Kobar...

I spent most of the day in Kobar with my friend Esperansa and her family. Esperansa and I went to school together. Trying to get to Kobar was interesting. Getting past the Qalandia checkpoint was relatively easy; it only took half an hour to pass [compared with the usual several hours] because i left early in the morning. Once inside Ramallah, there were PA police everywhere. The main roads were closed and I got a call that there was some trouble in Kobar.
Apparently, the PA took a member of Hamas in for interrogation and he died while in their custody. It seems well known that he had heart trouble, but there was some question as to whether or not he was hurt or tortured by the PA. In any event, the funeral was to take place and the police were out in full force in the event there might be a confrontation between the two political factions. People were lining the road, standing on their balconies and roofs waiting for the procession for about a 60 mile stretch.
I drove on to Kobar. People pointed me in the right direction since the main roads were closed and I got to Esperansa's house by 10am. I had my cousin's son, Amir, with me. He's kinda like my own son since he came to live with me in the US for a while [and we're trying toget him to come back with me on this trip]. So, Amir and I stayed at Um Sami's house until late in the afternoon after things were safe enough to venture out.


It was great to see Esperansa [the one with the curly hair] and equally great to get a chance to hang out with her older sister, Samia, her brother, Sami, and her mom, Um Sami. Sami has three little girls, the youngest one in these pictures, Sadeen, and I became pals.

I'm happy to get this time to see friends, but I'm also frustrated by the fact that I can't get much work done on the playgrounds and simply have to wait. Tomorrow I'm taking a trip to Beit Anan and I sure as heck hope they've kept their word and we'll be ready to dig holes. Actually, I'm not leaving there until they figure out a way to get the holes dug tomorrow. It has to get done one way or another. Will keep you posted. In the meantime, here are some pictures from today.