The various refugee camps in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip were established by the UN in the 1950s to house, temporarily, the Palestinians expelled from their villages and cities by the Israelis in 1948 and 1949. The refugees expected that the world would permit them to go back to their homes, but that has not, and likely will not, happen.

Balata has been attacked and shelled by the Israelis many times, the most recent invasion was June 2, 2002. All men from 15 to 55 were taken out of their homes to "detainment camps," then the Army started a house to house search. Instead of entering a house by the door, they simply broke a hole in the wall, climbed in, trashed that house, then broke out into the next house since the houses are wall to wall. There is a video of this, at They smashed through our walls. This is also described on Starhawk's web site at The boy who kissed the soldier.

Balata Camp is the largest in the West Bank, and houses about 20,000 people. Some family members of the original refugees have succeeded in getting out into other cities and towns in the West Bank, and a few have gotten permission to emigrate. Families are huge by European/North American standards, so there are lots of young people.

I could walk from one end of the camp to the other or from one side to the other in a few minutes. The main street is just wide enough for two vehicles to pass, or for an Israeli tank to rumble through, which happened four of the six nights I spent with the Titi family there. There are two side streets parallel with the main street, but most of the tiny shops are on the main street.

The houses are of concrete blocks with steel reinforced columns to provide structural rigidity. All are at least two storey, but many are five storey, but with low ceilings so that the building height is not that great. Houses are built side by side often with no space between. This made it convenient for the Israeli soldiers as they went house to house; they could simply break a hole in the wall and climb into the next house, which they did all over the camp. The Titi family has a hole on one side and one on the other, courtesy of the "the only democracy in the Middle East."

There is a boys school built with money from the Netherlands, and a girls school, built with money from Saudi Arabia. There is a clinic built by the Saudis, and a mosque built also with money from Saudia Arabia. There is nothing built by Israel, but plenty of destruction. There are a dozen or so demolished homes in the camp. The bulldozer or demolition crew appears, the family is told to get out and the building demolished. Not a pretty site.

No hospital, no post office, no swimming pool, no theatre, no movie house, no sports field, no basketball hoop anywhere in camp. I can't remember seeing a single green spot of lawn, nor a tree, only a few potted flowers here and there on balconies. It is unbelievably drab.

That is not to say that the people are totally depressed all the time. After it was known in the camp that I was not from the FBI or the CIA, or Mossad, I was greeted with a friendly "Good Morning," or "Salaam aleikum," or "How are you." There are very few who are fluent in English, since they have had almost no contact with foreigners, but many want to try and to learn. Just in the six days I spent with the Titi family, I noticed an improvement, especially in Alaa. My companion Marissa was busy learning Arabic, but I talked English with the young family members. We were the first foreigners they had ever conversed with.

Also no police that I could see, but also no crime that I heard of. I saw no alcohol of any form for sale or being consumed. I also made do with water, coffee, and juice.

The Palestinian Authority, which doesn't really exist anymore, is not interested in Balata. The UN is interested enough to give out food to the needy, but not much more. Israel just wishes the camps would evaporate.

There are little shops in which the people buy food and other household items, but these are tiny and very limited in selection. At this time of year there are plenty of vegetables to be had from the open air stands along the street. These stands are put up and taken down every day. Much of the produce comes from Israel sources, some of which are on Palestinian land taken over by Jewish settlers. Since Israel controls 80% of the water resources of the West Bank, and most of the good land, there is very little Palestinian agriculture.

I would like to send the Titi family a letter from Canada, so I asked for their mailing address. They don't have one. They can neither send nor receive mail from their home. Najah, the 24 year old single daughter, works at a small factory in neighboring Nablus, which does have a P.O. Box. So I must address the letter first to Israel, then West Bank, then Nablus, then the P.O. Box, then Najah. This is the 21st Century? There is however email Alaa has an email address but no Internet connection, not even a phone line. He goes to the Internet Cafe from time to time to spend a few minutes online.

Well that's it. I've been there. I think the black townships of South Africa were better since there were no tanks and bulldozers rumbling through at night. In fact if the Palestinians were black, Israel would be a pariah nation, and the U.S. would be leading the way with sanctions against it.

Salaam,