64 year-old former journalist Sharen Green speaks about her experience as a human rights monitor in Palestine last summer as part of a World Council of Churches program. Green tells the story of life in Jayyous, a once wealthy Palestinian village which has been reduced to poverty by a military occupation that gets more draconian by the day.

Along with three other human rights monitors, Green monitored checkpoints and agricultural gates, collected data for UN agencies, and wrote, broadcast and advocated extensively about her experiences. “It is tough living under Israeli occupation alongside people who cannot move around their own country and who struggle to feed their families,” states Sharen. “But it was also a great privilege. I will never forget the dignity and hos pitality of those villagers, nor our many inspiring Israeli partners who spend their lives trying to create a just peace by ending the occupation.”

Recorded Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at Jane Addams Hull-House Museum.