Bethlehem, Etzion DCL, Mon 1.2.10, Afternoon

14.00   Etzion DCL: we spent three hours at the DCL to find solutions to Palestians’ problems:

-A nine year old girl had to go to the Augusta-Victoria hospital (in

   Jerusalem) to have her tonsils removed and her mother was

    trying to get a travel permit.  After three hours and many

    telephone conversations, and after the  mother and her daughter

    were taken inside and sent out again three times, they were

    eventually given the permit.

-   Two youths , who were travelling in a taxi were arrested and

     taken for interrogation because both ofthem had mobile phones

     which the police suspected were stolen because there were

     Hebrew letters next to telephone numbers in them.  After we

     travelled to the police-station twice, the two youths were

     released.  After three hours of interrogation, the police couldn’t

     find any evidence that the phones had been stolen, but they

     “forgot” to give the youths receipts forthe confiscated phones,

     which would have enabled them to reclaim them. Only after our

     intervention were the youths given the “forgotten” receipts.

           We didn’t know whether to be happy at our “successes” or to be sorry

           about the wasted hours of so many people.