Winnipeg Free Press writer Melissa Martin has been living in Ukraine for a while now, and has an excellent newsletter called Re/Light. Her most recent issue features a shout-out for an organization that pairs English speakers with Ukranians wanting to improve their English skills. (Ukraine’s applications to NATO and EU has apparently increased locals’ appetite to speak English). The organization pairing speakers and learners for online lessons is called Balakun, and it looks really well organized.
This got me wondering if there are organizations doing the same thing for Palestinians. Not that too many people in Gaza would have extracurricular learning opportunities on their minds these days. But being able to speak English is a form of privilege on the world stage. Sharing English-language skills can potentially be as valuable as making monetary donations.
So I looked into it, and indeed, there is an organization in the West Bank called Go Palestine that supports what looks like online opportunities to teach English in exchange for learning Arabic. We know settler violence has increased in the West Bank in the past year; for example, the number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces tripled in the past year, going from 39 to 115. And yet, Go Palestine still appears to be functioning, and the appetite to improve English skills are still there.
Back in the ’90s, with the rise of globalization, I used to joke that going abroad to teach English was linguistic imperialism. I see it very differently now.