Happiness

I'm always amazed at the happiness and opportunities for laughter that the people around me find, every day, every minute. When I hear some of the personal stories, I wonder how they find these moments. Almost all have lost family members in tragic stories – parents shot and killed in front of their eyes, brothers pulled from houses at night and never seen again; sisters imprisoned who can only be visited when specific permission is granted. At first, I thought these were all stories of exaggerations. But as I get to know these people better, hear more details of their lives, it's obvious that they cannot be. Its easy to separate myself from it in confidence that my passport and birth protect me somehow.

 

The other day, I was having a conversation with some colleagues where we were each discussing our favorite "mural" that has been drawn on the Israeli-constructed "security wall" (known on the red side of it as the "separation barrier"). It was if we were discussing the latest style of shoes – laughing, joking, comparing. In retrospect, it seemed like such an absurd conversation to be having. Whenever I pass the tall, stark gray wall I get this sinking feeling and I can't take my eyes off of it. The Berlin wall, the apartheid wall, the big eyesore, or affectionately known as "the wall." A recent addition nearby the office is most amazing. At a point where we can pass across it, there is a clear view that shows how it literally winds down the middle of a small neighborhood street. From this perspective, I can't keep track of which side is in or outside the wall. It's a bit like walking down a secular street in Jerusalem, or Haifa, or Tel Aviv – you can't tell who is who, but the feeling runs deep that somehow you should be able to know the "differences" by the look of people.

 

This week I was roaming the streets of downtown Ramallah, and I saw a Jewish couple walking down the street. I could tell they were Jewish by their dress. I was completely in shock, and noticed that everybody was watching. They were across the street from me when a man stopped them, offered his hand, and must have said something funny or, as I like to imagine, welcoming, and they smiled, laughed, shook hands, and moved on. Apparently, this cross-border traffic was much more frequent before the wall. That the populations within Israel moved much freer across boundaries and the polarization wasn't ingrained as much as it is now. If people can't mix and mingle freely, without such stark physical barriers, would not much of what exists today in form of low level conflict be absent? A question in "if" history, perhaps.