futile attempts

so i slept a good 10 hrs or so. i guess the weekend was hard on me, i needed relaxing after that. and i dunno what i need now, after almost 2 (!!) hrs in the local bus, returning from office. no matter how many zillion palm trees and jewish noses there were to stare at, it was a long trip. and as in most places, public transport is only for those who cannot afford a car, too young, too old or too poor.

but at the office i enjoyed myself, nice building and super nice colleagues. im going for dinner tomorrow with an editor colleague after work.

but palestine. i dont know what to say. obviously its worn out and poor. nothing new there. people are quite anxious because for them, the situation seems to be getting just worse, and the rest of the world doesnt seem to notice. i had long discussions with the arabs there, met the palestinian youth parliament party president, some volunteer aid workers and activists. i stayed in a home at the Deheisha refugee camp, invited by someone named Yasser. there the nights are bloody cold right now, the UN helped in building houses there but the insulation is non-existent. i swear it was 10degrees inside. but under the many covers i slept well. and was fed and taken caren of as if i was a member of the family. i had heard of such hospitality, but it is nevertheless surprising.

i have to say that peace seems quite unlikely. its essentially about religion. which i guess i could have read from wiki or something...or the history book when i was a kid. buuut i skipped that and had to come figure it out myself. of course, religion doesnt make it okay to behave and treat others like whats happening here, but essentially the 2 parties want quite different things... my brain could not compute a solution. the muslims would prefer one state, where everyone lives happily, but it should be governed with islamic law. which i doubt the jews would agree with. especially since they feel this is their land and all. but pushing the palestinians further and further, i mean, what is the goal? to get rid of them permanently? until they die or move somewhere else? what does this remind me of...?

anyway. no need to go on and on about how shitty it is behind the 670km wall, and about the single human destinies. we know its bad. bullet holes in the walls, paying for water that is from their own area, having to apply for even birth certificates from the israeli government. which is the least of their troubles, the right to breathe seems to be at the top of the list. so.

getting in and out of the area was surprisingly easy, at least this time, i understand it depends on the checkpoint officials and what kind of a day they are having. or whatever. jerusalem's old town was fascination. as is the landscape in general. so mountainy, endlesly towns and villages on the hills, roads going on the sides of the hills zig zag. the Damascus Gate area looks like a thousand yrs old. well, i guess it might be even older. fuck do i know.

but traffic both in jerusalem and tel aviv is horrible especially at rush hours. its really pathetic doing all the hybric car stuff and what not in helsinki or sweden or wherever, when theres a zillion huge cities that are car crazy. its really just as hopeless as i always thouhgt it would be. if -and i believe so- climate warming is our fault, itll be +100C before the cars of india and US and china are under control.