Ramallah Diary: Under fire

Ramallah's streets are littered with the debris of conflict

Retired architect Tom Kay and his wife Adah moved to Ramallah from London at the start of the year. They are both Jewish - Tom was born in Palestine and had lived in Ramallah as a baby. Below are some extracts from Tom's diary on their life in Ramallah.

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Saturday 28 September:
In the evening we joined a demonstration, chatting with numerous friends as we circled through the streets.

These evening demos are becoming for us like 'passagiato' (stroll) in Italy . You not only meets friends, but are introduced to new ones at a hell of a rate.

About 80 metres from a row of three jeeps, a degree of organisation took over which surprised me, given the usual anarchy and stone throwing which usually breaks out at this point.

Demonstrations took place all over the West Bank

About a dozen Fatah men lined up with their backs to the jeeps. They held hands in a chain which stretched across the road and pavements. The chanting group allowed itself to be contained and very slowly, they moved forward.

It was noisy, but definitely felt non-violent. I think the idea was to try to approach the soldiers and have a "conversation".

There were IDF men behind the open doors of the jeeps and three against a stone embankment.

I was standing virtually touching a shop front looking down at the scene when I felt a very hard bang on my forearm which was across my stomach.

I felt it first, then I saw it.

I had watched the bullet (don't worry - a rubber one) travel diagonally across the road towards me. I was knocked backwards a step, but stayed on my feet.

Gas cloud

As I turned to run, there were a number of other shots fired. I learned later that they were all tear gas canisters. Only one rubber bullet.

I was aware of everybody running but I found myself going into the gas cloud. I ran, jumping over old debris for about 30 metres before anyone noticed that I was in more than just the usual trouble.

Perhaps four people picked me up by my arms and legs and went on running. One of them was holding me by my thumped right forearm. As they ran, they were shouting for an ambulance.

By the time, I was in the ambulance, I was aware of commotion and pain, but not much else, and I must have passed out.

A vivid dream, which I can't remember, and I woke still being pushed about on a trolley.

I was breathing heavily. I thought it was to control the pain. I was getting upset because at first they took not notice of my arm.

"Did I have a heart problem? Did I suffer from asthma?"

When they got my shirt off, I saw a lump the size of half an orange sitting on my arm.

Tom and his wife Adah

A temporary bandage and then X-rays. Nothing broken. The bullet had hit my arm at an angle, leaving a long bruise and a lesion where it came to a halt.

Suddenly saw I Adah's face. I was put out because I thought one's loved ones were supposed to exude love and tenderness at this stage of the game.

How naïve. Adah was angry and her first question was: "Well, what happened?"

My answer needless to say was: "Not now Adah."

Nevertheless, cross as she was, she didn't walk away.

Over the next couple of hours, the pain went from intolerable to just about bearable to just bad. A Turkish camera crew turned up. Did I mind? Later, I found out that they had been filming as I was bundled along al-Irsal road.

A man on the phone wanted to send me flowers and told me he was from the president's office. Turned out that it was Yasser Arafat's office.

I only managed to get this because Adah was hissing into my other ear that I should not allow myself to be used politically.

It was and still is my view that she was being too cynical by half. I felt that the phone call was made out of genuine concern.

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Friday 27 September:
Second day of full curfew.

In the town, many are ignoring it. It makes for dangerous confrontations, as the Israeli Defence Force rumble around in armoured personnel carriers and jeeps.

At 5pm, I rushed outside at the sound of two blast bombs and an APC on the move in front of the house.

Found half a dozen soldiers chasing someone across the terraces in front of the house.

They gave up after 10 minutes of hiding behind walls. But by that time the shabab (young men, often activists) had mobilised up the road towards al-Manara square. They dragged makeshift barricades along the road and the stones started to rain down in front of us.

Restraint

I have some lively bits of film. Not the imagery but the sound. Adah shouting at the IDF to stop shooting children. A woman was walking down the road and Adah really belted into them in both Hebrew and English.

She alternated between screaming at the soldiers and at me. Some of the soldiers had mounted gas grenades on their rifles. Others had guns full of what I assume were bullets.

As the stones came bouncing down the road, the IDF sheltered on both sides. At one point one came out to the middle of the road and aimed at the kids. I have little doubt that Adah's shouting influenced them.

The soldiers stopped two cars and took the keys. A friend's brother was in one of them and overheard one soldier say to the other: "Take the keys. Don't you want a Renault sports car?"

However, I have photos of the soldiers and maybe there will be a degree of restraint.

Activity goes on all day. At present there are shots and we can see a fire on Irsal road.

The shabab are still trying to reoccupy the centre of town. There are demonstrations two or three times a day now in different areas.

Waiting to hear what Hamas will do after yesterday's assassination in Gaza.

Around here, people expect that it will result in a further turn of the screw.

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Tuesday 24th September

Came outside to find a man hiding below our steps.

He was terrified. A tank had "chased" him into our yard.

In the process he had tipped over his bread cart. There were loaves everywhere.

Another demonstration is announced at 6pm.

The main demo was headed by Mustafa Barghouti, a leading Palestinian activist.

Banners, chanting and moving on foot, but not very far because the army really didn't want us going in the direction of the Muqataa (Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah).

Also in al-Manara square, a group sat in a circle, chanting and clapping.

Click here to read previous extracts from Tom's diary