Deir Sharaf, Sun 19.4.09, Afternoon

Summary

There are so many quotes about spring as the season of hope, new beginnings and rebirth, but few to mark the end of springtime. Margaret Atwood, the Canadian author, hit the nail on the head, and was absolutely right when she said, "In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." The only thing is that she was probably thinking of her garden and not of the meanness and sordidness of relating to the Occupation.

Deir Sharaf

12:35 The traffic moves swiftly in both directions, an occasional hold up only when the solider decide to stop a taxi or a truck. No Israeli vehicles in sight today: lesson learned. Only on Saturdays! The checkpoint is open from 5:00 in the morning until 12 midnight, making it impossible to return from the many celebrations and weddings that take place in other Palestinian cities, like Ramallah or Tulkarm. Again, normal life is disturbed for normal Palestinians. The fact that Beit Iba is no more, and that Deir Sharaf is now part of Nablus fails to make life better for the Palestinians.

The road from Shavei Shomron is being worked on, more and more of acreage belonging to Deir Sharaf inhabitants is being uprooted, making the confiscation of their lands even uglier than the facts on paper.