March 1, 2001

A beautiful flower to distract from the ugliness of bureaucracy.

While we were gone last month for the International Sabeel Conference in Jerusalem, our telephone was disconnected. Since all of our building's telephones are in the name of our landlord, and since one person recently moved out without paying his phone bill, all of the lines were cut. No amount of pleading with them and showing them our paid phone bill would change their mind. It seems the Palestinians have learned a thing or two about collective punishment. In any case, the bill has now been paid and we are among the reachable.