This place always sort of spins your head around – and I’m reminded of that every time I come back. It’s been years now since – 2006 I think was my last trip here – but that feeling of tension I always remember this place by is still there. The details of travel here, how complicated and unpredictable, are too much to get in to. If you are interested to learn just how complicated it can be even to get into the West Bank, you can look up the US State Department site and go to the Jerusalem or West Bank sections, and it’ll give you some idea. Checkpoints into or out of the Occupied Territory, or within it, can be closed at any time, indefinitely, or delays made so long that people can wait hours to make a crossing, or to reach their own neighborhoods. That uncertainty pervades everyday life here, as people going to work in the morning or dropping their kids off at school don’t even know if they’ll be able to come back the same way that evening. It is a frustration that is very difficult for those who have never experienced it to understand.
So far I’ve only seen one day of projects here in the West Bank, working for a group called ANERA – American Near East Refugee Aid. They do a lot of work in this part of teh world – all of their work in fact – from water and education projects to health and agriculture work. Yesterday we saw a school being refurbished, as well as a hospital. ANERA is also building a wholesale market for farmers to use to sell their crops directly to the public. We plan to see more of that over the next few days.
July 14th, 2010 | by David in Travel
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All Material © 2008 David Snyder
