September 9, 2002

More curfew in Jenin. It's supposed to open up between 2 and 6 in the afternoon - we have some business there, but the risk of getting stuck is too high. It'll have to wait. One of the teachers who lives on the other side of Jenin has decided to move into Zababdeh in order to keep her job - the hassle of getting to and from home every day is too much (she often ends up spending the night with her sister in Jenin rather than try and get back out of the city).

Marthame spoke with Fr. Hossam to check in. Not all of Nablus is under curfew (thus Fr. Justinus could come to Tubas last week), but the area around Raffidye - a mostly Christian neighborhood - has been tightly locked down recently. He has to come to Zababdeh soon for a wedding celebration in the Anglican church, but he's not sure how to get here. Meanwhile, his new bride (mabrouk!) is waiting for the area to open long enough to take one final and finish her junior year of college.

The sound of low-flying Israeli aircraft are a regular reminder of who’s in charge around here.

Planes buzzed overhead today all along the valley between Jenin and Tubas, flying very low - we could see four of them at once. Ugh.