This is not a separation barrier

The Wall, Abu Dis
Originally uploaded by tsweden

I'm posting a lot of photos on my flickr account (go down a ways on the righthand column and click, or go here), and I also end up writing descriptions. I reproduce one below. I visited the wall at Abu Dis (east of Jerusalem) on Thursday.

A construction worker invited me on to the roof of a 5-story building he was working on. When I got to the top he said, "Nice view, eh?"

The "separation barrier" is ostensibly a security measure, to protect Israeli Jews from suicide bombings and other terrorist acts.

In fact, tens of thousands of Palestinian Arabs reside on the other side of the wall. And the Jewish settlement of Ma''ale Adumim (pop. 35,000) is on THIS side of the wall, just down the road from here, to the east.

I met a middle-aged gentleman who lives very near here, right next to this beautiful wall. He has two brothers who live just the other side of the wall. He can't visit them without getting permission from the Israeli secuity (often hard to get) and driving by a very circuitous route. (There is NO crossing close to here.) He used to have 200 sheep, but now only has 6, because of problems with water caused by the wall.

Another man I met used to work as a head nurse at a Jewish hospital on the other side of the wall. Now, he can't work there any more, and has to eke out a living selling coffee and small pastries at a tiny kiosk.

A head nurse....

This is not a "separation barrier."