December 6, 2002

Curfew Break in Bethlehem

[Bethlehem, West Bank] My neighbor interrupted my 7am morning devotions on my balcony (the sun rising over the hills of Jordan was breathtaking) by announcing that local TV said Bethlehem was due a five-hour curfew break today 11:00am - 4:00pm. So I called a taxi driver and asked if he could give me a ride to take care of a little business. I had a lot to do -- visit the cash machine in Bethlehem (with no success), monthly Internet subscription in Beit Sahour (125 NIS), pay phone bill in Bethlehem (PalTel closed), stop by a demolished home in El Hader (landlord had sad story I will share another day), visit the Rapprochement Center in Beit Sahour (great to see the folks!), and finally back to Bethlehem for vegetables (not so fresh) and meat (two kilos of ground beef). He was glad to help me with part of it, but he asked to take me at 10:00, an hour before curfew was lifted. He wanted to go pray with his family at 11:00, and there was already a fair amount of traffic on the road at 9:30, so I said earlier was fine with me.

He arrived, and we slowly started up the hill toward Nativity Church. Suddenly a car rounds the turn with a waving driver -- "tank! tank!" So the car passes and we attempt a turn in the narrow street. We were totally blocking the road when I hear the unmistakable clanking of an APC track grinding up pavement nearby. I was beginning to think that it might have been prudent to wait the additional hour until curfew was officially lifted. My driver was visibly shaken, but he very calmly said "I think I hear something." About 20 feet from us a car -- with a frantic driver pounding on his horn -- was being rapidly followed down the road by an APC. My driver straightened the car and accelerated. The car behind us was now inches from our bumper and the APC was pushing him. My driver said "the tank is very fast!" And he was right. That APC was moving down the hill faster than I had ever seen one move, clearing the path in front of him. I glanced back, and all I saw was tank. My driver yelled at me to take a picture, but I wanted to keep my hands free in case I needed to open my door to bail. (So sorry, no photo link.) Besides, I didn't want my last shot to be of the underside of an APC. My thought was more whether this Peugeot would be added to the dozens of crushed cars I had seen around Bethlehem. The road ahead of us was clear, but we did not outrun our pursuers. Finally my driver yanked the wheel to the left and we careened onto a side street. Everything behind us continued straight down the road. I blew out a sigh of relief -- ahhh..life, sweet life, sweet, precious life -- and my driver laughed with sort of a sparkle in his eye. We both breathed a couple of prayers to God -- and anyway, today I enjoyed the freedom of walking the streets of Bethlehem with impunity.

When curfew was lifted, the souq was very busy.

When curfew was lifted, the old market was very busy.

When curfew was lifted, people were very busy.

When curfew was lifted, these boys selling turkeys were very busy.

When curfew was lifted, this little girl was not very busy. But she was cute.