Former AIRPI Chairman Mary Owen’s has produced a new documentary Witness at Checkpoint 300: My time in Bethlehem which was aired on RTÉ Radio One at 6.05pm on Easter Monday, April 5th 2010.
It tells the story of Barbara Walshe, who spent three months as a volunteer with the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) in 2009 where she reported on the movement of Palestinians under occupation between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Her first-hand account of conditions at Checkpoint 300 and her encounters with Palestinians and Israelis on both sides of the 8-metre wall separating these biblical cities features in the documentary by Well Said Productions.
The documentary contains fascinating insights into the work of Israeli non-governmental organisations in support of Palestinian civilians and explores her motivation for going, the impact on her family and her reflections on how this work in civilian protection supports ordinary people who live day-in day-out amidst violence and conflict. Galway-based mother of 5, Barbara Walshe (57) is a student of reconciliation studies at Trinity College Dublin’s campus in Belfast.
Since 2002, hundreds of Ecumenical Accompaniers from 14 countries including Ireland have served in Israel-Palestine. The programme is co-ordinated in Britain and Ireland by the Quakers under the auspices of the World Council of Churches. For more information on the programme see www.quaker.org.uk/eappi.
A podcast of the programme is available on www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_documentaryon one.xml.
