Journey to Haifa

As I said bye to the IFPB delegation friends this morning, I prepared to pack once again and find my way to Haifa somehow. While I had the invitation to stay with a friend's family there as back up, and knew that I wouldn't be out on the street, it was a bit stressful negotiating the route without the benefit of the language. But in fact, I actually liked the challenge. Most people were gracious and if they didn't know English, they pointed me to someone who did. There was always a few who seemed brusque, but that may have been my interpretation, rather than their demeaner. Still the challenge of hailing a cab, and not knowing how much it might cost, nor where exactly I was going; finding a cellphone card for Israeli space, and learning how to toggle my way through the phone calling directions, via the Hebrew recording on the other end of the line; interpreting the bus ticket for location of the bus and time of departure; arriving in a downpour and a river of water coming down from the steep hill, with two backpacks, and trusting that the cab driver, who spoke no English, would take me to an inexpensive hotel for the night, was a leap of faith, or foolish fantasy. I sit here now feeling pretty fortunate (perhaps gloating a bit)to have made it through the gauntlet of a new culture using just two words; "Shalom"and "Toda" and a look of despair, I might add.

Why isn't life that simple all the time?

On a five-hour walk to the top of the city, and around its market place, I had this realization that God really was drawing me close to something special. The city experience though, was a dramatic contrast to the much more restrictive life of the occupied West Bank from which I had just left. I can see why folks both live in fear, and feel removed here from the daily pain of the occupation. Fearful, not because of what they know, but what they don't know and what they DO see. They do NOT see because the "walls,lines,fences and borders" are barriers to seeing and feeling. What they fear, though manufactured I believe, is reflected in the presence of a security guard and detection machine at nearly every entrance to a store, supermarket, restaurant and pubic,or private building. Even the children's playgrounds have security person hanging out in the swing sets. What a price this separation and fear of the unknown. I had more fear of crossing at the stop lights even with a signal "to walk", after a near miss by someone driving through the traffic light. (the elderly couple ahead of me were panicked and rightfully so)

At last night's debrief with the Interfaith Peace Builders delegation on the day of harvesting olives on the farm, and walking the streets of the Deheshia Refugee Camp, I was asked a lot questions, unexpectedly. I had intended on sitting outside the group and listening to their reflections as an interested third party. They invited me of course to join them. On further consideration, I should have have remained physically outside the group as I did tend to soak up some of the time that others might have used. The leader rightly called me on it, and said, "And it's all about you Bill".

When I thought about it some more on my walk this evening, I thought what I should have said was, "and it is. And it is about you Scott...and Lisa, Melinda, Maya, John, Andy, Allie, Elaine, Catina, Ursala, Mark, Bob, Pat, Paula, Todd, Jo Cathleen, Wayne, Brad, Sandie, Bud and Jean. For that is what is special about the journey I rediscovered last week and what Daoud spoke about last week at our meeting. It is about catching the spirit of goodness out there. It is about harnessing all of our collective energy, and not that of just one individual. BP