Tuesday 9/4 2002
Upon arrival to Nablus a frightful sight met us. Everything was lifeless. The streets were empty, and only now and then a face would peer from behind closed curtains. The street had been driven to pieces by tanks, which had also run over cars, through gardens, smashing houses and housing estates. We drove by the Palestinian Administrations Ministry of Agriculture. The ministry had visibly been bombed. The building was completely grounded in several places.
Elsewhere, there were great holes in the walls and one could see crushed office furniture lying around. The streets were empty, but as the convoy glided forward some people dared to venture outside their houses and carefully waved. One family stood on the street and cried as they extended their hands towards us; they had received no help for an entire week, and could not believe that we were driving past them with all the food and medicine. One of the convoys vehicles stopped and explained that our destination was the Crescent Moon center wherefrom all the aid would be distributed, and that calmed the family down. I was however left with a bad taste in my mouth as we drove past them.
There had been a total curfew for all the citizens of Nablus for over a week, and there was still no electricity or water in several areas. The wounded are lying about where ambulances cannot get through, and there are reports of corpses that have been lying in the streets for days. Several ambulances have been shot at and three ambulances have been hit. I saw for myself the holes in a Red Crescent ambulance, which in spite of clear markings had been directly shot at by Israeli soldiers.
There was spontaneous happiness and thanks when we reached the Red Crescent. We formed human chains to unload the trucks. Crates and sacks were quickly carried in place and organised in the centres great hall. As the work progressed, the shooting in the city around us became fiercer and everybody worked faster, so we could leave the town as soon as possible. We had barely finished when Apache helicopters began to swarm in the air above us. The helicopters only shot flares at us, which sailed towards the ground with emergency lights glowing. But it was enough for the convoy to quickly prepare for the journey home. No one wanted to get stuck in Nablus if fighting escalated even more.
When I slammed the car door shut, finally ready to leave the city, I saw a stream of thick black smoke bellowing up from the Old City the place where fighting and destruction was said to be the worst. As the convoy left Nablus, the shooting got worse and shots were fired close to our car several times. We dont know who was shooting, and since none of the convoys vehicles seemed to be direct targets, we continued with no regrets. At about 1pm the convoy drove out of Nablus and our mission was completed. We immediately began planning the next one. Youll hear from me again soon.
