Life in the West Bank behind the wall

A refugee camp 7 kilometers north of Ramallah that covers 25 hectares.[Photo By Peng Yining/China Daily]

I contacted a friend, a long-time correspondent in Jerusalem, who through a third party arranged for someone to pick me up once I reached my destination, the town of Ramallah, the de facto administrative capital of the Palestine National Authority.

Another friend who lives in Jerusalem urged me not to go.

"It's too dangerous," she said. She was a high school classmate and is one of my closest friends, and indeed it was because of her that I had decided to visit Israel.

"I have someone to pick me up," I said.

"That doesn't matter; it's still too dangerous," she said.

I had good reason to listen to her. She speaks fluent Hebrew, understands some Arabic and had lived in Jerusalem for more than five years. She is well versed in the dos and don'ts for any foreigner in the city, particularly Chinese women.

"You may get mixed up in conflict," she said.

I had never been to the Middle East before, the greater part of my very little exposure to it being through CNN and the pages of a Lonely Planet guide, so some may think me brave. In fact, it was ignorance rather than courage that was driving me on.

My friend finally relented.

"I will get you to the bus station, but call me every two hours, or I will assume you have been kidnapped and will call the police."

We hugged.

Before I boarded the bus for Ramallah, 15 kilometers north of Jerusalem, I pulled down my sleeves, which had been rolled up because of the heat, put socks and sandals on and covered my long hair with a hat.

Once again my friend and I hugged, and she said: "Don't forget: call me."

As the bus set off I watched her slowly disappear behind me into the distance, the look of concern never leaving her.

It was obvious why she was worried. One constant in the life of the inhabitants of Jerusalem seems to be the fear of violence, including bomb attacks, and more recently knife attacks. Soldiers armed to the teeth are everywhere, and just entering a shopping mall requires a security check. In China we have security checks at airports and subway stations, of course, some of them can be quite cursory. Those in Israel have a much more thorough, life-or-death edge to them.