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Merrick

2148 posts

Re: Palestinian report

Mar 29, 2002, 14:42

we got here. a bit of an interesting journey - i got proposed to by a jordanian taxi driver, and had no sleep for about 36 hours, which is always good. but then at the checkpoint at tantur i got my first taste of how things have changed here - we got very used, in december, to breezing through there, often winding up the border guards and making our own merry decisions about whether or not to show id. this time, we were met from a distance of about 40 yards by a soldier brandishing an M16 rifle from the booth. we backed up and tried walking, in case they just didn't want cars, but met the same response. an attempt to walk round the back walkway was quickly spotted. so we walked back - in the bitter rain - to the head of the road, where a transeet driver told us that his sister lived by the beit jala checkpoint and we could get through there - which we did, with the suspicious soldiers doing no more than glaring at the freaks wandering through the street in front of the family home they've occupied as a base. the soldiers shot a 60-year old palestinian woman about 2 hours after we tried to cross on the walkway, as she was doing the very same thing.

bethlehem looks kind of different too - mainly because the bit we're staying in, not far from manger square down paul vi st if anyone cares to look on a map - is where the tanks were last time, and there are big shell holes in the wall of the pharmacy and bethlehem uni - still fresh enough to have sootmark coronas round them.and there is a perceptible tension amongst the ISM organisers that was not there last time, and neta and huweida are stuck in ramallah, possibly, so i haven't got to see them yet and get some news on how things are in ramallah and salfit generally. only bethlehem news from georgie!

things in ramallah sound appalling, and the plan (not on the schedule, of course, but then the schedule has obviously gone completely for a burton) was to go there and maybe help accompany ambulances, which are not even being allowed to move. 20 journos are holed up in a hotel, and the israelis are holding 2 of the rooms in arafat's compound. he made a speeech this morning announcing that he welcomed martyrdom - we'll see about that. but it may be horribly viable - there are bodies lying around in the centre of the compound. god only knows what sharon think's he's doing this time, but it's sounding increasingly likely that it may involve taking out arafat, in which case god help us. not that i'm such a fan of abu ammar, but...

there were supposed to be shiploads of ya basta! going to ramallah, but they didn't get in either. even they're not omnipotent here...maybe they'll come here instead, in which case there will probably be more italians than palestinians - there's already a bunch staying at ibda.

anyway, we're not going to ramallah, as there was a suicide bombing in jerusalem about half an hour ago, and alledgedly the bomber came from bethlehem. so, we were expecting the tanks in here in the next few days anyway but now - maybe hours...there are thousands of troops massing in jerusalem and people here seem fairly certain that they will be heading this way in the near future. everyone's been panic buying since yesterday afternoon, as if curfew is imposed it will be 24hour, in all likelihood. so the talk is of maybe going to dheheishah refugee camp or to stay with families in beit jala to prevent their homes being taken over by troops, as happened last time. but again, who knows.

all vaguaries, i'm afraid, but then that's what things are like here. you don't seem to be too sure of what is really going to happen until it does. but somehow it feels like we shan't be wandering around fields with farmers tomorrow.

look after yourselves, all of you; i shall endeavour to do the same. i'll be in touch as much as possible, but of course if curfew is imposed i can make few guarantees. and remember that no news is good news!

love,

sarah

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Palestinian report (Merrick)

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Palestinian report 2 (Merrick)

Topic Outline:

Palestinian report – Merrick, Mar 29, 2002, 14:42


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