September 15, 2002

Marthame assists Fr. Hossam at the Anglican church.

Today we headed to St. Matthew's Anglican Church, not knowing when the next time there'd be Sunday worship services there. Marthame assisted Fr. Hossam in the service. As Fr. Hossam began his homily, he explained to the congregation what the situation was, and why he hadn't been able to come for so very long - Zababdeh culture, like most, is given to a lot of talk, and he wanted to combat a bit of haki fadi (lit. "empty talk", gossip) and explain the situation. He told them about the situation in Nablus, and how he is unable to lead worship there - all of his time is spent sitting at home or working on hospital administration (traveling to and from work via ambulance). If there is an emergency visit, he does it - also via ambulance. At least one time, the Israeli military has held up his ambulance for two hours, making him wait, and forbidding him to use his cellphone to call his superiors that he might move on his way. "Frustration" doesn't begin to cover it. The food prices in Nablus are through the roof for produce that would normally be thrown away, but no one has money anyway. Students have been able to attend school only a day or two so far this year. As bad as things are in Zababdeh, they begin to look like paradise to people in Nablus. All of this in the shadow of a gospel lesson on forgiveness...powerful.

Neighbor children and their rabbits.

After worship, we paid some visits to neighbors. Some kids showed off their rabbits (which will soon be part of lunch). In the past, we didn't see any rabbits, and this year we've seen many. Our neighbor explained that people have started keeping rabbits because of the economic situation, as rabbits offer a cheaper food source. People here are truly more fortunate that city dwellers, who don't have the space or ability to produce much of their own food. Reports of malnutrition especially among children in Gaza remind us of this.

Jenin continues to bear the scars of Occupation and assault.

In the afternoon, Marthame headed down to Jenin to take care of some overdue business - the city was open to outside traffic for the first time in weeks. The place is in ruins, though - bullet holes through pharmacy windows, cars crushed under the wheels of tanks, it's really sad. We spoke with another friend in the States who commented on how "quiet" it is over here. Yes, cities under house arrest, unemployment, malnutrition, collective strangulation are a quiet death. About an hour after Marthame left and headed back to Zababdeh, curfew was reimposed. Many folks who had headed in from Zababdeh to take advantage of an open day got stuck and had to sneak out.

In the evening, we discovered that our telephone had been cut. Once again, someone else in our building hasn't paid, so we all pay the price. The Israelis clearly don't have a monopoly on collective punishment.