occupation kills

Below is a message freelance journalist Jon Elmer sent out, reproduced here with his permission.

Hi folks, just wrapping up my work in Lebanon and getting a flight from Beirut to Amman soon. I will then go on to Palestine on Sunday. Hopefully it'll be Christmas in Gaza for me - the dream of

My grandmother once told me she was born in the Year of the Big Snow. Her first son, she said, was born in the Year of the Good Harvest. The Big Snow and the Good Harvest are events so much larger than her or I that they mark the epochs of her life. They were

There was no elegance to my groans of pain. When the door opened to the 0.5m x 0.5m x 1m steel box, it took me a moment to refocus on the three people staring at me, and another moment to remember who they were.

"See?" said one. "I told you you were

Note: The following is an exchange between me and a friend. My response is in bold text.

The world, and not only the Middle East, is full of intolerance and ignorance. It is sad, but I believe that even what is happening in Lebanon is a sham that will benefit Hezbollah and its allies. Yes, maybe people are battered because

Pitch black. A moment before, I was in a room with 25 people, and now I am nowhere. I didn't finish my sentence, but I was acutely aware that I was the only one interrupted by the darkness. This had happened every

30 November 2006

Afternoon.

I am now in Beirut, Lebanon. The tension is everywhere in the rich neighbourhood