Virtual visit day 1 - two different parts

A few technical difficulties made for a slightly delayed and slightly rocky start that I found a bit frustrating, and not easy to manage. However, once we'd actually got going, things were very different. It was great having the different people speaking to us and each giving their own perspective of life in Abu Dis - it meant we had actual living detail of lived experience - so different from a generalised, 'tourist' perspective. And it made it possible to really get a picture of what day to day life is like there - for  a doctor, for a student, for Abed as the CADFA person 'on the ground'. So it seems we are gradually building up a real picture of living in this town, Abu Dis, which was once so much larger and a part of Jerusalem, under Israeli occupation. 

The reality of seeing the level of control the population is under, and the deliberate cruelty and deprivation that is foisted upon them, even if only on one's computer screen, makes a very powerful impact. I found it chilling and disturbing in the extreme. I feel two different parts of me- the part that wants to turn away and not know, and the part of me that is determined to know more. 

I look forward to tomorrow with interest and with dread.
Thank you for giving us this unique experience. 
Warm wishes to you all,

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