Just found out my flight was delayed 8 hours, so I will be here another day. It is probably good in some ways, as I was working on the farm of Daher this morning, pruning trees, feeding the animals, and completing the planting of seven trees for the family, and a one for a fellow traveler, and then, as an afterthought, one for our President, with a sign saying" Please bring peace with justice for all in this land".
As was the case last year, extending my stay so that I could travel alone was a good decision and resulted in a separate experience beyond what a wonderful pilgrimage had offered. I described the experience with the family in Beit Sahour in the previous blog. The meeting with the Deheisheh staff was an hour late, and many of the women staff members had gone home by the time I had been able to negotiate my way from Ramallah. I meet with the some of the health committee staff, the U.N adminstrator for the camp, and the registraar for all the 130,000 refugees in the camps of the West Bank. It was an interesting meeting, under a tent in a local resturant outside the camp, complete with the water pipe and endless cigarette smoking which I didn't take part in, of course, but did experience the secondary effects, unfortunately. It was a fruit ful visit, and I was able to establish a personal relationship with the key staff, if the Mission and Service Ministry decides to go forward in its partnership. There are many needs in the camp, and they are doing miracles with what they have to work with. I then road the taxi with the staff in charge of the youth program, as he was going my way back to Beit Sahour. My family was waiting there for a last meal and final good byes. Other friends in Beit Jala, were disappointed that I was not arriving at the time I had said I would. Arab hospitality is an amazing force. After some wonderful food, and some tearful goodbyes, I head to the other side of Bethlehem to visit with Amal's family.
They were eager to share their experinces of the last year since I was there, including a wedding for Monjed, and a bout with cancer by Fameih. The hour of videos of wedding dances was a cultural experienc, not unlike here when proud parents show "their pictures -just a few"! The next day, Fameih I had tea together before the others rose. It was a courageous story of her battle with breast cancer and under the stress of the occupation which makes the struggle with the disease pale in comparison. We also talked about establishing an distribution system with folks in America who might be interested in supporting the sale of the embroidery work of many women in the area. I bought several pieces of her work. Those of you who admired the wall hanging by Fameih, can purchase one like it. They are masterpieces, and go a long way to support the families of women in the local villages. Monjed, whom I contracted last year as a free lance photo journalist, to some videos on topics of importance. He share two tapes which I will bring back with me, one about the Israeli Prison system , and the children in the camp of Deheisheh who were greatly affected by the tank invasion in 2003. Both are gripping.
Following some quality time with friends their, I took the bus south to the vineyard of Daher. some of you met with Daoud, his brother when he was a Trinity church. I had planned to go there at the end of the trip to work on the farm, and plant some olive trees. I was able to do that and more. The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship delegates "commissioned" me to go to the village of Beit Omar, with members of the Holy Land Trust and the children of that village to plant trees along the base of the "security" fence, where they had been recently uprooted by settlers and soldiers. The land belongs to a farmer in the village and through the myriad of requirements the Palestinians have to meet to maintain ownership, including tending to the trees inside their land and on the other side of the "fense". Figure that one out.
The planting of the trees there, became a festival sorts, as we carried the trees through the village, children came out of the wood works to join us. Many of them took part in the planting. We were just about five feet from the "fence", on the farmer's land, and as we completed the planting a settler patrol truck, followed by a few soldiers, approached on the other side. By that time, we had finished planting the twelve trees for the delegates, and the farmer had twelve children of the village stand by each one as we
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