Akkaba and Abeer

This morning Esther and I got up early to go to the Akkaba Agriculture gate.  This area is quite a ways north of Tulkarm.  It was raining very hard when we left and the rain continued to fall quite heavily as we rode north in the taxi.  There were many areas with water on the road and some roads were closed due to the heavy rainfall. 

Looking West near Akkaba Beyond Barrier

Since this was our first visit to this gate we were not sure where it was.  The taxi driver kept asking other drivers for directions but because of the water on the road we decided not to try to find the gate.  Our driver went down a very steep drive where there was a house at one end.  Since there wasn’t room to turn around, he tried to back up several times.  Finally with very skillful driving he backed up the hill to where he was able to turn around.  But then in starting back to Tulkarm he had a flat tire. 

This required the taxi driver to change the tire in the rain.  He wasn’t really prepared for the cold weather and he only had sandals on without socks.  We made it back to Tulkarm without any further problems.  Actually, the rain was very welcome here as it was getting dry.  This is supposed to be the rainy season and people are happy to see the rain.

Around noon a taxi picked us up and we went over to visit Abeer.  She had arranged the taxi for us and because of her fluent Arabic she was able to have someone come to the EA flat to pick us up in a few minutes.  She lives quite a ways away from us so it’s easier for us to take a taxi.  Abeer lives in a typical Palestinian house that also houses other members of her husband’s family.  The way the houses are built allow for other floors to be built each above the other. 

Abeer and her two boys

She took us upstairs to show us what she hopes will be a finished house for her own family.  The walls and roof are finished.  There are cutouts for the windows in each room, outlets for electricity and the floor is ready for flooring to be laid.  They are currently living in a unit which is owned by her husband’s brother.  She said he is living somewhere else but he is very disabled due to paralyses.  This portion of the house has been ready for continued building for 6 years but during that time Abeer’s spouse was imprisoned and their two children were born.  Her husband is out of prison but also out of work.  Abeer has a degree in social work but there are no jobs available in her field.  With neither one of them finding any kind of steady work they cannot afford to complete their own section of the family home.  She agreed to give some of our team Arabic language lessons and we will pay her for services.  She is very expressive and when she pronounces words she also shows us how she forms the words to get the appropriate sounds.  Abeer is also very proud of her children who are age 1 and 2.  It is evident when we are around them how quickly they are learning because of her willingness to spend lots of time teaching and nurturing them.

Tomorrow Esther and I will go to Jerusalem for a two day break.  We will be staying at the St. George Guesthouse--attached to St. George's Anglican Church.  We hope to take a tour to visit the Dead Sea. 

Stay warm.  I understand from the web that there is lots of snow around your areas.

Susanne