February, 2001
The recent unrest has accelerated some departures, as lack of work and closures (as well as a failed peace process) are strangling everyone here.
His church is trying to bring a group to Wilmette this summer. We'll see - it'd have to include a ballgame or two...
Our visit to Bethlehem began much like our visit to Ramallah three days ago - 90 minutes at the checkpoint.
The situation faced by Palestinians today far surpasses the conditions faced by Blacks in apartheid South Africa, in terms of the violence, randomness, ferocity, and sheer venom of the Israeli occupation.
The stops included the Palestinian wait at Israel's Ministry of Interior (responsible for all legal documents for Palestinians and who have been on strike for most of the Intifada).
We then headed down to central Ramallah for a solidarity rally, led by a Muslim sheikh, a Coptic bishop, and an Anglican priest.
We are thrilled to get a break from work this week as we head down to Jerusalem for the annual Sabeel Conference.
Marthame went to our seven year-old friend's birthday party, while Elizabeth cooked up the first mushroom from her Christmas present mushroom kit.
Being Sunday, it afforded us another wonderful opportunity to walk through the beautiful scenery of Zababdeh.
Today was Marthame's last day with his previous schedule at school (nonetheless, it was a day to clarify exactly what "I'm not teaching that class anymore" means).
Marthame got to do more walking in the hills after school, while Elizabeth continued her basketball coaching of the junior high girls.
We visited the rooms in the Red Crescent/Red Cross hospital which burned after being hit by Israeli shelling; we also saw other damaged targets, including homes, a minibus owned by a school for deaf children, and a nearby newspaper office.
Weddings are a big deal in Zababdeh, and are attended by just about everyone, no matter which denomination people belong to.
Another new project begins, as Elizabeth is teaching basketball lessons to Junior High girls.
Elizabeth began the adult classes today. There were about ten people, with promises of others to come
One project that has been very exciting is an email pen-pal project where he has linked up youth at the school with youth in the States.
Elizabeth managed to explain everything in Arabic (six hours of prep for ten minutes of talking)! English classes start on Wednesday, so we'll see.
Most of the Muslim families in Zababdeh seem to be descendants of refugees from 1948 Haifa who managed to scrape together enough to buy land. Our host works at the Latin School, and treated us to some homemade Arabic bread.
People are celebrating in a much more muted way. There's music, but no dancing. People are still in a nation-wide mourning.
