We woke up this morning to a completely different set of faces. These were the "everyday" workers in the UPMRC offices, not the usual folk who we saw. All of them - the emergency workers - had gone back to their daily jobs. This meant only one thing: The Israelis had left. The strange parallel is that the Israelis also went back to their daily lives, for the soldiers who had taken Ramallah were almost exclusively reservists (not professional soldiers). And so our new day started..
The city was bustling with people doing their daily things and people cleaning up the mess.. Broken glass.. Wrecked cars.. Everything. Everywhere. It was like my room times a million.
"Al-Ra'ees" or "the leader" wanted to see us - the volunteers - to thank us for our work in Ramallah. We refused to go, and instead made ourselves useful in other ways, cleaning up and the like. I'm not fond of the whole political scene over here.. I don't know who's "good" and who's "bad".. The people all seem to be working together against the Israelis but against each other at the same time.. I'm just confused..
Who knows what will happen with the politics of the whole thing.. I'll eventually have to figure it out, but it will take much time..
We have now started planning our trip to the Gaza Strip. Word on the street from the other internationals (people with passports) is that the Gaza is an intense place to be. Constant death. Chronic punishment.. I can't wait to go and see how the people live.. I wonder what it'll be like..
Well, here's hoping that it is all as slow as this for the next little while : )
tarek : )