marhaba

I have not been keeping this blog very well, and it is now my new resolution to keep it up to date with the various things I have been doing.

The time I spent in Nablus is the most obvious topic for my mind to be obsessing over, so I will attempt to put some of my thoughts into writing.

Nablus is certainly a place to make you think. Every evening during our stay would be spent in heated discussion around politics, religion, feminism, culture, language, food, traditions and then some more politics.
We were initially surprised at how little the people we met mentioned the occupation or the Israelis. Most political discussion was reserved for the local elections and people's thoughts on Fatah, Hamas and the various independent fractions forming. Most Nablusis seem to want to get on with life, and don't want to get bogged down in the topic of the ever present Israeli Occupation. However now and then it is brought back sharply into focus. A friend of ours greeted us warmly during a trip round the old city, when asked how he was he replied nonchalantly that he was recently out of prison. This is unfortunately the case for many young men who are arrested and then held for months without charge. Despite this constant worry and disruption, these men are continuing their studies and desperately trying to find work in an increasingly difficult economic climate.

There is a strong spirit of determined resolve in this city. We will strive to make the most for our young people. We will continue to develop the best University in Palestine. We will continue to improve roads, water, electricity and healthcare in our city. We will build new homes, new hospitals, new substations, new fire-stations and we will plant more trees and build more parks to inspire hope in our children . This is a city of positive modernistic thinking and progress, despite the circumstances.