Today D. and I patrol the lower street together, between the stairs and the checkpoint every one have to use to go from this neighbourhood to the rest of Hebron and vice versa.
At mid afternoon J. emerges from the checkpoint. I had not seen him since the demonstration in Bi’Lin. He had been here before, and he was one person that strongly encouraged me to come here.
After updating each other with our “adventures”, J. tells us about his doubts about what to do. His idea for this trip was to go to Egypt before going back to his country, because ever since his childhood, he has always wanted to see the pyramids. But now that he’s here, and even knowing that most probably he will never again have this opportunity, he is thinking of not going, and stay in Jerusalem instead. He wants to spend what he calls “quality time” with friends, and not go travelling through “normal” Israeli territory and walk the Egyptian desert on his own after this almost traumatic experience in Palestine, as if it had never happened, as if he could just walk around like a normal tourist.
Yet, he is worried that once at home, he will regret having missed his only opportunity to visit the pyramids that he has so much wanted to visit all his life.
We more or less agree that the ideal thing to do is usually to pay attention to one’s feelings and do whatever one feels like in as much as it is possible, and that it would probably not make much sense to travel to Egypt and risk being bitter, thinking how comfortable he would be in Jerusalem with his people.
For now J. is only passing on his way to Kawawis, which they say is not far away. He will stay there for just two or three days because there are no washing facilities there at all and then will go back to Jerusalem. He recommends me to go to Kawawis too.
