I am writing this post from inside of the ‘apartheid wall’ in Beit Sahour, where I will be staying for the entire summer. We went through the checkpoint and weren’t given any problems by the Israelis, but within a few hundred feet of the checkpoint, I first saw ‘The Wall.’ It is extremely foreboding and not something that I can imagine having to live within/behind…although, I will for this summer. I was struck by a sense of deep pain and sadness as I first saw it, and as we so easily came from one side to another.
I am living with one of the directors of my program and I will begin orientation tomorrow, and I begin work at the Bethlehem Peace Center on Monday morning. Internet access will actually be pretty good, as I will have access from the Peace Center, Bethlehem Bible College and most likely, from the house I’m staying at in Beit Sahour.
It is certainly another world ‘within the wall’ – and you will be hearing it all here on this blog. Until then…