CPTnet
11 July 2007
AT-TUWANI BLOG: Goodbye, Tuwani

[NOTE: This final blog entry by CPTer Heidi Schramm has been edited for
length and clarity. To see her original entries and accompanying photos go
to http://heidischramm.livejournal.com]

May 2, 2007

Once again, I am back at home and suffering from jet lag. My last few days
in Palestine were nice. On my last night in Tuwani, we played Pin the Tail
on [a settler security officer at Ma'on settlement.] We had a great picture
of him and stuck "I love Palestine" speech bubbles on it. Some of the
village kids came to play, and although they all cheated, Jill still managed
to win.

Leaving the country was the easiest it has ever been. I told the [Israeli
security person at the airport] I was volunteering with the Christian
Peacemaker Teams in the village of At-Tuwani. She asked what kind of
village it was, and I said agricultural. She asked if I helped out on
farms, and I said yes, and then she asked if they had sheep, because she
loves sheep. Then she handed me my passport and told me to have a nice
flight. Amazing what happens when you tell the truth.

I'm not sure exactly when I'll be back in Palestine. Although I had signed
up for three years here, I have decided to move to part time with CPT and
start grad school in the fall. I will be working on my MA in Ethics, Peace
and Global Affairs at American University in DC. My time here has convinced
me that in order for things to change here, the U.S. has to stop handing
over $3 billion a year to Israel. So this is where I'm going to focus my
energies for now. But I will undoubtedly be back. I may continue with the
blog from time to time over the next years, so check in every once in awhile
if you like. Thanks for reading!