymnasiums," he said.

"The settlers who arrived here, and the security guards at their sides, have brought in a lot of stress and create a dangerous environment for the children. Our problem with the security guards is that they function as police officers. They don't just guard the settlers, they endanger the children."

In addition, Siyam says, Arab residents of the village harbor a lot of mistrust for the authorities. "Many times, when we arrive to file a complaint against the settlers with the police, not only do they not investigate, but they also blame us and arrest us," he said.

But it seems that even Siyam's center cannot be free of politics. It is also home to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, which has been operating since July of last year in what its researchers call "finding the truth". Their activities include filming the goings-on at the neighborhood, of which a recent example was Jewish children and police officers throwing stones at Arabs.

"Our intention is that they see our side as well," Siyam explained. "Since the establishment of the City of David visitors' center we have felt the need to make our voices heard as well. Through the center, we can tell the truth from behind the scenes, and the fact that many Israelis don't want to hear is that Silwan is an Arab neighborhood. It has always been this way and will always be this way. It is not the City of David and never will be. It is the place in which we grow up and this is where we will continue to live."