Why is English so important to the Palestinians? There is no need to state the importance of the English language worldwide. It is the one single language you revert to when you cannot communicate in your own. In Palestine, English represents a window the outside and not only a vehicle of communication with the tourists.
When talking to students from Hebron´s polytechnic University, one of the 4 universities in the Palestinian city of 300,000 inhabitants, they tell their stories with the English language. Mohanned says “I watch a lot of series, always in English and with the subtitles, I watch a lot of youtube videos from English speakers.
My dream is to go to Los Angeles where I want to learn about 3D Photography”. He has an English-American accent which he says he likes perfecting as he goes along. Him and his friends love taking visitors to the old city and explain its history with their own words. “We like talking to foreigners who come to Hebron, it means we can practice and at the same time share our culture with them”. For 16 years-old teenagers, they make a few philosophical statement like “Beauty is from inside out”…
On one such walk, a local hebronite mum explains: “My English is not great, I learnt it at school but I made sure my children know different languages. One of them speaks English, Italian and French”. She is around 60 years old but she manages to express herself very well. “Us Palestinians, we often have familiy all over the world and when we are lucky enough to get a visa to visit them, we like to be able to talk to people and that´s why I always made sure to practice my English”.
During these trouble times, it is essential for the Palestinians to get the message across to the world about their identity and as a nation who has survived. In order to do that, they must establish English as a second language in their schools/universities. In the meantime, parents should be encouraged to send their children to classes or abroad when their finances permit it.
It is all the more important that English speakers visit the country regularly to enable to locals to practice and appreciate the different accents encountered abroad. The more exposure to real English speakers, the better prepared they will be. In Hebron, one realizes that age is not a barrier to learning a language even given that for Arabic speaker, English presents real challenges! Ibrahim, a shop keeper in the old city says “I have sold produce to people from all over the world, it is incredible to think that my soaps are being used right now by someone in Canada or Sweden. We are a small family business who makes everything by hand. The fact that I can explain all the fabrication process in English is definitely a big selling point!”
In summary, languages are tools of communication. They help us understand each other better and exchange ideas or simply tell our story. English gives Palestinians more control over their future, simple thing which is exactly what they need and crave.
