From Beirut to Jerusalem

30 August 2006

Brussels-based journalist Marko Wramén was due to spend summer 2006 in Lebanon, but on the day of departure, Israel bombed Beirut airport.  However, another opportunity arose and Marko ended up in Jerusalem instead. Whilst in Israel, Marko kept a daily blog... Entry from 21 July 2006 The fear of suicide bombs and violence affects everything here. Wherever you go there is are security guys.  When we went to a nice bar/restaurant yesterday (Caffit in the German district) the security guy asked if we carried any guns.  Being Swedish I was rather surprised, but this is of course a small USA with the difference that the some of the Israeli Jews are much more well armed. When I strolled around the Old City the other day I met a bunch of teenage guys in shorts and t-shirts. Nothing strange there except that they were all carrying loaded M16 automatic assault rifles and kippas (the small piece of cloth many male Jews have on their head). They were not in uniform, just a bunch of eighteen-something guys. The kippas are important though. Young Arab guys carrying a weapon in public would probably have been gunned down immediately by soldiers, police or civilans. Scary stuff. But you get used to everything, it becomes part of the normal everyday life. Like all the concrete and steel pillars outside hotels, banks, etc., to protect against car bombs, or the fact that every little place in the Old City, even churches, seems to have robust steel doors. And that there are police officers everywhere checking ID cards on all Arabic looking people. Such is the daily life of Jerusalem. To read the blog entries and see Marko's photographs, go to http://www.waterglobe.net/blog.

 

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