The Jayyous ones were taken during the first week of October, 2004,
during olive season.
Note the incongruity running along the bottom of the picture.
JAYYOUS
My home town in Palestine
The
barrier snakes its way up the hill to the right and comes within
200 yards of some people's houses.
The Green Line (intenationally-recognized
border of the West Bank) is about 5 km behind me as I took the pic.
A small security fence
Army access roads, razor wire, trenches, etc. etc.
Anyone
who comes near the fence without Israeli permission effectively forfeits his life.
The barrier -- Right down the middle of Jayyous land toward another tiny village.
Note the wide footprint of destruction -- it's much wider on a
hillside
behind me as I took the pic, which I will try to develop soon.
The destroyed hillside behind me is a place where several
of my friends
spent uncountable hours of their childhoods and adolescent years together.
Everyone in Jayyous refused any compensation for the land destroyed
by the Barrier
so as not to legitimize in any way this unilateral
theft and destruction without due process of law.
Almost everything in the frame is stolen Jayyous land.
The Gate -- a humiliating ordeal, at certain hours only, which
are determined by Israelis,
in which each person who wishes to
cross the gate onto his own land must pass
single-file in front of
a pack of teenagers with guns and show not only his
ID but
also his special permit, which is issued (and revoked) at the will of Israelis.
Beautiful Palestine.
Olive trees and welcome jugs of ice-cold water.
Hael posing
Tha'er and his dad, the mayor Fayez
UN-sponsored camp for girls near Jayyous
Tanya and me before the wedding of a friend from Stanford in Amman, Jordan
At the wedding
An old roommate and proof that I can shoot good
Stanford Zen Budokai Aiki Jujitsu
Me, Mom, and "Yasser Bill"
sporting our gifts from the Orient on Christmas in Stigler, Oklahoma
The funniest picture ever taken in the history of the world.
My First-Christian Grandma and Grampa.
Two of my bestest buddies, Holly and Liz
No comment. Go to Perry, Oklahoma, and ask them.
The Euphrates River from Deir Al-Zur, Syria