home again, home again, jiggity jig

Here's a classic pic of western power's infiltration and malnutrition.
Here's the hat, cause I love it.
If your house is stoned, and you have a flat roof, the stones stay on your roof. Sometimes when they are heavy enough, they crack your ceiling inside. Sometimes it may make it impossible to use that room anymore, or that part of the house.
If your windows are shot at, there are holes in the glass. Obviously this is the least of the problem.
This is the farmer who we observed plowing his field. This is the day I was really happy the soldiers were around to control the Settlers.


This is a street in the old city in Hebron. Most shops run by Palestinians have closed down due to harrassment by Settlers. Please notice how nothing is open.
This is the Wall ("Separation Barrier" if you prefer) in Jerusalem. It is not, for the record, following the green line.

I think this is the closest I've ever come to feeling culture shock. Being able to go places alone at night, being able to look people in the eye, being free to wear what I want, NOT SEEING GUNS ANYWHERE, showering and flushing the freaking toilet. It's fantastic, but, you know, "not fair."

On the trip home I read Zadie Smith's White Teeth. It may not be possible to over-sell this book. It was incredible. I can't believe she wrote it before she was 25. And of course, it was the inevitable reminder that I don't need to fly 6 hours to find injustice, I can just jump on a bus. Plus it forced me to think again about being white and middle-class (ouch). I always want to say, "It isn't my fault! I was born this way!" Unfortunately, that isn't much of an excuse.

Final thought: "Cuz this life is too short to live it just for you/But when you feel so powerless, what are you gonna do?" - Nelly Furtado