May 6, 2002

We waded through the 200 emails in our inbox, and lazed about enjoying a day without school to recover. We then headed off to Qabatiya, a nearby village which is home to many of our students and teachers.

Yesterday, a mother and her two children were planting in the fields on the road to Qabatiya when an Israeli tank arrived to investigate a mine that had been planted. The family, frightened by the presence of a tank, fled. They were shot and killed as they ran because they were "suspicious." The Israeli army apologized, but this is not an isolated incident - a number of "accidental" killings have happened over the past year and a half (not to mention over the 35 years of Israeli Occupation), further fueling anti-Israeli sentiment in this area.

Fortunately for us, today the way to Qabatiya was clear, so we were able to visit with two students from our school and their family. Their mother is a Romanian Christian, and their father is a Palestinian Muslim. They have found a way to strike a healthy balance at home, even within a culture (both Christian and Muslim) that doesn't understand such a possibility.

Dying Easter eggs.

We walked past the school where men of the town, including the older son and the father, were brought for "processing" by the Israeli army. The last year and a half has really taken its toll on many families - theirs is no exception. We spent a good day of conversation talking about religion - gives one hope for conversations that could take place between Christians and Muslims.

We returned to Zababdeh to visit with families, share Easter greetings, and eat eggs. Two tanks came on the road towards Zababdeh, but turned off into the fields of chickpeas before entering the village, ilhamdulillah.