Prospect Point, Antarctica (66° S -- 65° W)
Pelagic Australis makes its way ever so gingerly among the floating sheets
of sea ice off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, taking care to avoid
the growlers (iceberg fragments) scattered among them. The boat's aluminum
hull can handle the former with relative ease, but the latter could do it
serious damage. Just a week ago the sea ice was still frozen into a single
solid mass and Prospect Point was unreachable. Today, we're headed toward
the shore.
There's an air of excitement on board this morning. The Breaking the Ice
expedition is within sight of the mountain its eight Israeli and
Palestinian team members hope to climb in the days ahead - the mountain
from which they hope to tell the world that their two peoples can set
aside
their historic conflict and work together in pursuit of a better future.
From this perspective, the mountain doesn't look very high, very far or
very difficult, but distances here can be very deceiving.
The weather is glorious - sunny and warm, windless and cloudless. People
are dressed lightly, without gloves or hats. With the sun reflecting so
strongly off the still water, everyone's wearing sungl*****. And all are
hoping that things will remain exactly as they are for the next few days,
ensuring a smooth trek across the ice. If the winds blow too hard or snow
begins to fall, the team might be forced to spend its time seeking shelter
in tents rather than moving toward its objective.
The expedition has to be prepared for every possibility, so this day is
spent getting organized. On the foredeck, team members are gathering ski
poles and snowshoes and crampons, food and canisters of cooking gas,
climbing ropes and tents. Expedition leader Doron Erel and mountain guide
Nadav Khalifa oversee everything, counting every item to make sure nothing
has been forgotten.
On the aft deck, communications specialist Tony Robinson is helping media
producer Mario Dirienger assemble and test the ****table (but heavy)
satellite ground station, generator, fuel and computers that will enable
the trekkers to beam news of their progress to people around the world.
Below deck, other team members are stuffing their backpacks with sleeping
bags, thermal air mattresses, toilet paper, toothbrushes and utensils,
along with various layers of fleece and down cold weather apparel - along
with cameras, cameras and more cameras.
Expedition physician Arik Shechter is assembling his medical kit, carrying
everything from aspirin to surgical implements, ready for any eventuality
that may befall the team as it moves across the frozen glacier and its
hidden crev*****.
And cameraman Colin Rosin is everywhere, capturing everything on video,
observed by the occasional passing penguin or two.
While lead climbing guide Denis Ducroz and Pelagic Australis' captain Skip
Novak set off to scout the route to the mountain, team members Avihu
Shoshani and Suleiman al-Khatib begin the slow process of loading all the
equipment on rubber dinghies and ferrying it to shore. The expedition's
red
plastic sleds are already there, waiting to carry whatever's too big or
too
heavy to go on people's backs.
The preparations will last most of the day. Everything will be checked and
double-checked. Once the group sets out toward its mountain, there will be
no turning back.
The teamwork evident on the boat this morning belies the heated debate
that
erupted last night in Pelagic Australis' saloon when the expedition
members
attempted to work out the language of the joint declaration they plan to
issue upon reaching the summit of the mountain. They want to make a
statement that will resonate strongly with both Israelis and Palestinians,
but finding words general enough to be accepted by all yet strong enough
to
get the expedition's message across proved to be no easy task.
The conversation began calmly enough, with Breaking the Ice initiator
Heskel Nathaniel suggesting that the resolution simply state the team's
understanding that Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace.
"This is what we've seen here, among us," said Nathaniel. "We've been
together for ten days now. Look at how we're getting along. This should be
our message to the world - that we can do it, and that it can be done."
The
suggestion met with universal approval.
But the atmosphere began heating up when Suleiman al-Khatib suggested that
the resolution be more specific, including an objection to the separation
fence Israel is building between it and the Palestinians. Doron Erel
argued
that adopting a political stance was not the expedition's goal -- that its
message was and should remain human. When Ziad Darwish suggested that the
resolution make a statement opposing all use of violence, Avihu Shoshani
argued that Israel's actions toward the Palestinians were not violence
but,
rather, self-defense.
The longer the conversation continued, the more bitter the debate became.
Avihu Shoshani became furious when Nasser Quass argued that Israel and the
Jews had no real claim to what they call the Temple Mount in Jerusalem,
now
the site of the Al Aksa mosque, because there had never been a Jewish
temple there. Quass was enraged when Yarden Fanta called Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat a terrorist and murderer. Ziad Darwish
left the room, claiming that the conversation had turned into a forum for
sensationalism. And Olfat Haider, sitting off to the side, appeared
transfixed by the anger in the air. Later, she broke down in tears.
Yet, despite their differences, this morning all the team members were
back
on deck, helping prepare the equipment they'll need for the days ahead,
getting ready to embark on the final leg of a journey that has already
carried them more than 13,000 kilometers from their homes in the Middle
East.
Late in the afternoon, with all their equipment ashore, they established
their first base camp on Antarctic soil, ready to begin days of trekking
and camping, testing their physical and mental abilities and, they hope,
proving to everyone that they can break the ice - that they, the people,
can achieve peace.
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