Bayt Iba

After writing an article in the morning and generally just catching up on things one of the American volunteers asked if I would like to go with him to Bayt Iba. A small town just outside of Nablus. One of the students from his English class had offered to show him around.

It turned out to be a good afternoon and it was nice to visit a place that I wouldn't have gone to otherwise. We watched a football tournament, which the team from Bayt Iba happened to win, and went on a general tour of the area. As is usual we got invited to our tour guides home to meet the family and sit down for a feast. The house was the typical austere concrete grey from the outside but the inside was magnificent with hand made furniture and golden pictures. The house had a balcony with a fantastic view that once again included land that was forbidden to enter for Palestinians and a road demarcating the boundary. Indeed our guide had been imprisoned for 3 weeks as a 15yr old for setting foot on the road. After being shot at he and has friends decided it would be better to surrender. His parents weren't informed of his incarceration and he was dumped at the checkpoint nearest to his home and forced to walk back home in the middle of the night.

Last time I was here I didn't appreciate the extent of the amount of people who have spent time in Israeli prisons. Everyone knows someone who has spent time inside one whether they be a friend or relative. Most people still know someone who is still inside one. The amount of people surprises me but also discovering that many people that I know have spent a very long time in prison. One guy I know for ten years.

No one here can simply ignore the occupation. It infiltrates every part of their lives.