True to form we are given a huge breakfast before being sent off for our final day in the field. We start at the top of the Bethlehem pecking order with the Mayor Dr. Victor Batarseh. He is a powerful, dignified man, and tells us a lot about the city.
In yet another Norwegian connection we find that last week we met the Norwegian Prime Minister and has a photo of the two of them shaking hands. We have our photo taken at the end of our interview too.
We are dog tired and the first interview is a pretty tough one so by the time we get to Wi'am (www.planet.edu/alasah) we're drooping, but some Arabic coffee picks us up.
Then a short break and some delicious Chicken Shwarma before heading off to our final, and one of the most exciting meetings, with OCHA, the UN Organisation for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (www.ochaopt.org). We are given the same briefing they gave Tony Blair two days earlier. In fact I sat in the same chair he did.
We have lots to talk about and they have some incredible statistics about the occupation and we discuss a number of quite technical points including reliability of information and environmental issues as a possible international community pressure point. It's all really useful.
We end the day completely exhausted. We think about trying to catch up with our note taking but settle instead for some more basketball (the sport of our time here) and a slap up meal at the Hospital where we are staying. We enjoy great food and drink in the company of some colleagues and finish the day off with Gin and Tonics with the family we are staying with before passing out.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Day 9- Tuesday
We're getting more and more into the details of the area now. We meet with the Applied Research institue of Jerusalem (ARIJ) and they give us a real insight to the situation.
Following this we go to the East Jerusalem YMCA and have another really invigorating discussion about the area.
When we leave these two meetings we are a buzz with ideas and talk abou the future and potential of the area.
Lunch is a lovely meal of meat in the Al Mahkrour tent restaurant with colleagues and friends. We have a great time looking at some more castles, chatting, and eating lots and lots of food!
After we reluctantly leave the mountain and head back to Beit Jala for our last family interview.
We were offered the chance to stay with a family in Beit Jala on one of our nights there, and we take the opportunity to do it. After the interview we head to our hosts family where we begin about 6 hours of feasting on top of our already full stomachs. The family explain, there are only three things to do here: eat, sleep and study!
They're not joking. After the main meal their son takes us for a walk. At least he takes us for a Palestinian walk, which means driving around in a car. Despite the fact that the West Bank is incredibly small and close together, people never walk more than 500 metres without calling a taxi!
We drive into Bethlehem and are taken for Ice Cream, we are treated very well by the restaraunt and enjoy a great view out of Bethlehem as the sun sets. Then we hits the streets turn up the Arabic music on the stereo and cruise the streets. Except we don't really see anything, most places are closed most kids are just hanging around. We do see one disco and a community centre but that's it.
At one point we simply run out of places to go to. After taking a couple of turns and driving for a while Bethlehem literally just stops. No more lights, no more houses, nothing. We turn the car around and the son tells us that we can't go any further without entering Israel.
When we return it's up to the roof terrace for pepermint tea (and more snacks). We spend the evening watching fireworks over the city. It is exam results day (A-Level equivalents), and students have achieved a particularly high average. Everyone is in high spirits. Students clutching their papers drive the streets hanging out of their windows clapping singing and launching fireworks wildly into the air.
It makes a great view. The family wryly observe that had this happened five years ago, Israel might have fired some rockets back.
It's 12 before we head to sleep and neither of us rest well despite comfortable beds. We both complain the next day of dreaming about work.
Following this we go to the East Jerusalem YMCA and have another really invigorating discussion about the area.
When we leave these two meetings we are a buzz with ideas and talk abou the future and potential of the area.
Lunch is a lovely meal of meat in the Al Mahkrour tent restaurant with colleagues and friends. We have a great time looking at some more castles, chatting, and eating lots and lots of food!
After we reluctantly leave the mountain and head back to Beit Jala for our last family interview.
We were offered the chance to stay with a family in Beit Jala on one of our nights there, and we take the opportunity to do it. After the interview we head to our hosts family where we begin about 6 hours of feasting on top of our already full stomachs. The family explain, there are only three things to do here: eat, sleep and study!
They're not joking. After the main meal their son takes us for a walk. At least he takes us for a Palestinian walk, which means driving around in a car. Despite the fact that the West Bank is incredibly small and close together, people never walk more than 500 metres without calling a taxi!
We drive into Bethlehem and are taken for Ice Cream, we are treated very well by the restaraunt and enjoy a great view out of Bethlehem as the sun sets. Then we hits the streets turn up the Arabic music on the stereo and cruise the streets. Except we don't really see anything, most places are closed most kids are just hanging around. We do see one disco and a community centre but that's it.
At one point we simply run out of places to go to. After taking a couple of turns and driving for a while Bethlehem literally just stops. No more lights, no more houses, nothing. We turn the car around and the son tells us that we can't go any further without entering Israel.
When we return it's up to the roof terrace for pepermint tea (and more snacks). We spend the evening watching fireworks over the city. It is exam results day (A-Level equivalents), and students have achieved a particularly high average. Everyone is in high spirits. Students clutching their papers drive the streets hanging out of their windows clapping singing and launching fireworks wildly into the air.
It makes a great view. The family wryly observe that had this happened five years ago, Israel might have fired some rockets back.
It's 12 before we head to sleep and neither of us rest well despite comfortable beds. We both complain the next day of dreaming about work.
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