Baladna - Association for Arab Youth
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Mission Statement
We are Baladna -- an independent Palestinian Arab youth organization founded in 2001. We focus on social, political, cultural, and educational youth organising at the local and international levels in order to foster youth leadership, strengthen Arab Palestinian identity, and build a well-informed and resilient Palestinian society.
About This Cause
Empowering Youth to Combat Violence: Join the Journey! Creating Safer Communities: Taking a Stand Against Violence and crime! In the Palestinian society of the '48 territories, violence and crime have reached alarming levels, impacting people from all walks of life, and taking the lives of tens of youth on a monthly basis. As a determined community, we believe that transforming our dire reality can only be achieved by taking agency and action over our future and by building societal resilience. That's why we're launching a powerful initiative with a focus on addressing the underlying factors, as expressed by the youth, that drive them towards engaging in criminal activities. This involves intervening in the ecosystem that surrounds at-risk youth, providing professionals and stakeholders with alternative knowledge and tools, and offering opportunities for the youth to engage in positive practices. In addition to giving young people opportunities to experience a sense of importance, capability, and status in a world that speaks the language of harsh exclusion towards large segments of society. Through all of this, we combat violence and crime alongside the youth and protect dozens of young individuals from getting involved in this world in the future. Numbers don't lie! The statistics reveal that our youth, aged up to 30, account for a staggering 42% of the crime victims between 2011-2020. Between 2011 and 2019, 575 murders took place in the Arab Palestinian society in Israel, with a further increase from 85 homicides in 2019 to 126 in 2021! The beginning of 2021, saw a surge of 76 murder cases of Arab Palestinian citizens, which in average, is one murder case every three days, whereas the percentage of crime victims, both fatalities and injuries, is 30 times higher in the Arab community compared to the Israeli Jewish community! Unraveling the Roots: While everyone talks about the youth without delving into their world, contexts, and needs, and the crises that lead hundreds of them to engage in a world of crime, we have chosen to bring these voices to the table and provide an alternative understanding of the phenomenon. Through meticulous field research, we have identified the root causes behind the escalating violence and crime rates among the youth in the '48 areas. The following quote by a young man from Umm al-Fahm exemplifies what many residents experience: “The atmosphere is tense, the town is tense - this is the environment in which we live. No family in Umm al-Fahm does not have a weapon”. The Plan: But our mission doesn't stop there! To spread awareness and drive change, we've developed action plans and recommendations that are ready to make a real difference based on the results of the research derived from the youth themselves. accessible through this campaign. Now, we are determined to disseminate these findings to local municipalities and councils, urging them to adopt seven recommended interventions: Mentorship program Scouts Employment Campaign Survival Camp Intervention Scholarships Educational Multiplier Intervention Economic Education All these interventions contribute to providing opportunities, skills, and possibilities for a large segment of youth who have been denied the aspects of social and economic justice. As a result, they turned to a world of crime, which, in turn, exploited all societal and political vulnerabilities to the benefit of privileged groups, marketed by the Israeli establishment at the expense of the lives and future of the youth. Together, Let's Take Action: Our aim is to engage with local councils and encourage them to embrace these projects, utilizing a well-structured and professional strategy to address the issue, especially since there is a lack of clear plans or actions in this regard. Furthermore, we will implement and evaluate this package in Umm al-Fahm, a city highly affected by crime, capturing the experience, learning from it, and subsequently sharing the knowledge with those who are interested. Making a Difference in Umm Al-Fahm: The excitement is palpable as we embark on an exhilarating pilot project in Umm Al-Fahm. Teaming up with the municipality and the Department of Education, we aim to involve 100 students, from the vulnerable segment susceptible to engaging in this world, from two secondary schools in this comprehensive initiative. By addressing violence at its core, incorporating multiple proposed projects from our action plan, we'll be providing a holistic approach to combat violence and make a lasting impact. Your Support: A Catalyst for Change! Support us so that we have the ability to generalize the projects to the local councils and exert pressure on them to adopt the projects and bring about change in the lives of thousands of youth. Support us so we can implement the pilot project in Umm al-Fahm, learn from it, and then disseminate the experience. We have been putting efforts for three years to develop research to understand the phenomenon and propose action plans based on it. Support us to bring these plans into action, apply them, and generalize them to the local councils while pressuring them to adopt them. But most importantly, support us in implementing the first pilot of the project in Umm al-Fahm, learning from it, and having a broad impact on the community's structure. A Safer Future, Together: Each individual has the power to shape a safer society. By supporting our cause, you become an integral part of this transformative journey. Together, let's break the cycle of violence and provide our youth with essential mentorship programs, scout initiatives, educational opportunities, and much more. Empowered with these tools, they will emerge as leaders of change. Join us on this Journey to Combat Violence and Crime among Youth. The implementation of the projects in Umm al-Fahm costs 340,000 shekels. So far, we have collected 220,000 shekels through supportive funds interested in the cause, and we still need an additional 120,000 shekels.