Not everyone buys them. Some people see them as bad luck and would rather the be freed. In a lot across the street from their home, other families have erected small stands where they sell fruits and vegetables and pigeons and canaries that they, too, have raised in their homes and backyards. When money is scarce, because jobs are few, they will barter for a specific reason. As I end my three-day stay in the West Bank, I am glad to leave.
Hardship is everywhere.
The years of trouble in this land have scarred both sides. Each day brings new reports of killings. The victims are Arabs and Israelis. If I wanted to find a glimmer of hope that there will be a peaceful settlement to the decades-long battle, I did not find it in the villages of the West Bank or in the Jewish sector of Jerusalem. But what I did find was a determination on both sides, including among my relatives, to survive and to maintain their heritage.