March 18, 2003

Boys getting ready to perform for the Mothers’ Day celebration.

The 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein has been given (and returned). As a result, Marthame's return to Zababdeh was up in the air.

Girls ready to perform for their Mothers’ Day celebration.

At school, the children celebrated Mother's Day three days early because the war was likely to intervene on celebrations on the 21st. Classes ended early so that the party could begin at 12 noon; the event actually began at about 12:20 - not bad timing by local standards. The program seemed to weigh heavily towards the littlest kids, with each section of the first grade having prepared a song or dance. They were very excited and proud to be gussied up in their performance finery, especially with a camera turned to them.

Some of Elizabeth’s students getting to experience the University’s language lab.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth could not stay for much of the event, since we had made arrangements to bring some of the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students to the University for a special opportunity to experience their language lab. The head of the language lab had prepared a listening and speaking exercise for the kids centered around music, finishing with a rousing Byrds' sing-a-long. She returned home after shepherding the kids back to Zababdeh, and the Jenin kids onto a bus to Jenin.

We heard from internationals who had staged a vigil and a peaceful action in the site of Rachel's death. The Israeli army arrived to disperse the crowd, even bringing the bulldozer that had run over her. A little salt in the wound...

Marthame and our friend who works in Nazareth as a nurse left that town around 3:00 in the afternoon as the rain began to come down. All day long the sky had been a nasty yellow color. We arrived at the border where the driver tried to drop us off in the village. The soldier said no, so we walked back without so much as a look at our papers. We've found that giving Israeli soldiers something to say "no" to (driving the van in) increases the likelihood that they'll say yes to something else. The taxi took a while to get there because of the sorry condition of the roads - exacerbated by the rains - but Marthame was able to get home, to both of our great relief. Being apart with war on the horizon was not a pleasant prospect.

We've stocked up with supplies (flour, rice, lentils, oil, candles, water, canned goods) for the coming possible periods of curfew and closures. Marthame also brought with him from Nazareth some goods we can't get here: bacon, curry paste, chutney, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. We feel well stocked, and more important, extraordinarily safe and at home here in Zababdeh. We had not planned to evacuate if and when a strike takes place on Baghdad.

That all changed this evening - we got an email from PCUSA headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. We have been asked to leave for a while given the uncertainty of the coming days. With a heavy heart, we went around town to tell people. They seemed to have a general sense of sinking, as though our evacuation meant that American intelligence information indicated not only a certain war, but also that the West Bank was facing trouble. We tried to reassure them, but our own personal dismay at having to leave wasn't much comfort. We spent most of the night getting ready for departure - trying to find flights, packing, etc.

There is consolation in the fact that we'll be going to Cyprus rather than the States.