Just a nice day
Dear Friends,
Yesterday, the morning was very cold (34 degrees), but by the afternoon the sun was shining and it was much warmer (high 50s). As I wrote in my last post, Ramallah is like a bubble… it was an ordinary day for me, and I thought you might like to see some of it.
Following my delicious Lavender Boutique Hotel breakfast, I took a taxi to the part of Ramallah called Al-Tireh (pronounced a-tireh or a-tira), an upscale area with lots of restaurants and cafes.
I was in Al-Tireh for a Pilates class at a great studio called Reform Body & Mind.
I’m the only person in the class who is not Palestinian. Classes are mostly in Arabic, but there is also a lot of English - on signs, and in the class, and more so because I’m there. Everyone is friendly and welcoming.
Following my class, I walked to a lovely cafe called Coffee Lab. It was still cold outside, but there were heaters in the outdoor seating area.
Al-Tireh is also home to Ramallah’s Nelson Mandela Square. It’s good to remember that Mandela himself was labeled a terrorist by the US government until 2008. The 20-foot statue was donated by the city of Johannesburg in 2016. The square is painted with 27 sun rays, representing the number of years Mandela spent in prison.
Al-Tireh is also home to an Office of the People’s Republic of China:
As I’ve said before, in my travels within the city of Ramallah I’ve seen no indication of the violence taking place just miles away. In Gaza, the suffering continues, with 17 people killed by Israeli forces in the last 24 hours (in spite of the ceasefire). I was thinking about the people in Gaza when it was so cold this morning; 6 babies have died from the cold, with the lack of shelters and only limited aid reaching the area. Around 40,000 people have been displaced in the northern West Bank. Reuters reports that “Israeli bulldozers have demolished large areas of the now virtually empty Jenin refugee camp … echoing tactics already employed in Gaza as troops prepare for a long-term stay.” Israel has bombed Syria, and is occupying part of that country. And Israel’s recent attacks in Lebanon killed more than 3,500 people and forced over a million people to flee their homes.
In the US, the assault on democracy continues. Perhaps it was good timing for me to leave the country, soon after the inauguration, for Palestine. Palestinians have shown us for a very long time that even under a terrible government, it is possible - and important - to live a good life, to thrive, and to resist.
Salaam,
Nancy