Diary 2: Jeroen Schoorl

Jeroen Schoorl – July 1968-October 1977

_{Columns of the Sabaean Temple for Mahram Bilqis (part of the Ancient Kingdom of Saba) in Marib, Yemen.}

The journal fragments and photographs below are from the archives of Jeroen Schoorl and date from the late 1970s (with one excerpt from 1968). Between 1977-1979 Jeroen lived in Rada’a, Yemen where he was part of a small team to oversee the founding of a health clinic. We read through the journals together in search of his first mention of Selma Al-Radi, marking the beginning of their friendship, which eventually, after many years and via many byways, led to the creation of this Close Distance journal editorial. Jeroen kept over a dozen diaries, mostly from the late 1960s until the 1980s, and always when he was away from home (the Netherlands). The first time he was in Yemen was in 1969 and the last time was in 1982; other journals detail his time in the majority of the Middle East, and North Africa, South America, and North America.

Sana’a, Yemen, July 3, 1977: “I didn’t sleep well again last night and even had to throw up, from exhaustion, I think. The singing of the men in the minaret also doesn’t help. I believe, I was at Selma Al-Radi’s home at some point yesterday. She is from Iraq and is a conservator at the museum here. She’s an acquaintance of Koos and Vera van Dam as well as Stefan Wild. I cannot quite remember what I did the rest of the day, I’m so tired writing this. Oh, yes, Sietse and I were supposed to visit Cees Klein at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to meet more people. But after this rough night, I decided to stay in bed and visit the UNDP later. They are, by the way, still located in the same building as in 1971, when Polensky stood at its helm. I had lunch at Cees, with his sister and her boyfriend; and at night we celebrated Sietse’s departure in Al Hamd, it was our last dinner together before he left for Jelba.

October 12, 1977, Sana’a Yemen: “I received news of Al-Hamdi’s death, through Paulette when I arrived the Republican Hospital. It is not exactly clear to me what happened. Some sources say he and his brother (army Lieutenant) were murdered at 11:00pm (October 11, 1977) on the Ring Road [around Sana’a]. And according to other sources they were murdered in Dhana. No one knows what is going to happen. The radio broadcasted an announcement that everything, all government institutions including hospitals, will be closed for a week. In some cases this was applied all too literally, such as in Taiz where they closed shop. Although at our place, the Republican Hospital, most people continued to show up albeit on a voluntary basis but things carried on. But, Lord, it costs effort to get everyone organized; cursing and yelling is not uncommon.”

Arrival Beirut (from Instanbul) July 18, 1968: “It was early for me; after thanking Ms Zaalberg I was driven to T + Y in one of the cars from the consulate. We departed for Ankara around 11:00 and then to Beirut by way of Adana (it was so hot there). A group of Americans boarded the plane. O jesus what a crowd. Around 4:00pm we arrived in Beirut. I searched for the address of Sir Beek while still at the airport and found it. Unfortunately, the point of contact was in Saudi Arabia, but his brother was kind enough to host me they said. A very kind man, brought me to the address. I had bought some water from him, and was given a cookie and told to sit down. Then he brought me to my next stop. I make note of this again to not lose faith in the kindness of men. Anyway, at the home of the friend or brother of sir Beek, I was able to call the Community Church and I eventually arrived at this wonderful place. While the Reverent himself was on vacation the two sweetest people, Carla and Heino, were taking care of his home. When I arrived, Ali from Libya, another man from Iraq and a women from Afghanistan were already there. It was such a remarkable experience to share a space with people from all these different places. Of course, we talked about Palestine. It was an incredible meeting. Hopefully there will be more to come, Inshallah.”