We have arrived!
August 10, 2003

Jason and I arrived today - exhausted. Neither of us were able to sleep on the plane.

I am so very happy I decided to go on this trip. I have been drawn to tears a couple of times. I wish everyone could see this place. Our fears keep us away from this treasure.

We are in the Arab quarters of East Jerusalem. It is pretty amazing, in the maze of narrow alleys essentially, all bricked, and covered where you can buy anything you could possibly want (it is like an underground mall, a mall you have never seen). We are now sitting in a internet cafe. Technology, you gotta love it.

I will be brief tonight, love to you my friends and C, E and H and D, C and A (thats Caitlin, Emmy, Hannah, Devin, Cole, and Adam) Tracey, I am alright.

Take care, Gretchen

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August 14, 2003

Hello all, it is me Gretchen, thanks for following us on this trip. We apologize about not sending pictures until today. They are on their way.

Be forewarned: I am not proofing this email message to any great extent because I have a limited amount of time.

It is my turn to write the daily log. Today and yesterday have been the most tense days for me that we have had thus far. We have learned what it is like to be a Palestinian. Palestinians are humiliated on a daily basis, their every movement is restricted. This is especially true at the checkpoints that welcome everyone back into their hometowns, if they can even get out of their hometowns.

Passes have no validity, people are made to wait HOURS, for HOURS, even with valid passports. Today, in line with us was a family of five, a father, mother who was carrying an infant probably no more than 2 weeks old (if that) plus two other small children. They were denied permission to pass through to their home. It is really disgusting and so wrong, so, so wrong. Humiliation is the name of the game these young soldiers are using. They used it on us even, but that some how does not seem nearly as important, given that we will not have to deal with this again.

These people here are amazing really. A friend of mine once asked me why the Palestinians don’t use peaceful means to end this tragedy. He wondered where their Ghandi was. In my opinion they are all Ghandis. They stand in lines, long lines, have their towns blockaded off randomly, are having their land stolen from right under their noses and the still can smile and be friendly. It is truly amazing. When I get back I will tell you in person about the atrocities committed by the Isreali military.

We are Nablus today. Jessica and I, (for personal reasons) opted not go on today’s tour into the refugee camp that is now under siege by the Isreali military. Lance really wanted to go but is feeling under the weather. I promised myself and my family that I would not do things that I did not feel safe doing, and this was one of them, especially since the cease fire has ended. Some 20,000 people live in this camp, cramped into very tight quarters. Other delegation members will have more to say about their experiences tomorrow. Nablus is the largest city in the West Bank and tends to be more reactive to what is happening.

I have tried very hard to keep a balanced view of things, but I find I can no longer do so. We stayed last night in a small village that is completely surrounded by military outposts. The road to the town itself was blocked off by the Israel military up until 2 months ago -- people could not come or go into the town. We are talking about a town of 11,000 people, (4,500 of them kids). The only way out of the little town was up over the mountain by foot.

A professor who resided in this small town had to stand at a checkpoint 1 hour everyday to get to his University in Ramallah. He cannot drive there himself, even though he has a car, because he is a Palestinian. They are not allowed on the roads that the US is so graciously help fund. It is really outrageous. Palestinians are now prevented from visiting their families in other towns, because (a.) check points and (b.) if they can get past the checkpoints to exit their town they are often not allowed to get into the other town. There are roads they can drive on but most of the roads have been purposely destroyed with barricades and ditches. I cannot tell you how many rocks I have seen, huge rock, that have been piled in front of roads. The roads that are left are long and winding and a trip should take 10-minutes might take as long as 4 hours. Just to give you an idea, it would be like me not being allowed to drive to Indianapolis on Highway37 or 67. Instead I would have to drive to Bedford, via lake Monroe on all the back roads to Linton then up to Crawfordsville. The roads I would be limited to would be two lanes if I were lucky, though 1 lane would be more likely. Highways themselves have become an invisible form of security fence.

I believe I will leave this as it is. Tami, thanks for the notebook you gave me -- it is nearly full. Tami, if you would not mind, would you please give Beth the address for our website. I forgot to give it to her, and also Dee.

Hey children of mine, I am well and keeping my promise to you. I love you.

I should say one more thing, I am typing at an Internet cafe, typing in the girls section. Nablus is very conservative.

Take care everyone.

Gretchen

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August 20, 2003

Hello everyone,

We are just about to return to the states, Jason and I have flights out on Saturday.

I was just writing to a friend of mine, and was telling her that I cannot wait to get home, and my reason is that I have buckets and buckets of tears to shed.

We spent the night before with a family in a tiny little village near Bait Omar (itself a very small village). Staying in their home was a welcome relief. Their home is surrounded by acres for grape vines, pregnant with grapes. The family we stayed with owns some of the acreage; their relatives own the acres surrounding their farm. A roadblock prevents them from driving on the highway next to their home. Their land is fertile -- it is some of the most fertile land I have had the pleasure of walking on.

Sad to say, Edna's home is slated to be demolished. Edna is an Israeli Jewish person married to a Palestinian. She is one of the most powerful people I have ever met. She works in Jerusalem for a lawyer’s office and helps prosecute cases when her family members have been arrested. Two of her nephews were arrested just out of college and imprisoned for 28 days each, sans any charges. They are both accountants.

Edna's daughter has been unable to attend college – the college she attends in Hebron has just recently reopened, but the town is closed. No one can get into Hebron and no one can get out. The soup kitchen in Hebron is closed because people aren’t allowed out of their homes. The day before yesterday, at around noon, we saw hundreds of children, carrying plastic buckets up paths to the community kitchen to bring soup home to their families.

We visited the mosque in Hebron, where Abraham, Rebecca, Sarah and Isaacs’s tombs are located. As you go into the mosque you have to go through two checkpoints. The reason given for this is the Goldstein Massacre that occurred in 1994 (I believe this was the date). Goldstein was a member of one the settlements in Hebron (I left my notes at the hostel so I do not remember his first name). He entered the mosque, killed 29 people and injured 300.

It is hard to accurately describe how massively successful the Israelis have been at taking over the City of Hebron. The streets on the main ground are completely dead, a few children roam around, a few shops are open, maybe 5-10 total. If you look straight up from the street you will see wire netting. The netting was put there because of the settlers, who used to throw rocks at the people below. At times the settlers would pour boiling hot water on the Palestinians. You might ask: How could the settlers pour boiling water on them? The answer is that the settlers’ homes are literally on top of the Palestinian homes. Yes, I repeat, they literally live right on top of the Palestinian homes.

I now know the origin of military video games so many people play – the games that show soldiers walking through catacomb-like places, armed and ready to shoot around any corner. They are modeled on this place. The games must have been designed and recorded in Hebron, or in Old City section of any Palestinian town. Atop most of the buildings in Hebron, you can see the camouflage netting – manned by Israeli soldiers. This is a town under siege. It is surrounded on the outskirts by Israel, and controlled from the center by the Israel. You might picture it looking like doughnut. The Israelis control the center and the outside.

We are headed today and tomorrow into Israel proper. We have two more packed days of meetings.

I will be back in touch with you all upon my return.

Love you my lovely children, I can't wait to see you.

Gretchen