palestine

there is way too much to say about this place for one simple blog post; again i refer to linford's quote about the longer you stay in the middle east, the less you say.

it is that there are so many sides; that so many people make sense; that all these sensible things contradict each other; that there is pain; that the pain is caused by many people; that the US is so complicit in conflict here; that i love arabs, palestinians - and that this love is suspicious to a lot of people.

i wish that you could see what i've seen:

illegal israeli settlements
trash thrown at palestinians in hebron
a jewish settler saying he's been called a nazi
a video of a jewish settler calling a palestinian a nazi
lack of water
swimming pools in the settlements
piles of food in my host family's home
a refugee camp
a documentary about occupation
pictures of gaza
stories of civilians blown up by suicide bombers
a powerpoint ripping apart christian zionism theology
keffiyahs
synagogues with machine guns outside
mosques with machine guns outside
hasidic jews with ear curls
the palestinian flag
a map of the illegal settlements superimposed over the west bank
a video of rachel corrie when she was in 5th grade, giving a speech on ending poverty
a video of rachel corrie's parents after her death doing humanitarian work in gaza
a woman who has lost two pregnancies because she was beaten by extremist jewish settlers
a mosque and a church side by side in beit sahour
the shepherd's field in bethlehem
the lemon tree behind my family's house
broken hearts
traditional dances by my brother cezar
people waiting to reclaim their land
people waiting to claim land
the present power of love