Palestine, Ramallah & The Politics Of Sacred Space
By Hafeel Farisz –June 14, 2016
Hafeel Farisz
I met Isra on the bus. She said she was 15. Getting from Jerusalem to Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank is a short bus ride of a maximum of 45 minutes. The ride commences around the Damascus gates of the old city of Jerusalem. I found it difficult to know exactly where we were and she seemed to be the only one able to speak English. The rest, of the bus looked at me and smiled, empathetic but helpless – not knowing how to answer my questions.
She didn’t seem anything like 15. I assumed she was in her mid twenties, a mature woman. She was on the bus with her sister, who said she was 25. I am yet to get over the fact that she was 15. Curiosity got the better of me and during the ride, I asked her how she spoke English so well, and she smiled. “I am a tour guide”. “But you are 15, dont you go to school?” I aksed. She smiled back, the sort of smile which indicated that she has answered the same question a thousand times before.
“My father was in prison and by brother is still in prison, the uncle who took care of us was killed. There was no one to take care of the family and I had to earn money” she said. Non nonchalantly. My mind raced back to when I was 15. It also for a moment raced back to what the kids who are 15 in Sri Lanka would be doing. Some privileged to have an education, the rest facing the same plight Isra does. Education, although free, may be a distant dream for many in the distant villages around the country. May be. I wont know, because it isn’t something that struck me. The children of those killed in the bloodshed of 30 years, is not within the discourse of my circles, journalistic and otherwise. 
As we proceeded to Ramallah, Isra told me that we should get down and attempted to carry my bag. Her sister had a handful with 4 children, the oldest seemed around 6. I brushed her offer away and got down. Ramallah. Here I was. Finally. In Ramallah. It took a few minutes to realise that I infact was yet to get into Ramallah. This was Calandia- no mans land. Neither the Palestinians Authority nor the Israeli Government controls the area.
