May 27, 2002

Bethlehem Under Curfew

[Bethlehem, Palestine] I was to meet a video team this morning at the Bethlehem checkpoint, so I got up early. I ran through my normal 6:00am routine (wash coffee, comb face, put on hair), when I got a call from Sandra. She said she had heard a lot of shooting this morning, and it seemed strange that there was no traffic on the streets. I hadn't heard any traffic either, so we checked with neighbors and it turns out there is another Israeli curfew on Bethlehem.

Some visitors are working with the Lutheran Church and the International Center of Bethlehem. They arrived Saturday and got to spend the night listening and watching a brief Israeli invasion. (I met a few of the nice folks when they attended church Sunday. They brought me greeting from friends and family back home. Thank you.) I hope they were able to see some of Bethlehem yesterday, because now they are under curfew. I guess their work will have to wait a while. At least they are getting an accurate picture of Palestine.

View from my window: The shops are closed

View from my window: The streets are empty