March 15, 2003

The school practices an evacuation drill in anticipation of regional war.

Life remains uncertain in the face of the possible war on Iraq. People are preparing for all kinds of eventualities - Israelis have gotten gas masks, Iraqis are stockpiling food for six months. Palestinians are preparing for massive Israeli operations. Today the kids had an evacuation drill to see how fast they could all get to the basement. We remembered fire drills as kids, knowing they would almost never be enacted for real. There was a certain amount of gravity to this drill, though, given it's possibility. The news from the States is dire and the drive towards war depressing. We haven't felt this helpless in a long time.