May 8, 2002

Late last night there was a suicide bombing in Israel - 16 killed, including the bomber. The images on the TV show a scene of incredible devastation. The feeling of horror is accompanied by the feeling of dread, not knowing what or where the Israeli response will be. Nonetheless, today the school was at full capacity. We've already lost a month (our Jenin students twice that), so everybody seems more determined than ever to roll ahead and salvage as much as possible of the school year.

The narrow streets of Jenin Refugee Camp, just to the west of Jenin itself.

Marthame headed up to Jenin to get our new "business" cards printed (hard to believe we've gone through them all) and visit with one of our friends who works as a lawyer. She, like the local legal profession (except NGO-based legal/human rights workers), is at a stand-still, largely because people can't afford to use them. Ominously, the decimation of the Palestinian Authority, especially its police and civil infrastructure, threatens to leave people under a kind of Wild West justice, without the semblance of law, order, and due process they had attained. The anxiety in Jenin hung in the air as word spread about tanks on the road and helicopters overhead. Everyone was planning to go home early, including Marthame, who arrived home without incident.