This Town

Ah yes, I have been thwarted of late by computers and connections generally failing on me, as well as by a general apathy caused by the onset of warm, sunny weather, and sugary tea in the garden.

And so, I am well and truly ensconced here within my new kingdom of Slightly Mad Foreigner, a role which I have decided to embrace, as it cannot be avoided. I find myself being stared at wherever I go, by young and old, men more than women- and so instead of keeping my head down I have on occasion been giving these good folk something to look at, so at least I can be known as 'that lady who sings and dances in the street'.

The thing about AD is that the Separation Wall has changed it from a busy city suburb, to an artificially created small town, inward looking, with the vital organs of Jerusalem and its services lying on the other side of the wall, visible but inaccessible. And so, with around sixty percent unemployment and virtually no recreational facilities, you can't really blame people for seeking distraction.

I am teaching between three or four schools and the Friendship House which was set up by CADFA, the organisation I work for, for community purposes. People here are happy to talk about politics and therefore I often find myself listening more than talking. Without being able to put my finger on it exactly, there is a generally feeling listless about AD. At an individual level, its members are friendly, forthcoming and impassioned- yet a walk around what there is of the town centre quickly reveals a community gradually worn down- an attrition of the town and its natural rhythm. The stench of overflowing rubbish bins guarded by thin cats, kids kicking around deflated footballs, groups of young men sat on walls, staring.

And of course the Wall, the sight of which still never fails to leave me staring myself. It is nine metres high, grey concrete and runs right through the centre (now the edge) of AD. Follow it with your eyes and it winds its way between houses into the hills, encircling the town on two sides. It has cut families and friendships in half by a matter of metres. Its trajectory seems arbitrary- however of course, this is not at all the case. Once the wall is completed, Israel will own, from land it has snatched ilegally, 70 percent of the country's water sources and most of its fertile land -whilst 'protecting', huge (illegal) Israeli settlements, whose white picket fences, rows of orderly houses and pretty copses of conifers lie gleaming white on nearby hill-tops, surrounded by razor wire fencing.