Saturday, May 30, 2009
May 30, 2009
Quick update. Another long, grueling day in Gaza. Our hosts have done an excellent job showing us the many aspects of Gazan life, from politics, religion, school, bombings, fishing, being a woman, traditions and culture, you name it. Today was no exception. One of our activities was to take the bus up to the northeastern corner where they look into Israel and is frequently the target for Israeli retaliation. There is a hill that is usually planted with olive trees, but when they get of size, the Israelis send over tanks to plow them down. Today our activity was to help a farmer weed the newly planted orchard and help set up his irrigation system. It was quite profound to think that our efforts could soon be trampled upon by Israeli tanks!
While we were doing this activity, I was called upon to look at one of our guides who was not feeling well. She said that her right arm and hand was twitching out of control and she was crying. I tried to ask her several questions to help figure out what was going on, but she did not want to answer. Later I learned that she has had leukemia for 2 years. She was one of the girls who danced last night at the girls' party. She particularly caught my eye as she was incredibly striking and danced beautifully. I would be so interested to know what kind of medical treatment she has received.
Tomorrow we are going to 2 hospitals. Looking forward to it.
Some of the students are planning a side trip to Dahab on the Sinai penninsula to go scuba diving. Madeline and I are considering joining. Can't have too many adventures. Got to keep the blog alive!!!
later. hope to have more pictures.................cheers!!
While we were doing this activity, I was called upon to look at one of our guides who was not feeling well. She said that her right arm and hand was twitching out of control and she was crying. I tried to ask her several questions to help figure out what was going on, but she did not want to answer. Later I learned that she has had leukemia for 2 years. She was one of the girls who danced last night at the girls' party. She particularly caught my eye as she was incredibly striking and danced beautifully. I would be so interested to know what kind of medical treatment she has received.
Tomorrow we are going to 2 hospitals. Looking forward to it.
Some of the students are planning a side trip to Dahab on the Sinai penninsula to go scuba diving. Madeline and I are considering joining. Can't have too many adventures. Got to keep the blog alive!!!
later. hope to have more pictures.................cheers!!
ok, i may have a few minutes for a decent email. we are at one of the host family's homes for a bbq, just the girls, as this allows for them to put on shorts and take off their hijabs. what beautiful girls. we are presently at a palatial home, and they told me that many original gazans have homes such as this, large swimming pool, very elegant. so the girls are preparing a bbq, music playing, quite festive.
so exhausted i can hardly stand it. they have us so regimented it is draining. i get the impression they do not want us out of their sight. we get back to ibrahim's home very late, and he has a whole house full of family wanting to talk to us, relatives keep showing up. all very smiley, wanting to know our opinions, optimistic but nervous about obama having an affect on their situation.
this morning at 6am we went to the fishing marina to hear about the distress of the fishing industry. they can only go out 3 miles, need to go out 6 to get the fish, get shot at frequently. they are down to 5% of the boats going out. an american is here doing a documentary on this situation. we took the boat out in the water and were able to look back on gaza. and if one did not know any better, they would think it was a calm, quiet coastal town.
then they took us to a tunel where goods are brought in from egypt, only yards from it. because israel ontrols the goods that come into gaza based on a list that they control, many, many things are missing, and therefore, there are tunnels to bring them in. we were told that being a tunnel owner was very lucrative, as the goods are taxed. while we were looking at it, either we said the wrong thing, or there were actually israelis flying overhead, but they hurried us out of there with the later excuse!
so, after being in these harrowing locations, 5 us decided to take a taxi to a market. we were retrieved by a hamas bearing a rifle. the market was not scary, but the scene that the hamas caused was.
ibrahim and his family are very hospital and charming. ibrahim seems incredibly infatuated with tara, and it seems mutual from her angle. he is very attentive to her and me, wanting to be accommodating to any of our needs. as i's parents went to egypt for medical care, his brother and family went into the parents' room, and we went into their apartment upstairs. the accommoations are very comfortable. i just wish we had more time to be in them, as our schedules are so tight.
that is the story!!!!
the speakers, exposures, and everything is so impressive. went to unrwa today and a man john ging spoke to us and it was very informative, along with all of the speakers.
this situation is grim, to say the least.
but the gazans are truly impressive with their tenacity.
so exhausted i can hardly stand it. they have us so regimented it is draining. i get the impression they do not want us out of their sight. we get back to ibrahim's home very late, and he has a whole house full of family wanting to talk to us, relatives keep showing up. all very smiley, wanting to know our opinions, optimistic but nervous about obama having an affect on their situation.
this morning at 6am we went to the fishing marina to hear about the distress of the fishing industry. they can only go out 3 miles, need to go out 6 to get the fish, get shot at frequently. they are down to 5% of the boats going out. an american is here doing a documentary on this situation. we took the boat out in the water and were able to look back on gaza. and if one did not know any better, they would think it was a calm, quiet coastal town.
then they took us to a tunel where goods are brought in from egypt, only yards from it. because israel ontrols the goods that come into gaza based on a list that they control, many, many things are missing, and therefore, there are tunnels to bring them in. we were told that being a tunnel owner was very lucrative, as the goods are taxed. while we were looking at it, either we said the wrong thing, or there were actually israelis flying overhead, but they hurried us out of there with the later excuse!
so, after being in these harrowing locations, 5 us decided to take a taxi to a market. we were retrieved by a hamas bearing a rifle. the market was not scary, but the scene that the hamas caused was.
ibrahim and his family are very hospital and charming. ibrahim seems incredibly infatuated with tara, and it seems mutual from her angle. he is very attentive to her and me, wanting to be accommodating to any of our needs. as i's parents went to egypt for medical care, his brother and family went into the parents' room, and we went into their apartment upstairs. the accommoations are very comfortable. i just wish we had more time to be in them, as our schedules are so tight.
that is the story!!!!
the speakers, exposures, and everything is so impressive. went to unrwa today and a man john ging spoke to us and it was very informative, along with all of the speakers.
this situation is grim, to say the least.
but the gazans are truly impressive with their tenacity.
Friday, May 29, 2009
May 27, 2009
Update from my last blog, which I believe left us at the Rafah border crossing. As the border guards rarely pass people through and their knowledge of the process is limited, it took us a couple of hours to be processed. We first bought a stamp, an actual postage sized stamp that we thought we would see in our passport, but didn’t. Then we waited for the processing, waiting for our names to be called to receive our passports. Then bought a bus ticket to complete the journey to the border, while our bags were handled like airline luggage. We finally completed the processing and handling to realize we were in flipping Gaza!!!!
We were taken to a very nice hotel where our local group organizers met us and gave us information on our stay. Madeline had decided to stay with a host family other than with Ibrahim’s family, as she was ready for a break from me and also wanted the student experience. Let me interject. Tara finally was with Ibrahim! I have to say, they seemed enchanted with each other. Ibrahim gave a big round of hugs, and you could feel him shaking with excitement.
Today we met back up at 8am and listened to some presenters speak about Gazan life, culture, traditions….. It was all very interesting. Then we went to a school for the deaf that focused on skills developing in woodwork, pottery, and embroidery. From here, our next stops became quite intense.
We next went to the American School that had been bombed in the winter. It is my understanding, the Israelis occupied it, when they were done using it, they bombed it. It was completely destroyed. I was very surprised they took us down to it, as members of our group, myself included, had on sandals, and the area was piles and piles of shattered glass and debris.
Then we drove up to a neighborhood that had a lot of bombing and destruction, and it was arranged that we talk to some people and hear their stories. Mind you, this is not a tourist destination, and the people we talked to were the real thing, Gazans living in homes of rubble. But compared to the next group who we visited, they were living large. The next group was a tent city. People who had lived for months in a tent, a family to a tent regardless of size, and families tend to be large. One woman, cried while she told us that at night they would joke about the tent being a form of weight loss as they all sweated so much from the intense heat. The land was dirt and there was a hot, dry wind. The women wore the black clothing with hijabs. Can’t imagine.
Update from my last blog, which I believe left us at the Rafah border crossing. As the border guards rarely pass people through and their knowledge of the process is limited, it took us a couple of hours to be processed. We first bought a stamp, an actual postage sized stamp that we thought we would see in our passport, but didn’t. Then we waited for the processing, waiting for our names to be called to receive our passports. Then bought a bus ticket to complete the journey to the border, while our bags were handled like airline luggage. We finally completed the processing and handling to realize we were in flipping Gaza!!!!
We were taken to a very nice hotel where our local group organizers met us and gave us information on our stay. Madeline had decided to stay with a host family other than with Ibrahim’s family, as she was ready for a break from me and also wanted the student experience. Let me interject. Tara finally was with Ibrahim! I have to say, they seemed enchanted with each other. Ibrahim gave a big round of hugs, and you could feel him shaking with excitement.
Today we met back up at 8am and listened to some presenters speak about Gazan life, culture, traditions….. It was all very interesting. Then we went to a school for the deaf that focused on skills developing in woodwork, pottery, and embroidery. From here, our next stops became quite intense.
We next went to the American School that had been bombed in the winter. It is my understanding, the Israelis occupied it, when they were done using it, they bombed it. It was completely destroyed. I was very surprised they took us down to it, as members of our group, myself included, had on sandals, and the area was piles and piles of shattered glass and debris.
Then we drove up to a neighborhood that had a lot of bombing and destruction, and it was arranged that we talk to some people and hear their stories. Mind you, this is not a tourist destination, and the people we talked to were the real thing, Gazans living in homes of rubble. But compared to the next group who we visited, they were living large. The next group was a tent city. People who had lived for months in a tent, a family to a tent regardless of size, and families tend to be large. One woman, cried while she told us that at night they would joke about the tent being a form of weight loss as they all sweated so much from the intense heat. The land was dirt and there was a hot, dry wind. The women wore the black clothing with hijabs. Can’t imagine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
