Walleje, Dec. 25, 06 PMObservers: Yael I., Ruth O. and Ilana D. (reporting) From 2:00 till 5:00 PMWe had taken Qalandia shifts for a couple of months and realized that there was no way we could possibly be of use except by reporting. Therefore we decided to return to our former sites of interest. We had just read about two buildings (a shed and a house) which had been demolished two weeks ago without our knowledge and made appointments with two our spokesmen who had become friends. Near the Ein Yael CP we saw newly planted saplings and a wide road nearing construction, probably towards Har Gilo, although we had heard it led to Cremisan. We will investigate next time. Ahmed’s son who has not been working for many months showed us in and pointed to his father near a plot of cabbages. He had been out with the sheep – a once well-to-do contractor in Jerusalem now reduced to tilling the land to provide for the families of his sons. He told us over coffee of the fact that his sons had managed to work three days over the last few months and that last Thursday they had been caught in the morning trying to sneak into Jerusalem and had again been held up until the end of the day. Meanwhile he managed to continue the construction of the two upper stories of his house, it is now possible to bring in trucks with building material, but he has not enough money. He told us he recently attended the funeral of an architect with whom he had worked closely for thirty-five years and had managed to sneak through the fields to get into Jerusalem to reach the cemetery. The future looks bleak and the construction of the new Jewish neighborhood appears imminent. The rich people of the village who live far away from where the wall will be erected and the demolitions take place continue building palaces in the hope that once again they will be sold or rented to diplomats and other wealthy foreigners like before the intifada. They are not concerned with the wellbeing of their fellow villagers down below. Ata is a generation younger, a social activist who looked older and tenser than when we had met him last. He was actively involved in the plight of his homeless neighbor and fully realizes the hopelessness of the situation in Wallaje. The house of his neighbor had been demolished a year ago and been rebuilt with the help of all the neighbors. Now it has been demolished again. The family of five has temporarily been given lodgings with one of the villagers. The husband, an electrician, is unemployed and his wife is becoming deranged. He is looking for sponsors to buy a small plot for the homeless family and help with the construction of a home for them. Apparently disappointed he is now disenchanted with ICAHD and the Rabbis for Human Rights. We pointed out that maybe some rich people would be willing to give matching funds provided the wealthy Palestinian neighbors donated some of their money too. He said there was no such possibility. He told us that he has to pass to work via CP 300 and it often takes hours. On the way back he can travel via the tunnels. His wife, a fluent English speaker who was raised in Kuwait and loves traveling told us that she has only been to Jerusalem a couple of times and now gets no further than Bethlehem. She had been invited with the children to attend a Christmas party at a Bethlehem pharmacy where “Santa” had given them small gifts. The children attend a school in Beit Jalla with Christians and Moslems – Christmas day was a vacation day for all. We were treated to éclairs and black forest cake with coffee and tea.We left a small gift for Ahmed’s grandchildren and Ata’s children for the coming Eid.