March 18, 2002

Yesterday we heard that there was an Israeli tank parked on the road between Tubas and Aqaba (just south of Zababdeh), which caused us to wonder if we would be seeing our many Tubas students and teachers. As it turned out, they were able to come - the tank left, but the army first brought a bulldozer to dig up the road. Teachers and students found a detour and fortunately were able to come to school. Such things like that don't even register on people's radar screens anymore, let alone make the news. Nevertheless, they perpetuate and spread hopelessness.

A faculty panel at the Arab-American University of Jenin (just outside Zababdeh) on the current situation.

The Arab-American University continues to expand.

Marthame headed up to the University today to continue some conversations about how to find ways to connect our work with theirs. He arrived to find a panel discussion on the current situation led by several professors from several different fields. Unfortunately, it was in Arabic, so the gist was gotten rather than the nuances of the talks.

The University continues to expand in the midst of the chaos, as building continues uninterrupted. It's a dramatic sign of hope in this part of the world.