While
we were having a first affinity group meeting at a restaurant
around the corner from the Faisal we hear a commotion. We realize
that they have closed Damascus gate. The Gate is a big tourist
thing - it's part of the wall around the old city, which is where
all the most important religious sites for three major religions
are within its walls. It's also a regular thoroughfare for people
that live and carry out their lives there.
We go
to investigate further and all of the normal street sellers -
which are everywhere in this area - are packed up and gone from
right inside the gate. The gate is closed and we notice the soldiers
right inside the little slit of a door. As we are sitting there
watching, the soldiers come out leading about 8 men linked together
from inside the gates - with a woman, I'm assuming a mother of
one of them crying after them, pleading with the soldiers as they
shoo her away. They march them up the steps (I have some great
photos) and inside a police van and whisk them away.
Shortly
after this, we hook up with Hawaida and Adam for a ride to Ramallah
and my first check point on foot.
The checkpoints
are everywhere on all the main streets between all the main towns.
There is a whole system of taxis and 7-seater small vans (waiting
until full and then take off for about 50cents for the ride).
We get out and go around and file in with everyone else trying
to get around show them our passports and get through.
We get
another of the vans for the rest of the ride into Ramallah. As
we are heading into town Adam yells for the driver to stop and
almost jumps out of the van while it's moving with his camera
out and video tapes 3 youth being dragged blindfolded into this
military compound - they are about 10 or 11 years old.
We all
abandon the taxi ride and immediately attempt to help the children.
We have 2 digital and one regular video camera and my digital
plus several others. We approach the building, which we learn
is an apartment building that has been taken over by the military.
The families that live there are allowed out, but only allowed
to live in part of their apartment. And the keys are no longer
in their possession but in the armies.
We go
to the soldiers that are guarding this building, and Adam and
Huwaida ask them why they have arrested children, did they know
it was against international law? What exactly are they afraid
of - one of them complained about having stones thrown at them.
We continued
this for a while. The international presence encouraged people
in the neighborhood. We got an interview with several women who
came to join us asking the soldiers what they were doing. The
kids were all over the place. They had the ability, for the first
time, to come all the way up to the soldiers and stand in front
of them without getting shot at. They ended up letting the kid
go an hour or so later - just at the end of curfew.
