29 April -05 May 2013 - orsam

A shortage of water, but not hospitality, in the West Bank's fields
Abu Elias, a Jericho farmer, cultivates cucumbers, eggplants, ingenuity, and a good sense of humor.
Abu Elias is pretty much the man in Jericho, where he has raised his four children on the income he
earns from growing cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. I met him in the town square on a
dusty October day while reporting a story about water shortages in the West Bank; he invited me to
come see his farm – after he visited the local barber shop.
After he was all spiffed up, he had another idea: taking us to visit a local ―composting‖ conference at
a farm on the outskirts of town.
It didn‘t sound very useful for my story but we agreed to join him and I‘m glad we did. It turned out
that the Palestinian minister of agriculture was there, along with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb
Erekat. Amid manure piles and fish tanks, he introduced me to both.
RECOMMENDED: How water could bring Israelis, Palestinians together
Afterward we headed back to Abu Elias‘s tidy plot. He used to plant 20 dunams (about 5 acres) of
land, but has cut back to half that due to a water shortage, which he blames on mismanagement by
the Jericho municipality.
"The spring of Ein Sultan produces the same amount but the distribution and administration of water
is very bad, it‘s inefficient," he says. "I am being given less water than what I deserve in terms of
what I pay."
He has compensated by implementing new water-saving techniques, some of which he picked up
fromIsrael. Among them are grafting regular tomato plants onto the roots of wild tomato plants,
which are hardier and better handle drought conditions.
As Israeli fighter jets roared overhead toward the Dead Sea, he took a swig of clear, cold water from
a clay jug and then poured us hot tea before sending us off with a hearty invitation to return again
soon. Water may be in shorter supply here, but hospitality certainly is not.
―A shortage of water, but not hospitality, in the West Bank's fields‖, 01/05/2013, online at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/Olive-Press/2013/0501/A-shortage-of-water-but-not-hospitality-in-the-
West-Bank-s-fields
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