October 25, 2002

A good day for a sabbath. Not much to tell - a lot of sleeping, a little bit of eating, and a concerted effort at getting well. We're over the hump, though Marthame's visit to the Anglican clinic yesterday was only helpful to a point - his ears are congested, and the doctor decided to "suction" them - end result, one ear is open, the other closed - closed, closed.

Not unlike Jenin today. The word from there is not good. Dozens of Israeli tanks, house-to-house searches, a notched-up curfew keeping the streets empty and everyone at home. It's claimed to be in response to the recent suicide bombing, and not unfounded - Jenin remains a center of Palestinian defiance, including groups that resort to terrorism. It just seems all too familiar, that we've been here before. No one is bringing anything new to the table, and even William Burns' presence in the region is doing little (we've been here before, too). Meanwhile, resentment, fear, hatred, distrust, all build and grow.

Zababdeh’s coach giving the team some encouragement.

A friendly match between Zababdeh and Sanour.

Marthame went to the school in the evening to catch a soccer match between Zababdeh and nearby Sanour. Zababdeh's coach is hoping to send some video to some European foundations to raise funds for the sports club. The local team spirit was evident in the chants of "Zababdeh!" For those of you keeping score at home, the end result was a 3-3 tie under the lights.