Tourism in London and International Women's Day

We spent the morning around south bank and enjoying the sites of London via a river cruise and the London Eye. Our women quests very much enjoyed this and spoke about how they do not have similar things in Palestine, say for example the architecture as the occupation stifles cultural growth. Following our morning down by the Thames, we headed off to Camden for an International Women’s event which included great food, music and interesting talks about what life under occupation is like for our guests. Many people in the audience found these talks to be very moving. We were able to gain some idea of what occupation was like for our quests by listening to their stories. One of the recurring themes was the arbitrary abuse of power, especially exercised at checkpoints and the grave consequences of this. For instance we were told how many woman are forced to give birth at checkpoints and how this if often dangerous for the new born. We also heard from a female student that the soldiers’ moods would determine whether they were able to go to university on a particular day and how personally she had to miss a final exam as she was not allowed to pass through the checkpoint. Following our public meeting, we headed of to Primrose Hill, but just as we headed for the top of the hill, we accompanied by a sharp shower, however, once we had made it to the top, the women enjoyed the panoramic view of London which was set against a golden sunset and double rainbow!