random ramallah
I had been wanting to explore the West Bank for a while, but have never really had the opportunity. Today after class my good friend Amir asked me if I would like to accompany him to al-quds (jerusalem) to meet our friend Tyson, and then to Ramallah. As I do not have any major deadlines coming up in the next week, I agreed to go without hesitation. I was really anxious to get there but we had to wait for these 2 brazilian guys for about 2 hours at a cafe in al-quds... there are definitely worse places in the world to be stuck. so it was dark by the time we finally got on the road, but we were on our way to Ramallah. We drove in Amir's car though they showed me where and how to take the arab bus for next time.
I was really glad we had the car, and that 3 of the people in the car had been there before. What I witnessed along the way as we drove through East Jerusalem suddenly gave the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a new meaning to me. Let me try to describe it in terms you might understand. picture the worst road you've ever driven on, and multiply it by 10. it was paved, but hardly. it was in really bad condition, potholes, uneven surfaces, a rough ride. the whole area was like that, not just the streets. although this is a "palestinian" area, the Israelis are technically responsible for the upkeep of the area, and it was clearly not kept up. these poor living conditions are just one example of the inhumane treatment of Palestinians by Israelis. just down the road the area that was under palestinian jurisdiction also lacked the upkeep because of the lack of funding (they have less money to spend on repairs and redevelopment than does the israeli government). I was thankful however, the deeper we got into the west bank, the more safe I felt, as the presence of the IOF (Israeli Occupation Force) decreased.
By the time we arrived in Ramallah, I was satisfied. The random afternoon excursion turned into an evening of excitement. One thing I loved about Jordan and was echoed in the streets of the West Bank, is that there are so many guys. I hardly see many women, its just a bunch of arab guys. While today (Thursday) is like the American Friday (weekend kick-off day) the streets of Ramallah were not as active as they usually are apparently. Just hours before our arrival there had been a shooting, where a Palestinian officer shot a man. Well he tried to shoot the man (for arguing with him i think) but accidentally shot his son. It was a tragedy, and most of the shops and local businesses shut down as a result. so we didn't exactly pick a good day to go, but our delay in jerusalem turned out to be a blessing in disguise, had we gotten there earlier, we might have been closer to the action than we wanted to be. But I loved Ramallah, and will return there soon, on a more active day :)
I was really glad we had the car, and that 3 of the people in the car had been there before. What I witnessed along the way as we drove through East Jerusalem suddenly gave the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a new meaning to me. Let me try to describe it in terms you might understand. picture the worst road you've ever driven on, and multiply it by 10. it was paved, but hardly. it was in really bad condition, potholes, uneven surfaces, a rough ride. the whole area was like that, not just the streets. although this is a "palestinian" area, the Israelis are technically responsible for the upkeep of the area, and it was clearly not kept up. these poor living conditions are just one example of the inhumane treatment of Palestinians by Israelis. just down the road the area that was under palestinian jurisdiction also lacked the upkeep because of the lack of funding (they have less money to spend on repairs and redevelopment than does the israeli government). I was thankful however, the deeper we got into the west bank, the more safe I felt, as the presence of the IOF (Israeli Occupation Force) decreased.
By the time we arrived in Ramallah, I was satisfied. The random afternoon excursion turned into an evening of excitement. One thing I loved about Jordan and was echoed in the streets of the West Bank, is that there are so many guys. I hardly see many women, its just a bunch of arab guys. While today (Thursday) is like the American Friday (weekend kick-off day) the streets of Ramallah were not as active as they usually are apparently. Just hours before our arrival there had been a shooting, where a Palestinian officer shot a man. Well he tried to shoot the man (for arguing with him i think) but accidentally shot his son. It was a tragedy, and most of the shops and local businesses shut down as a result. so we didn't exactly pick a good day to go, but our delay in jerusalem turned out to be a blessing in disguise, had we gotten there earlier, we might have been closer to the action than we wanted to be. But I loved Ramallah, and will return there soon, on a more active day :)
posted by :: Lisa :: at 2:24 PM
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