Palestine FC

 There is a National Palestinian women’s football team. They practice in el Ram, in a stadium that is lined by part of the Israeli wall separating them from Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem. That section of the wall has an entire speech by South African scholar Farid Esack written on it.

A French documentary maker is interviewing some of them and the girls are beyond inspiring. They fully know that the mere existence of their team is political. It challenges perceptions of women in a predominantly Muslim society and according to one of them “sends a message to the world” announcing their existence and their strength. When interviewed, they are honest and open, answering questions about how men react to them playing sports and why some choose to wear a headscarf and others don’t. They talk about the Palestinian toughness and endurance, which allows them to accomplish anything. Your heart melts as they speak.

On October 27 they were scheduled to play the United Arab Emirates in Bethlehem. They practiced intensely for weeks, the prime minister and the Palestinian representative to the EU were going to attend and make speeches before a press conference and big banquet. Everyone was excited and no less than ten international volunteers are very quickly interested to come with me to Bethlehem to see the match up.

I am in a car on the way to the stadium when Gertjan, a volunteer from the Netherlands calls me:

-       There is no game today.

-       What do you mean?

-       Well, I’m standing in the stadium and people are telling me that there is no game.

-       Are you in the wrong stadium?

-       Um. No. I don’t think so.

-       Did you ask them in Arabic? Maybe they just didn’t understand you?

-       There clearly isn’t a game going on. I’m going to leave. See you in Nablus.

The UAE team had already gotten their visas approved days ago. They arrived at the border the morning of the game, right after spending the Eid al-adha holidays at home with their families and were held “for security reasons” by the Israeli authorities until it was too late to get to the game. The girls in Bethlehem are crushed. I speak to my filmmaker friend and he calls the day “a sad, but an incredibly appropriate end to my documentary”.

2 DAYS LATER
The game is rescheduled. After a strong effort, Palestine loses 4-2 to the UAE.