No Smile this Morning - my notes
Thu, 16 Nov 2000
Dear Colleagues,
Those of you who have visited my office during the past years will, most probably, remember Abu- Jad. Yes, he is the janitor at our Ministry who is in charge of cleaning our Department and making coffee. Many of you have said to him, and to me, that he made the best coffee in Palestine.
Normally, I get to work in the morning around 7:45 a.m. Every morning, I would find Abu-Jad there ahead of me. He would have, by that time, cleaned our offices and brewed the morning coffee. As soon as I enter into my office, he would follow me, greeting me with his pleasant smile and a fresh cup of his delicious strong coffee. He arrives to work at 7:00 a.m. He is very hard working, organized, punctual and very clean. He has a strong sense of belonging to the Ministry. He takes pride in his work and is very pleased to get compliments about his good work, especially from our visitors. He is a great asset to my Department. When he takes a leave from work, even for a day, I feel handicapped without his coffee and without the quick service he provides to my daily numerous visitors.
Today, I got to work as usual, before 8:00 a.m. My office was still closed. There was no smell of Abu-Jad's coffee. I was not surprised. Today seems to be one of the worst days since the beginning of Al Aqsa Intifada in terms of Israeli-imposed closure on Ramallah and on other cities, towns, refugees and villages. Normally, the Israeli army has roadblocks on the roads leading to Ramallah. Palestinians use alternative dirt roads to get in. We always feel that the Israeli army knows about the dirt roads, but does not close them. Today, the army has put heaps of dirt and rocks on dirt roads.
Abu-Jad got to work at 9:10 a.m., more than two hours late. He left home at the same time he does every morning but had to get out of the shared taxi from his village (Beit 'Anan) at each heap of dirt and walk to catch another taxi to the next heap. He did this several times in order to reach the Ministry. He spent more than two hours getting here (normally it takes him 20 minutes), and much more money. He was already exhausted, psychologically and physically.
He came to greet me, with the delicious cup of coffee, but without the daily pleasant smile. He was worried about the way back home and about his daughter who, also, commutes to Ramallah daily to study at women's technical college next door to our Ministry. Later on, he told me that he was pleased to hear from home that his daughter was safe at home. She did not succeed to leave the village, as he did, to go to Ramallah. She did study, yet he was pleased that she was safe.
Three out of eight of my colleagues in our Department did not make it to work today. Two came very late, like Abu-Jad. When I asked about other colleagues at the Ministry, I was told that more than 60% were absent. Most government schools in Ramallah whose students come from surrounding areas had similar rates of absence today.
Abu-Jad left work very early today hoping to find transportation back to his village. I wonder if I will see him on Saturday.
Khalil Mahshi
Director General
International and Public Relations
Ministry of Education
Ramallah, West Bank
Palestine