The Words of Appeal from Ballota Refugee Camp

The Director of the Center at Ballota Camp opened with, "If you have visited Refugee camps in the West Bank, our needs are no different, only double as we are the largest camp here. He seemed a little frustrated, and maybe a little resentful that all the misery in the camp is met with indifference by the world. He pleaded with us
to place pressure on our government to bring an end to the occupation, and free the people. Having visited three other camps in the past, I too, was wondering the same thing.

As we were leaving the camp, our group was strung out, and off guard when some young boys acted aggresively and hit of the older, more fragile women in our party with a soccer ball. She was quite frightened by it of course. We quickly moved out of the camp. WE were told by our leader that we should have called the incident to the attention of our hosts, as the adults do not promote such behavior, and would have corrected it immediately. I think that advice might have come a bit earlier. Anyway, no one was seriously injured.

We left Nablis that afternoon having taken a tour of the old city given by the Human development Society, an organization committed to responding to the needs of women, in particular. The tour guide was himself from the old town center, and his story of the seige on his city was horrifying, and the Israeli forces stormed in with lots of weaponry, injuring 100's and killing 77, the largest number in killed in all of the West Bank. He, himself, had been shot on the roof of his apartment building by an Israeli sniper. At the time he was an ambulance worker, and was taking a break, not knowing the incursion had had happened. He hid behind an object on the roof while taking a smoke. A bullet slashed through one leg and out the other, cleanly. He was bleeding profusely, and wondered if he should remain where he was or make a dash for the door. He made the move and descended the stairs to his apartment. His family picked him up and took him down stairs and into the streets to an incoming ambulance. The soldiers prevented him from getting into ambulance, and made him sit for two hours without attention, and by that time had lost an enormous amount off blood. Eventually, the soldiers allowed him to go, but he was again stopped. From the time he was shot until he was admitted in the hospital, totalled five hours. He eventually regained consciousness, and survived the ordeal. There were stories along the way in his neighbor of the old city with similar stories of young men being
killed indescriminately IT is one thing to engage in an equal battle but to attack
unarmed men,is a disgrace.

We headed to Bethlehem and the home stays with the people in Beit Sahour. I got off at the bus stop in Jerusalem, and took a local bus to Jerusalem. It had been full weekend in the north, and I was glad I went.