the tourist capital of the occupied territories

i am in ramallah. it never gets easier, the transition from "free" society to military occupation. on the bus on the way in, a couple of school girls got off at their stop, one of the many between jerusalem and ramallah. they got off the bus onto the sidewalk, and had only a few feet from the massive wall separating them from their fellow palestinians. and within sight of the border, huge gates, military checkpoint, guns, closure, identification checks, humiliation. i cant really imagine what goes through their little heads. i saw a man and his son walking up some steep stairs, the man's hands were clasped behind his back, and his 3 or 4 year old son followed, slower, up the stairs, with the same hand posture. it just made me think about how we learn when we are little.

friday leaves the muslim city quiet, and i make my way peacefully to my hotel, where the trc is putting me up. its called the rocky. i think i might be one of four or five guests in the five story hotel. clearly tourism isnt what it used to be here. but my hosts hop when i get in and are happy to serve me.
i have been getting dose after dose of humility when i am here, putting me in my place. this morning I walked around the old city of jerusalem, watching the day get started, people do their business as they have done for so long. and they are watched, monitored by the soldiers in green, with their walkie talkies and uzies. the soldiers laugh, joke, have coffee, try to make small talk with some of the vendors. they don’t even realize that if most of the vendors felt that they had the freedom to speak their minds the conversation would be quite different. Its so easy for the oppressor to say, hey, lets just get along here, right now, you and me, we are both people. Oh, why are you angry? Don’t get angry, I am being peaceful, just trying to make small talk. Well, I guess these people are just barbaric, unable to make peace.
The parallels with the “pioneers” and homesteaders and “settlers” of the American west with the native peoples are too striking to ignore. I wont even bother elaborating, its too clear and disturbing for me to have to put into words.

coming home soon

well, just a few things about cairo that happened in my last few days there. first, one evening i was walking in talaat harb circle, a busy circle in the city center, around 10pm and i saw a circle of people forming. i thought, thats weird, i wonder what is going on. so i walked over and sure enough there were about 10 young guys breakdancing! it was so cool to see it happening in cairo. the guys had the backwards caps and sagging pants, hip hop style, and a little tiny speaker blasting music. they danced for about 10 minutes while people watched before the police came and broke it up. of course, you cant dance in the streets. so i approached one of the guys and he slapped my hand and said, wazup bro! he told me that they were going to relocate, so i walked with them. we went to tahrir square, an even bigger area, where they regrouped and started dancing, this time the police came but appeared to be so intrigued by the scene that they let it happen, and the kids danced for over an hour, doing some impressive stuff. but really, what a great scene, i mean, real hiphop culture, forbidden here, repressed, and with the youth finding their community and expression of resistance in their own way. one kid came up to me and asked, "so what do you think about egyptian democracy?" and then said quickly, "shhhhh!!!!" as put a finger to his lips and gestured that someone was listening, then proceeded to do some crazy flipping and spinning. we hung out with them for a while, and it was definitely the most energetic and inspiring thing i had seen in cairo! what a spirit.

the next night was the gathering of egyptian opposition groups to protest their government's construction of the wall, complicity in the occupation, and general lack of democracy in country. it was supposed to be a silent candlelight vigil at 6pm. since 2 in the afternoon the police lined all the 5 streets that lead into the circle, dozens of paddywagons filled with riot cops, these guys had guns too, and the streets filled with moveable steel barricades. they were ready and their show of force was dominating.

only a few dared come out in such an environment, there was a bit of scuffling and punching and pushing and kicking, and the police tried to drag off a couple egyptian activists, but the rest of the group was successful in pulling them back. who knows what will happen to them in the future, but that night at least they were safe. the group reformed at the standby, the journalists syndicate, and proceeded to have the candlelight vigil there, with signs and banners supporting gaza and palestine. all very quiet and peaceful. and according to the government here, illegal.

i left the next morning for the border, where i arrived late and missed the last bus to jerusalem, so i decided not to cross right away. i stayed the night in basata, a beach town on the red sea, which is a word in arabic meaning simplicity. it was a relaxing evening, a small place, family run, on the beautiful sea, and there was phosphorescent plankton in the water that night that made it feel like you were floating in neon green stars. you could see saudi arabia from our vantage point, and the rocky, brown mountains behind us were just as stunning. that night, however, was a freak thunderstorm that lasted two days. it apparently hasnt rained in something like 4 years, and all of a sudden this massive storm came. the following day included hail. all the roads leaving basata to the border were closed, so i was "forced" to stay there a little while longer.

finally i was able to make it to the border, and passed into israel with absolutely no problems. i was so worried i would be turned away, but i passed through in 10 minutes or less. i made it to jerusalem by dark. on the way i got my first chance to see the dead sea, and southern israel, which is incredibly gorgeous. the bus ride was filled with what i gathered were traditional songs by the bus driver, and many passengers joined in, and it actually felt very comforting.

jerusalem is a strange place, i have never gotten the true feel for it. but it is powerful. i met a great young doctor from new orleans here on his way to south africa, and we had a good conversation.

i contacted the treatment and rehabilitation center for victims of torture, where i have invested most of my energy over the past trips, and am feeling quite disappointed. it seems that the director was not really in touch with the feelings of his staff, and they are not prepared at this time to collaborate with me on the acupuncture project. now that i have the wind taken out of my sails i dont feel like i have the energy to start over with conversations here, so i think i will take this opportunity to visit some friends, have tea and coffee and head back to egypt next week where i will hopefully make it back home to new york on feb. 1st. this seems like the most prudent course of action at this point. i have tried, i will explore some options here briefly, but i will go home and wait to see what my next window of opportunity here might be. all the effort, energy, and intent put into this trip has not been in vain, and i am still happy about the outcomes. good organizing is still happening with the cairo declaration, and i am excited about that. i also got another work opportunity via email to get paid to go to guatemala in may to do training there, which is very exciting! that seems like it might be a really great thing for me, since it has been handed to me in my lap. as for palestine, i will bide my time and wait for the next window to open.

tomorrow i go to ramallah where i will hopefully see abed, and spend three days or so there, then i plan to go to visit harry and his family, then the plan is to return to egypt next thursday, so i have plenty of time to get to cairo by the 1st.

sending love to all

in jerusalem

hey all, just a quick update before i can get a full length report in to say that i have arrived! i made it to jerusalem and will go to the west bank either today or tomorrow. yeah!

i spent a few days rained in on the border at a little place on the red sea (not a bad place to get stuck) and now i am here, excited about next steps. i will be in touch.