Payne, fellow Siraj volunteer Sherrill and I went to lunch at my boss' house next to The Wall. Her house is one of the first sites of The Wall because it is near to Rachel's Tomb.
From the outside it doesn't look like anyone could be living here - it appears to be the unfinished shell of a building under construction. We stood outside wondering if it was the right address, near the Intercontinental Hotel (which is also nearly vacant).
Nadia came out and greeted us. "How do you like my beautiful home?" she asked.
We smiled politely, unsure what to say, as we entered a concrete, completely unfinished ground level and climbed through rubble up a flight of stairs. As we turned the corner atop the stairs at first we still saw unfinished concrete -- then suddenly there was a clearing, nicely tiled and attractively furnished. Who would have guessed this was inside this building?
We enjoyed tea and cake and met some of Nadia's family and a comfortable sitting room off the kitchen. Nadia and her children told us the story of her living situation.
Years ago there was a more normal home at this location.
During the hopeful times of Oslo so-called negotiations her family combined resources with cousins to raze the old house and put up this four story structure which was to have shops at ground level and apartments above.
They got as far as finishing the first living area. But even before the Intifada there was some trouble because of the proximity to Rachel's Tomb. And when the Intifada began their building was the first major hot-spot. Eventually they were forced to move out as the upper floors of their building were taken over first by Palestinian militants who found it a good location to throw rocks and the tiles which the family was intending to install in the house. Next the soldiers moved in and (like the movie "Private") locked the family into the apartment while they used other portions of the building to stage their observation posts.
So the family moved to what they thought was a safer place, in Beit Sehour. Only there they found themselves living near Au Shgrab -- which at the time was an Israeli military post. So once again, they found themselves getting shot at! Next they moved to what seemed a safe place in Bethlehem. But it happened to be located next to the Muquata -- which was bombed! So eventually they came back to this home by Rachel's Tomb. And now they are living in the shadow of The Wall.
After cautious warnings not to step out of the shadows with our cameras we climbed upstairs to see -- here is where the soldiers stayed, here are spent tear-gas canisters, here are bullet holes, here are the remains of broken tiles. And there is The Wall. The soldiers in the watchtowers have probably already spotted us. Behind The Wall are two other walled areas.
One surrounds the home of a Palestinian family which refuses to move and has absolute proof that they have a right to stay. So they are nearly imprisoned in their home. There is one key and they are able to go in & out only at very limited times. The other inner wall surrounds the tomb of the beloved wife Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin.
On the side of the separation Wall there is lots of grafitti -- we may set up a page of grafitti-blog eventually. Some of it is quite thoughtful. For example one grafitti says "This is a Wall at which to Weep." It could be contrasting this with the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Or it could match with another grafitti nearby "Jesus weeps not only for Jerusalem, but also for Bethlehem." Or it could refer to the story of Herod's massacre in Matthew which speaks of the Jeremiah prophecy "Rachel weeps for her children."
Because they lost so much in the fighting and many moves, and now there is over 50% unemployment, and the failure of the Intercontinental hotel next door is indicative that businesses can't succeed so close to the wall (on what was once an enviable & prosperous street) Nadia's family is unable to continue the construction. For the foreseeable future they will live in the hidden apartment in the the building that at one time was thought to be a dream coming true.
There was one more highlight to our visit.
As we enjoyed Nadia's hospitality we were startled and frightened by a sudden sound of "Bang, bang, bang" outside. Is there more trouble? More shooting?
Not this time.
This is the day the results of the national high school exam came out. All around Palestine, students are finding out if they have qualified to go to college. They are shooting off fireworks (in the middle of the day) to celebrate their results. The fireworks continue all day and into the night, and carloads of students drive around whooping and cheering.
It is strange to us - to make the sound of guns in a place where the suffering from shooting is so real. But it's their way of celebrating.
Life goes on in the OPT.
