I'm back!

Did you miss me? (Did you even notice I was gone?)

Well folks, it's been a busy couple of weeks. Taking a holiday can actually be more tiring than usual day to day life, once you factor in the traveling and then the frantic rush to see as many people as possible.

Getting to Jerusalem has become even harder - we actually drove through a car park to get from one crappy stone dirt track to another.
The journey in the opposite direction has become a little easier, if only because the bus now goes directly to Ramallah, driving around the Kalandia checkpoint (don't ask because I can't figure it out either).

Although I was much calmer for both legs of this trip than on previous occasions, I actually encountered more hassle than at any other time before. I got an hours worth of working over at the airport security, and even got to go into the shop changing-room style booth to be frisked with the metal detector. In the corner there was a bin full of used latex/surgical gloves, and I don't think they were put there just to exert physiological pressure. They also forgot to give me back my digital camera, which I only realized when it was too late, but thankfully I was able to pick it up from the airport on my return leg.

My return to Palestine was preceded by watching the film 'United 93' the night before. DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM THE DAY BEFORE YOU FLY ANYWAY! The pilot on my (real) flight even said 'there's a lot of traffic at the moment. From here I count 15 planes in front of us before we get underway'. I sat there wondering whether he had actually seen the film or whether this was in fact the mother of all coincidences and what that portended. We did however arrive safely. My I-pod also decided to break just before the return journey. I'm happy to say that it has now made a miraculous recovery.
Hamdu Lillah!

While away, I was surprised/shocked to learn how many people didn't know about the current siege of Palestine. It's simply unbelievable to read things like "There can be no business as usual with a government that has not yet accepted the fundamental principle of peace," - Ms Ferrero-Waldner, EU somebody talking about Palestine, when a) I've just had to relive pictures of the girl in Gaza that lost her entire family to an Israeli shell (what was that about accepting peace?), and b) I live among teachers, nurses and civil servants who are the people being effected by this boycott. Hamas still has money. These people don't.

I can only assume that all these EU people, and every other politician and diplomat simply has no idea what's going on here. In fairness, I guess that doesn't really distinguish them from the rest of their populations. Despite all my anger and disgust though, it's good to be back in Palestine.