Far'ata

Translator: Charles K.

14:00 Far’ata

A young woman who usually opens the floor of the building where the kindergartens at which we volunteer are located arrived at the same time as we did. She immediately began telephoning her friends and within 20 minutes about 12 women had shown up, some ready to continue their beadwork and others who’d brought their crocheting and worked on it under Riki’s guidance. We’re always amazed in working with the women by their openness and amiability, their laughter, the way they encourage each other and us; we really enjoy it. Tikva, who understands Arabic and has begun improving her spoken Arabic, has also been able to communicate with them on topics other than handicrafts.

We heard, in passing, H’s story, one of the activists, an educated woman born in Nablus, who after living many years in Kuwait returned to the West Bank with her husband and four of her children because they feared Iraq would attack Kuwait. She’s been living in the village with some members of her family for some ten difficult years, without ID cards or being able to go through checkpoints or visit Jordan to see her older sons who remained there after leaving Kuwait. Only in 2008, a year in which some of the checkpoints were removed, did she, her husband and some of her children receive ID cards. That allows them to see their sons every year, two of whom have established families in Jordan. She misses them. In response to our question she said life in Jordan was easier than in Palestine.

The women are making progress in the beadwork, each at her own rate and according to her own taste. They’re very pleased with the activity and the fact they’re sitting and working together. We haven’t yet been able to discover whether any of them would be interested in selling what they make.

At the edge of the village we looked out at Havvat Gil’ad. We saw nothing new. Construction of one of the buildings continued, apparently in Area B.

16:30 On our way back we saw a military command car parked perpendicular to the road slightly before the entrance to Azzun. That’s no longer an unusual sight.