December 20, 2010
After yesterday’s arrival in our placement at Tulkarm, our team met to discuss how we would live together and divide responsibilities. There are mandatory engagements and meetings but we have some leeway in how we manage the rest of our time. The Handover Report from the previous team has been very helpful by including names and ongoing commitments.
Vidar and I agreed to go to the Agriculture gate at Attil this morning. We walked to the taxi service to arrange for the early morning transport. There are a group of men who gather in the tiny office for conversation and one of them wrote it on the board. When my very loud alarm went off at 4:30 a.m. I hopped out of bed to join Vidar in the living room to prepare for our early morning trek. Our apartment has a heavy metal gate in the entrance to the yard. We each have a key to open the gate. It has been problematic closing the gate so last night we used what we had on hand……olive oil ….to try to get it to close better. Vidar is able to close the gate in an expert way but I would imagine all of us will eventually become experts as well.
The taxi driver was waiting for us -- it was completely dark, but we were accompanied by a full moon and brightly shining stars. This sure beat our earlier trek to the gate in pouring rain. This particular gate is open for 1 hour this morning, 1 hour at lunchtime and 1 hour in the evening. The gate is the only access allowed for farmers to tend to their olive groves in the area between the Separation Barrier and the Israeli border, often referred to as “The Seam.”
The gate was opened at 5:45 a.m. and there were 11 men waiting to go through. It isn’t just a matter of passing through a gate but rather going through the first gate…..only one at a time is allowed in….going inside a building to show identification and permits….and then either going through or coming back to drive their tractor or ride their donkey through the gate. The gate was closed promptly at 6:30 a.m. after allowing 66 men and 1 woman to pass through. We started walking back down the road so we could access public transportation to take us back to Tulkarm. We had walked quite a ways when another tractor approached with three more men. We decided to go back to the gate to see if our presence at the gate might persuade the soldiers to reopen it for the farmers who were a couple minutes late. The soldiers did open the gate again although we do not attribute it to our being there or having persuasive powers to affect their attitude or behavior.
After resting a while it was time for a shower and had breakfast of avocado and humus on bread. It was very nice outside so we enjoyed eating on our deck.
Then we went to visit Samir who is a Christian businessman in downtown Tulkarm who has family in this area. He has a coffee shop close to our apartment. He was very gracious in serving us coffee and tea as we sat in his shop getting acquainted with each other. He speaks English quite well but it was very hard to hear him with the T.V. blaring. (I will need to get used the loud volume of music or noise in vehicles or shops. The Muslim call to prayers are also amplified over loudspeakers.)
Samir is a single man in a family of 5 brothers and 3 sisters. His mother lives with his sister and family. He has one sister who lives in Gaza and he hopes to see her during the Christmas holiday if she gets a permit to travel. She wants to visit her mother and a daughter living in Nablus. Samir has had his business in different areas for 20 years. He talked about how close this area is to the Mediterranean Sea. Years ago before the Israeli forces occupied Palestine they used to swim and fish there. Now they are not permitted to go near the water because of the separation barrier. He expressed great longing for the occupation to end so he could return to the Sea.
After dinner of lentil soup and boiled potatoes we received our next visitor. His name is Hassan (fictitious name) and he is a freelance journalist working with the ISM (International Solidarity Movement.) This is the fourth time I have met him. He had just been to the Jordan Valley to meet with some people over there. He was just given permission to be there for 4 hours…..no longer. Abdel brought a memory stick with him so he could share some pictures dating back to 2003. The pictures were vivid examples of the stark reality of what has happened in just a few years. They included demolitions, cruel treatment at the checkpoints, the before and after pictures of how checkpoints really affected movement of people to ordinary activities of life and the building of the separation barrier. He has known many groups of EA’s and is willing to work with whoever is assigned to this area.
Well, this is the first full day for our team in Tulkarem. By tomorrow our team will submit to the Jerusalem office our planned schedule of activities for the next three months. We are expected to work five days a week and on our “off” time we have been urged to visit other EA sites and get a feel for all of the areas of Palestine.
Here is a picture of a couple of school boys I took today. Tomorrow is the beginning of winter, so the days will get longer. Before we leave we should be able to have light for our early morning trips to the Agricultural Gate. Have a wonderful celebration of Christmas.
Susanne
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