February 22, 2003

After school, Marthame and a student from the school went to Ramallah. The student was scheduled to take the TOEFL Sunday morning, and Marthame went along in case there would be checkpoint problems for the student. A young Palestinian man from the Jenin region fits an army profile of terrorist, and so he might not be able to travel at all. Sharing our afternoon taxi was a native of Zababdeh who works as a radio journalist in Ramallah. He had interviewed Elizabeth back in September (to her dismay, she ended up on the cutting room floor - kind of like Kevin Costner in The Big Chill).

The typical Palestinian commute includes Israeli soldiers.

As the taxi made its way to the Tayasir checkpoint, all of the other taxis were coming back. The checkpoint had closed a half hour ago and showed no signs of opening. Marthame and the journalist walked down to the checkpoint. Two soldiers were standing with their backs turned. "Excuse me! Can I speak with you?" Marthame shouted from a safe distance.

"No. We're in the middle of something."

"I see you're in the middle of two concrete blocks," muttered the journalist under his breath.

"OK. We can wait," Marthame answered.

"Ta'al. Come here," the soldier replied.

Marthame and the journalist explained all the IDs - an American pastor and his student, a journalist, a man with permission from his doctor to travel, and the driver. "OK. You can pass."

Shocked, we went back to the taxi which went through the checkpoint without so much as a look at the IDs or bags or anything. The other taxi drivers began trying their luck soon after we left - they met with little success.

Another brief stop at a checkpoint, then a quick walk through the Qalandia entry through Ramallah (without even a word from the soldiers), and Marthame and the student made their way to their lodging. The Anglican School and Home had offered to put them up for the night. Marthame had been there before when he met with the Anglican Bishop a while back. The school was founded in the 1960s by a group of Protestant women seeking a communal life and ministry in the Holy Land. Though not formally nuns, they go by the name of "Sister," and are regarded with much respect in the community here. They now work under the auspices of the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem. They are currently looking for volunteers to work with them - the times are difficult for all those seeking volunteers in this part of the world - especially as home parents for the dormitories.

Marthame accompanied them to visit Fr. Fadi, the Anglican priest of Ramallah (and Fr. Firas' brother) to congratulate him on his newborn baby Philip. After supper, Fr. Fadi came over to the home to lead the weekly prayer group. It was nice to have such a chance - our activities in Zababdeh aren't focused around opportunities like this - and in both English and Arabic.

Marthame went out in the crisp evening (people are predicting snow) to pick up a copy of Jenin, Jenin, the now infamous documentary of the April Jenin incursion by Israeli Arab Mohammed al-Bakri. A series of interviews with people in Jenin Camp, the documentary has been officially banned from being shown within Israel. Left-wing peace groups have been holding viewings anyway, in private homes and the like.