Another Friday

Independence Day falls on Tuesday next week. The day before is Remembrance Day. The country is festooned with flags and buntings. The airforce has been practicing fly-pass over Jerusalem for the past few mornings ... awfully noisy. I'm sure like every year the navy will be doing a sail-pass along the coast in Tel Aviv. It would be terribly fun there except I have class on Tuesday and cannot go to Tel Aviv like the past years to watch the parade and relax. Come to think of it, I've not had one day to relax for the past one and a half years. I'm going crazy. Enough is enough. My body is breaking down and my mind is cracking up.

smart observation ...

The weather has done a 180 again ... today was hot though the wind could be quite cold. Here's a novel way to tell the weather .... according to Olive Tree Hotel.

The past few days have just been as crazy as the weather. I've just been running from east to west of the country, north and south of the City, waking at 3am or latest 4am ... working through till 10pm or later. Lucky for me the asthma has been reduced greatly ... thanks to one painful injection. Works wonders this jab ... probably some kind of cortisone or steroidal treatment. This goes together with flixotide and ventolin. Loads of steroids I guess ... I'm expecting swollen feet and arthritis again. That's the downside. But at least I can breathe.

Today Friday passed very quietly. No problems in the City, no blockades, soldiers were significantly less in the streets. But outside the City things were different. Settlers attacked an arab farmer and arab villagers retaliated.   http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Palestinians-clash-with-IDF-after-alleged-beating-309650  My friends Saaed, Ahmed and gang are all going to Ramallah tonight to a party ... but I'm back home writing a report for a meeting. They invited me but those guys will probably come home in the early hours of tomorrow morning ... and I can't do that. I have work to do ... and I still can't find time to rest.

Rain

Rain in April ... it's been a very long time since we had this type of rain. Overcast skies, showers interspersed with drizzle, cold moderate winds. That'll keep people indoors; which is not a bad idea because John Kerry is in town and roads have been closed or temporarily blocked while his motorcade shuttles back and forth from King David's hotel to hold meetings with Israeli and Palestinian govts. Quite a bother for locals.

Enormous head of rose
at Ratisbonne

The rain is also good for the plants of course. Any walk down a park or garden will prove that. There're huge roses blossoming in the Ratisbonne garden. Impressive.  And another good thing about the large amount of rain we've been getting this year is, several "extinct" plants have resurfaced and re-discovered. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/israeli-ecologists-spot-plant-thought-to-be-extinct-for-50-years.premium-1.514633

The bird/swine flu is quietly causing a panic though the govt refuses to officially declare preventive measures. Tamiflu is limited to 5 packs for each order by a phamarcy. I needed to get alot for the sisters of Mother Teresa in Gaza as they're all falling ill. And it's pretty expensive - 135 shekels for a box of 10 pills. Imagine having to buy over 10 boxes. Too bad the locals here are not educated to close their mouths when they cough or sneeze. It's awful. Well the weather is not helping in this case.

Holocaust Day

Holocaust Day is for the most part a sombre day recalling the 6 million jews killed by the nazis. There was a moment's silence when sirens wailed throughout the country in the morning yesterday. Such a genocide should never have happened if the world had a conscience - not this jewish genocide, nor the armenian genocide, nor the Nanking massacre nor any other senseless killing be it one life or many. If would not have happened if people were not greedy for wealth, nor vindictive and revengeful.

Sheep, shepherd and
goats

But not everyone in Israel was sombre. Ultra-orthodox jews were celebrating with parties and barbecues .... drawing ire and criticism from the rest of the population. They believe those who were killed were punished by God for their sins. Well I'm not going to judge anyone about that .... but it does leave a queasy unease when people rejoice over the death of anyone. http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Haredi-barbecue-on-Holocaust-day-sparks-uproar-309096

The weather has been absolutely crazy. Very hot the past several days, then a sandstorm yesterday while temperatures began to fall. Last night it was back to 8 degrees again and this morning the overcast skies mark a cold day for the country ... if not rain. Yesterday I managed to catch a lovely photo of a shepherd herding sheep and goats in the Jericho wilderness. Was on my way to see the doc. Have not been feeling well these few days.

By the way, some ten thousand muslims returned to Israel yesterday from their Haj in Mecca. The Allenby Crossing between Jordan and Israel was jammed pack and some people had to wait 10 hours before crossing back into Israel. I think the sheep and goats are alot luckier ... they move everywhere without passports and immigration checkpoints.

Divine Mercy Sunday

Por Por's chicken porridge

There's still tension in the streets today but not like the past few days. It's a lot quieter and people go on with their daily work. Soldiers are still everywhere but people just want to get on with life. And that's good ... because it shows that people do not want war - not the israelis, not the palestinians.

This evening begins Holocaust Day. Thats when we remember the 6 million jews killed by the Nazis during the 2nd World War. It's a sombre day and shops close as a sign of respect. Nicely coincides with our Divine Mercy Sunday. God's mercy is always infinite .... now if only humanity could imitate just a part of it.

Por Por's dumplings

I had a nice afternoon out with my friend Firas. The weather was hot so we had an ice cream. Walked around Mamilla Mall and Ben Yehuda Mall. The sisters of Mother Teresa cooked chicken curry for me. Firas' mum made warraq dawali (vine leaves wrapped with rice and minced lamb) ... I've been eating too much this week. Yesterday Por Por from the Mandarin Restaurant came back from Hong Kong after 6 months away. First thing she did was cook chicken porridge and dumplings. Then she insisted I went over to eat as she hadn't fed me for half a year. Smells like a conspiracy to fatten me up. God have mercy!

Another Friday ...

Friday ... the City is tense. Roads and City Gates are closed. Muslim men below 45 not allowed to enter the City. The streets are deadly quiet. No tourist groups in sight. There is a strong and cold wind blowing, and it's also raining. Miserable day. All this because of the recent deaths of Palestinians. Yesterday Israeli soldiers shot 2 arab youths, killing them, for throwing molotov cocktails. Today everyone is expecting an outburst of violence worse than Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday night. But then again in this cold and rain, maybe no one will come out.

The perfect perch 

Yesterday was very tiring as I had went to see my doc early in the morning. Appointment at 6.30am some 65 kms away. Before the doc could start the exam, he received a call that his brother just passed away by suicide. Shocking. He was totally broken. No exam. I stayed with him, and then brought him to the Police Station to identify the body. Poor chap. He was a very young guy.

Got home exhausted. Lots of other work to do. But some funny moments too. Sr Vincenta wanted a photo with Mr. Bird. Her funny veil made a perfect platform for Mr. Bird to walk about. But he preferred to stay on the lemon tree eating his piece of apple. Mr. Bird can be quite stubborn.

Riots

Arab shops all closed
in protest

Rioting yesterday in East Jerusalem and the Territories. A palestinian prisoner had died of cancer and the Palestinians are accusing Israel of not providing medical care. Israel on the other hand had wanted to release him on learning of his terminal cancer but the bureaucracy held up the process. The demonstrations at Damascus Gate was bad. We could hear the shoutings even from our home. Israeli soldiers fired stun grenades, ambulances were racing not only in the main streets outside the City but even inside the Old City along the Way of the Cross.

Today all arab shops remained closed on strike. It was like back in the Intifada days. I wonder how long this standoff will hold.

Bruised and swollen

Yesterday was a terribly frustrating day I had to stop everything and supervise the workers. Frustrating because they refused to do what I wanted. Result I had to do everything on my own while the 5 arabs stood by watching, drinking coffee and smoking. Now my hands are all bruised and swollen. Sometimes I think that with this type of attitude, they really need Israeli hardhandedness to wake them up. How in the world can they run their own country when they can't even do a job as told? I was wishing the riot police out at Damascus Gate could make a detour to my place .......

Easter Monday

Remains of byzantine
church in
Emmaus - Nicopolis

Traditionally Easter Monday is when everyone goes to Emmaus to celebrate the breaking of bread and the 2 disciples' recognition of the Risen Christ. Only problem is: which Emmaus? There was a pilgrimage to Emmaus Qubeibeh where the Custos celebrated Mass for hundreds of people, ending with the blessing of bread. Near Latrun is another Emmaus, so-called Nicopolis from it's byzantine name where another liturgy took place. Then there're 2 other Emmaus along the same road. I guess identifying the real Emmaus is more difficult than identifying the Risen Lord.

What a dreadful sandstorm today. Reports say it is the worst sandstorm in 4 years. Visibility was terribly limited and there's sand everywhere. http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/worst-sandstorm-in-four-years-engulfs-israel-as-heavy-air-pollution-recorded-across-country-1.512883  People are warned not to go out and do strenuous work. And poor asthmatics like me must remain indoors. My asthma is really bad. But the new medicine is providing quite a relieve. Plus the exhaustion of the Easter celebrations, I managed to sleep a little longer than usual. Got up at 6.30am. That's a record .... since I usually get up at 4am.

As today's the last day of Pesach, all shops in the Israeli side of the city is closed. I had to go to East Jerusalem to buy some necessities. Got caught in the middle of battle: some suppliers were demanding money from a hardware shop that owed them money. Some 50 people gathered in front of the shop, taking sides. Then tempers flared and fights broke out. I tried to get out of the way by staying inside a shop. The fight spilt out into the streets. Strangely the police station is just 50 metres away but no Israeli police showed up. It's in such kind of situations that the Resurrection of Christ become significant. Otherwise life is hopeless and people merely pawns to circumstances.