USAID freeze even affects ‘Sesame Street’!

January 2012

(An update on the effect of the freezing of USAID to Palestinian civil society.)

The freeze, imposed by the US Congress as a collective punishment against the Palestinians for their UN statehood bid, remains in place. It is having a major impact on BibleLands’ Palestinian Christian partners in the West Bank. And the cuts have even led to the cancellation of the Palestinian version of Sesame Street!

This Palestinian version of the children’s TV show (Shara'a Simsim in Arabic) is filmed in Ramallah but watched by children throughout the Palestinian territories. It provides a unique reflection on life that they don’t often experience – the bright sets and colourful puppets encourage them to think about values that benefit the whole of society. The main characters Haneen, a red-headed orange muppet, and the green rooster, Kareem (pictured below), have become household names for Palestinian children.

The programme first aired in 1996 and has had five seasons; each season/ show having a different theme but a key focus being peace and tolerance.

Shara'a Simsim’s executive producer, Daoud Kuttab, says "If we had funding, we would be writing scripts, we would be reviewing scripts, we would be hiring film-makers to produce the videos."

But with the funding cuts, and episodes axed for 2012, this isn’t happening; the offices are empty and the set is deserted.

While the Palestinian show has been put on hold, American money has been invested in the Israeli version of the show. Particularly poignant is the Israeli version’s new season has an emphasis on teaching children the value of fairness.

Danny Labin, an executive at the Israeli TV channel that co-produces the Israeli version of Sesame Street, called the funding halt to the Palestinian show ‘extremely unfortunate’.

"Young children, whether Israeli or Palestinian, who are in need of educational tools to foster diversity appreciation, and to prepare for life in a pluralistic society, should not be penalised or held accountable to the politics and political leadership, over which they have no control," Labin said.

From 2008-2011, USAID gave $2.5 million (£1.6m) to the programme, covering nearly the entire budget, Kuttab said.

He goes on to say that USAID was scheduled to issue another $2.5 million (£1.6m) grant to Shara’a Simsim to last until 2014. But in early October Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen placed a hold on $192 million (£125m) in funding via USAID, for projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

She said this was in reaction to the Palestinian's appeal to the UN to admit them as a full member state. The US, Israel and others oppose the move, saying a Palestinian state can only come about through negotiations.

Congress restored $40 million (£26m) of the funding in December but it's doubtful any will go to the show. A USAID official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of ongoing Congressional debates, said that many programmes are clamouring for funding, including healthcare and humanitarian projects.

Last October BibleLands reported that US Congress froze funds that were earmarked for Palestinian projects. The effects of this financial freeze are widespread and are being felt throughout Palestinian society. Significant cuts have been made to healthcare (hospitals and clinics) and education institutions (schools and vocational training centres) and many BibleLands’ partners are suffering.

One of those particularly affected is the Princess Basma Centre for Disabled Children on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem. In October they learnt that USAID funding totalling $100,000 (£65,000) for an excellent community-based rehabilitation programme for disabled children in the West Bank would not be disbursed as promised. BibleLands had previously agreed to part-fund this outreach project, which provides for Princess Basma medics and therapists to train staff in community centres for disabled children in Ramallah, Nablus, Tulkarm and Jenin. However, funds were diverted to other projects in the West Bank when the USAID grant was agreed.

The Princess Basma Centre has since told us, “As a result of delays in Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health payments, caused in part by delays in Israel's transfer of tax revenues to the PA, the centre faces a $350,000 (£227,500) shortfall, out of a total budget of $3.5m (£2.3m). We are, therefore, currently in the initial phases of a re-structuring process, which will affect staff employment, as well as much needed services.”

Another partner to feel the effect of the cuts is the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation (BASR), which had attracted USAID funding for a psycho-social intervention programme with vulnerable and disadvantaged children. The programme included training and capacity-building for child professionals and awareness-raising on child rights and child protection. USAID had also agreed to support BASR’s strategic planning process. This funding was withdrawn without any notice or reason. Again, BASR had passed on other opportunities to fund these important projects because it assumed the USAID funding was secure.

Please continue to pray with us that God will provide funding for all our partners, and other institutions who have been affected by the cuts, so that ordinary Palestinian people do not miss out on vital services. Or on future episodes of Sesame Street!

More on the Palestinian Sesame Street story here...

Our partners in Israel-Palestine, and throughout the Middle East, are continuing to reach out to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in society, and BibleLands are proud to be involved in this work.

If you’d like to find out more about BibleLands' work, visit the About Us section of our website. If you would like to donate to our work (either a one-off or a regular gift) you can donate online, or by calling 01494 897950. Thank you!