Men: Palestinian Fury

Nablus, West Bank

L. pops into the office on the old campus today and asks if I would like to come with her as she speaks to the Director about the harassment she, M., and I face on a daily basis. I ponder all the times I have been stalked, harassed, and felt too uncomfortable to walk on campus without practically sprinting.

"Hell, yeah!" I tell L.

We walk into the office and the Director is all ears; he is horrified, in fact. Within half an hour, L. calls me and tells me to jot down two numbers: the head of security at each campus.

Finally, as we are about to hang up, she tells me to tell A., the man in charge of the internationals. As I begin to tell him, his face seems to cloud over, but I don’t understand why. After I finish my explanation, his tirade begins.

He tells me that all internationals face this and that I should have read the guide (I did, you jackass). I tell him that I have lived in a half dozen countries and I know that this is the norm, but we are on a University campus. It is a different circumstance and these 'boys' are educated. They have no excuse to yell vulgar slurs at us.

He doesn't seem to understand.

A. tells me that instead of looking for a 'cure', it might be better to start with 'prevention'. I ask him what he means by that, but I already know. He looks at me and says, "Well, today you are dressed OK."

I know I am dressed more than OK; I am the epitome of respect. Every single day, I wear a combination of clothing that shows nothing more than my hands, my face, and my hair. Every single day. How dare he imply that I deserve this treatment.

Following this insult, he explains that a Swedish volunteer used the word 'haraam' to deal with these guys. I want to yell at him, slap him and tell him not to patronize me. I know very well how to use 'Haraam aalek', thank you. I just think it is not proactive enough.

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Not all the men are like this. Most of them are very respectful, especially some of the younger ones that I have been in contact with. One of my students who is my age, he brought me coffee to class. Others are suck ups – wannabe Casanovas – but always respectful. I am just completely insulted by the fact that the man who deals with internationals is such a sexist hypocrite.