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February 2004 - Jerusalem
I write to you from Al-Quds, Jerusalem, on our third day here. After the incredible
victory of Team Palestine over Taiwan 8-0 in Doha, we traveled to Amman, Jordan
for a night there and then traveled to Al-Quds by land.
The trip has been amazing. After the game against Taiwan the team separated into
five groups, the Syrian players, the Lebanese players, the Chilean players, the
players from Gaza, and the players from the West Bank. Everybody went home from
Doha. Carlos and I traveled with the West Bank players this time.
Our first two days were spent in Jerusalem with Abdallah Al-Sudawi, one of the
goal keepers. His family lives in East Jerusalem, right by the old market. I
can't describe how beautiful the market is. Everybody in the streets knows Abdallah;
he also works for a youth organization here called Palestinian Vision, which
serves over 500 youths in Jerusalem and in Palestine.
After two days in Jerusalem, we visited Hazem El-Muhatezeb in Halil (Hebron).
Another beautiful city; the situation there is very tense. Halil is the biggest
Palestinian city after Jerusalem; its population is about 500,000. About 500
Israeli settlers, protected by the army, have moved to the center of the city.
Halil's residents are harassed on a daily basis. The old market is almost deserted
as a consequence of the occupation; unemployment is very high.
The only football field is in extremely bad conditions and the league has been
shot down. Because of the situation there, Hazem has been forced to practice
by himself.
We came back to Al-Quds this morning and spent the entire day at Al-Quds University
with some students and Abdallah's friends. Between Abdallah's house and the university
is Abu-Dis, where Israel has built a wall. This has madeit almost impossible
for some students to attend their classes.
This is the itinerary for this week:
Tuesday
2/24, Ramallah—We
meet the minister of sports and Mohamed Sabah, one of the assistant
coaches.
Wednesday
2/25, Qalqilya—We meet Taisier
Amer, one of the team players, and his family.
Thursday
2/26, Nublus—We meet Adel
Al-Farran, team player, and his family.
Friday
2/27, back in Al-Quds with Abdallah.
Saturday 2/29 and Sunday
3/1 Tulkarem with Osama Abu-Aliah and Raffat Abu-Kater.
Monday 3/2 and Tuesday
3/3,we are going to try to make it to Gaza.
On Wednesday 3/4, we
go back to Amman and from there to Cairo. From Cairo, we move to
Ismailia for the second training camp.
Ok, I have to run now, Abdallah's family is waiting for us to eat dinner. I will
write again soon.
