the PRIVILEGE of having a taste of Real Life

Finally given the PRIVILEGE of having a taste of Real Life

For most of my stay in Palestine, life here is quite OK.  After all, I’m a visitor with a foreign passport, enjoying a lot of privileges.  Then this month, just when we are preparing to say goodbye for now, I’m finally given the “privilege” to have a taste of what real life is like…

On leaving home, I met my neighbor just coming from the roof.

“Still no water coming?” I asked.

“No, 15 days now.”

I could hear the frustration, the helplessness.

Gush, can’t imagine 15 days without water.  Water, for sure, is a most precious commodity, especially that we here do not have control over water.  Water supply is controlled by Israel, a major bone of contention between Israel and Palestine. And there is a big disparity between water availability to the two sides.  For us, water comes "whenever", and by the same token, it stops coming "whenever".  That explains the water tanks crowding every roof top.

I have been lucky. My landlord has been kind to me and has always lent a helping hand by sharing with me his own water.  “Don’t worry about water.”  He has told me twice, and that has been among the most comforting words I have heard this year.

Yes, I have been forced to choose often to do the most important, like choosing between using water for shower or for laundry? 

But today is different! 

“Mine is low too,” for the first time he said.

He gave me some water anyway.  Not much, I can tell by the sound in the pipes.

Yes, we have been without water before but today is different!

My sister-in-law is coming for a Holyland vacation tonight.

She was worried that I do not have an air-con at home.  I did not tell her we do not have a fan (it’s cool here).  Now should I tell her about water?

In a way, it has been satisfying for me to think of creative alternatives for daily practices like doing the dishes and cleaning and toilet flushing.  But I do want her to have some water for a shower!’ 

And then I have lots of friends who will come and visit tomorrow.  At least they need to use the washroom.

My neighbor told me that they were once not getting water for 45 days…

“Can you help when we move out?”  I asked my friend G, a strong build fellow in his last year at the university. 

“Sure, but I have disc problems with my back,” he said.

I’m puzzled, “why have I met so many people here with the problem?”

“He was in jail,” H explained.

“So you were beaten?”

I could see the anger that rushed to his eyes instantly.

“So what do you want to do?”

He cursed.

What can I say?  Before me is this very intelligent young man.  He has been crushed, unfortunately not just on his back.

I looked at his friend H sitting beside him. He still has the bullet on his side.  He has a serious stomach problem because of the various hunger strikes in jail… 

It hurts to have to ask these people who bear the marks of suffering to help me bring down my furniture when we move out.

H took me to the post office.  I had wanted to send our belongings home since we only had a 20 kg baggage allowance on the plane.

“Sorry, we cannot take any international mail,” the clerk said.

Since their two parties pledged to work together, different punitive measures have been imposed on them by the Israeli government. So even I can’t send my belongings back to HK?  When did I start to be punished together with them?  I am embarrassed to have thought otherwise before.

(P.S.  We finally got water!!!!a few hours before their arrival, God is good!  I quickly washed the dishes, mop the floor, a clean house again!!)