Change of dates for part of journey out of London

Dear everyone who is involved in this visit

LAST MINUTE CHANGE OF DATES

First  it is still going to happen but the dates of some parts are changing. The reason is visa craziness and explained below **.

Please don't be too disappointed - the boys will get Eid at home, Adam will see his brother who is going to be released from prison tonight - he was going to miss the celebration - there must be good sides to this story.

Of course we are really very disappointed to change the plans, not to see our friends tomorrow,  to have to reorganise a lot of things and to add a lot of cost to the visit...

BUT THE VISIT IS STILL GOING TO HAPPEN  
AND THE BOYS WILL BE HERE IN BRITAIN  
between Monday 6th and Weds 15th October

New timetable follows.

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Why the change? 

Visa craziness - Having to get  visas in such a difficult way is particularly hard for Palestinians. If you look at the first post in this blog, you can see the situation when we started. We got through that one and were given  an appointment for the boys for fingerprints in Ramallah so they could submit their visa applications.

But it is such a long and complex process. The passports went to Jordan where they are dealt with by the British Embassy in Amman. We expected to have them in time. We asked, if the time was tight, for the visa office in Amman to keep the passports so we could send a courier (as we have done before).

Today we sent someone to the Amman office to collect the passports - and discovered that they were put yesterday in a sealed diplomatic bag to Jerusalem  where they will be delivered tomorrow at the earliest - and apparently no way can they be got or that bag opened before that. 

So the passports can be collected only after the kids' flight has left Amman tomorrow morning at 6...So they cannot get that flight.
  We tried to change the flight from tomorrow to the day after, or the day after... but this is a whole group and there is not enough available room on the planes till Monday at the earliest - therefore we have added on some days at the end.

Partners out of London - this will affect your programme.  We will be in touch with you NOW to confirm all arrangements.

Meet some of the young people from London....

Hi, my name is Nasimur. Call me Nas and I'm really looking forward to seeing you!

My name is Zahra. I'm 17 years old. I'm studying law, photography and classical civilisation. I enjoy reading and music.

Hi, my name is Naima and I'm 16 years old. I'm currently studying maths, biology, chemistry and French. I'm looking forward to your visit and would like to be a doctor in the future.

My name is Alamin and next time I visit Palestine I will meet you in Abu Dis!!

Hello, my name is Aida. I'm 16 years old, studying all sciences except for physics. I am Egyptian and speak Arabic quite fluently.

Getting ready in London

This is a picture from a meeting at Calthorpe Project in London - getting ready for the visit

A pity we can't see everyone here... but soon you'll see us all.

Nervous nervous - hope this works!

The kids' visas have been dealt with but the passports didn't arrive on Friday - We couldn't raise an answer today (when the Jordan office was open but the Jerusalem one shut) - and we're not sure where they are! 

Our visitors are  meant to be travelling TOMORROW (late afternoon, so they can get a plane early on Tuesday morning) so tomorrow morning is the last chance...

We are hoping to be able to send a courier to get the passports if they are still in Jordan or to Jerusalem if they have reached there,so all is not yet lost if we can get an answer tomorrow, but it is definitely nerve-racking.....

Come and meet the young people

 r

Meet the boys visiting England soon...

انا اسمي قيص الشلالدة  انا طالب في مدرسة ابوديس الثانوية  عمري  15 سنة  انا اريد زيارت بريطانيا لكي اتعرف على ثقافتهم و 

 لكي ارى  مدنهم كيف تبدوا

My name is Qis Al Shalalda. I am a student at Abu Dis Boy's School. I am 15 years old and I want to visit England to see English culture and the cities.  

 انا اسمي صالح ابو هلال انا من مدرسة المعهد العربي انا عمري 16 سنة اريد زيارت بريطانيا  لكي ارى الاماكن المشهورة و منها بيج بين و  ملعب المانشستر

My name is Salh Abu Hlal. I am a student at the Arab Institute. I am 16 years old and I want to visit England to see the famous places such as Manchester Stadium and Big Ben. 

انا اسمي انس ابو هلال انا طالب المعهد العربي عمري 15 سنة اريد الذهاب الى بريطانيا لكي ارى اشياء جديدة و عالم جديد 

My name is Anas Abu Hlal. I am a student at the Arab Institute. I am 15 years old and I want to visit England to see new things and the new world. 

انا اسمي ادم حلبية انا طالب في مدرسة ابوديس الثانوية عمري 18 سنة اريد زيارت بريطانيا للتعرف على عالم جديد و لكي اتحدث 

 عن القضية الفلسطينية

My name is Adam Halabia. I am a student at Abu Dis Boy's School. I am 18 years old and I want to visit England to see a new world and speak about the Palestinian issue.

Anas Abu Hlal  انس ابوهلال  

Qis Al Shalalda قيص الشلالدة 

Salh Abu Hlal صالح ايو هلال

Adam Halabia ادم حلبية 

Adam and the CADFA volunteer, Marguerite.  

Preparing at Dar Assadaqa

Some of the visitors and CADFA volunteers working today at Dar Assadaqa

Last days before the visit

In Palestine the boys are preparing for the visit - with the help of people at Dar Assadaqa they are working on their presentations and wondering what they will find in Britain...

A bit worrying today because the passports are not back with the British visas in them.  - We are watching, hoping, ready to do what we can to get those passports back on time ... and get our visitors here!

In Britain, we are working very hard on the last-minute parts of the arrangements for the visit, for the events, on publicity and accommodation and transport and information... Visits like this are lots of work but we know it will be worth it.

Looking forward, not many days to go!

An article about the coming visit

Hey it doesn't mention this is a CADFA visit. But it's nice to see that it's hit the news.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/pendle/11499316.West_Bank_delegation_aims_to_strengthen_bond_with_Pendle/

The first place on the visit... Pendle...

Pendle is the name of the area round Pendle Hill in the north of England – about 50 km from Manchester United! There are several towns in Pendle – Nelson, Colne, Brierfield and Barnoldswick are the largest – with various industries, and there is some great countryside round here too. There are six high schools, many primary schools and a college. The population became much more mixed in the twentieth century and in particular Pendle has become home to many people of Pakistani origin. Pendle might not be the wealthiest part of the world, but its people are as welcoming and generous as anywhere.

بندل هو اسم المنطقة المحاذية لتله بندك الى الشمال من انجلترا تبعد عن مدينة مانشستر حوالي 50 كيلو متر هناك العديد من البلدات في منطقة بندل بيلسون وبريرفيلد وبيرنولدسويك وهي البلدة الأكبر كما وتوجد في منطقة بندل العديد من المواقع الصناعية وهي أيضاً تحتوي على مواقع طبيعية الخضراء المنتشرة حولها. هناك ستة مدارس ثانوية في بندل والعديد من المدارس الابتدائية والكليات. كما ويوجد فيها خليط من القوميات بين سكانها خاصة في العشرين عام الماضية حيث يسكن العديد من الباكستانيين. ليست بندل هي المنطقة الأغنى في العالم ولكن سكانها برحبون على الدوام بكل زوارها وهم كريمين جداً وودودون.

  .

Children's visit timetable

Changing Places programme:   

30th September

WELCOME IN CAMDEN

PART ONE – PENDLE
1st Oct  Weds	Induction in Camden - then travel to Pendle
2nd Oct Thurs	School and community visits
3rd Oct Fri	School and community visits 7pm PUBLIC EVENT at Brierfield Community Centre

PART TWO – VISIT TO MANCHESTER
4th Oct Sat	Meet the Pendle Mayor. Outing in Pendle Manchester  in afternoon    7pm PUBLIC EVENT in Manchester: Subrosa Cafe,

PART THREE – CHESTER
5th Oct Sun	Day out in Chester – see the walls and the city Lunch with the Mayor Drama workshop Travel to Northampton

PART FOUR – NORTHAMPTON
6th  Oct Mon	Visit to town and local school. Radio Northampton 7pm PUBLIC EVENT at Doddridge Centre

PART FIVE – LONDON
7th Oct Tues	Travel to London by train.     A day of tourism – central London
8th Oct Weds	London outing day: London Zoo Evening in Camden Youth Clubs
Thurs 9th	Visits to Camden schools Hackney afternoon PUBLIC EVENT in Hackney
Fri 10th   –	Visit to Camden schools Visit to Emirates Stadium  . Sobell Sports centre   Evening  PUBLIC EVENT
11th Oct Saturday	Camden and Regent’s Park Youth League Buddy afternoon 7pm CADFA  fundraising meal: Hiba Express, Holborn

12th Oct Sun (travel day)

Project evaluation Palestinians leave for home

Abu Dis boys preparing

Thank you very much to the people who helped our group put in their visa applications (see below - the problem for all Palestinians at the moment is severe). They went to Ramallah on Wednesday, did fingerprints and gave in their applications, and we very much hope that they will be here on time.

Here's a picture of the boys (young men) from Abu Dis who will be joining the visit to London preparing pictures and presentations to bring with them, to tell people in the UK about their lives in Palestine. The picture was taken today in Dar Assadaqa, the community centre CADFA supports there, which is based in an old Palestinian house.

The group is going to include six school students - these four and two from Beit Leed village - and three men. All boys and men this time - why not? CADFA often hear the voices of women.

Hey Qais, Saleh, Anas and Adam (and everyone else in the group), we're looking forward to hearing what you have to tell us!

Children from Gaza

This visit includes only children from the West Bank. But the picture on the background is of young people from Gaza who were going to come on a CADFA visit last August. They were not able to get through the border crossing at Rafah and so they couldn't come. 

We will remember them throughout this visit, and we will remember all the children from Gaza. This includes children who were killed during the war of the summer, those who were injured, those who were orphaned, those whose schools were bombed, those who were made homeless, and everyone who is trapped until the borders are opened.