Dangers of life in Palestine !

I thought I would share with you a few of the risks I take almost daily around Palestine. Some could gain a lot of weight in this place. Of course not every day is like this as it is often feast or famine - seldom the later unless I just don't get around to eating. This meal was prepared in a barrel, basket, on coals, closed and covered with earth. They said it would be great. It was the best meal I have had in Palestine...ever.

Kids are after us all the time. They constantly want their picture taken and then crowd around to view it on the camera. This is the "old city" of Deir Istiya where some families still live. These two little girls are looking at their picture. I suppose they could make a grab for it and run off with my camera tho no one has ever tried. They just get my guard down and steal a bit of my heart. We meet so many people. Activists from all over - including very committed Israelis who enter Palestine to help the cause. It is frustrating at times to have these "sound bite" relationships, i.e. a moment of connection and then gone. But it is encouraging at the same time.

This older gentleman owns a bunch of olive trees in the area where we worked for two days. He has lived long enough to remember when the village had all of its land and to watch through the painful years as it was taken away. He said that the settlers tried to buy his land from him but he refused to sell. He rode his donkey out to the groves daily, pruned his trees as he was able, picked a few of the lower branches as others did most of his work, and got up from this resting spot only with great difficulty. There is danger in associating with a man like this. One could lose the ability to go home and live the live of ease. One could suffer trauma when recognizing his own complicity in the situation.

This young guy's Dad drove the truck that took us to the fields. He got an ice cream cone for a treat and immediately stuck it to my lips so I could have some. The lessons of hospitality start at an early age. Of course, I sat there thinking "That was really good. Haven't had ice cream in weeks and all I got was a tease." I struggled with the dangers of depressions and feelings of deprivation. That was a close call.

Yes there are dangers every time I turn around. Fortunately, I have to be on guard for only a few more weeks. Most of my new friends have to face serious risks and deprivations every day. A young 20something man drove us out to meet our taxi last night and said in Arabic to Gaby, "They steal our land, they steal our olives, all we have left is the air we breathe. Thank you for coming; you give us hope." I guess I can tough it out for a few more weeks.