Empowerment
Dura, Palestine
2002 April 24
We were asked to accompany some city workers to repair the 12” water main that supplies the town of Dura. It had been damaged by Israelis bulldozing a roadblock three miles south of town. The Israelis had left Dura a few hours earlier, without lifting curfew. Sometimes they have returned unexpectedly and opened fire.
Fifteen minutes after starting work, an Israeli military jeep pulled up. Mohammed immediately asked me to go talk with the soldiers. But as soon as he asked, he realized he could talk to them himself, which he did. After they left, he explained that he, and other Palestinians, feel more confident and secure with us nearby.
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